Rantalin

All of these points make perfect sense to me as an ex-Mechanical Engineering major, but the current History major neds to ask, Why? If there were no benifit to havig an anvil with a larger mass, then why even bother having a 500# anvil? It seems to me that the two points in which the hot metal is being squeezed between should have the largest mass possible, yet remain practical. No 10,000# anvils or 300# hand-hammers (I know the earlier reference was to a power hammer, I'm just making a point). This is the way I'm picturing it: If you have an anvil of mass X, lets say 100 pounds. That mass is spread out over a relatively large area compared to the stock that you are working. And your hammer (again, a hand-hammer) only has a striking surface of maybe a maximum of a 3 inch circle. The mass of the anvil that is directly under the stock and hammer is doing all of the work in moving the metal. However, there are two reasons why having a larger anvil could be better: 1) The larger anvil face helps to support the stock so you don't have to hold the full weight of it, as well as give you an easily accessible place to put your hardies and other anvil tools (where else would you put them BUT the anvil?) 2) Having the full mass of the anvil spread out gives the anvil stability. Something else to consider: I am also debating whether having the mass of the anvil spread out helps the anvil absorb some of the force of the hammer. This may just be me trying too hard to think of things though A larger surface area spreads the force applied to it evenly. It might possibly be better to have the entire anvil mass concentrated into a cylinder the same diameter of your hammer's striking surface. Using the onlinemetals.com weight calculator, I've found that a round bar of 1018 cold rolled steel 3 inches in diameter and exactly 4.16793 feet long would have a mass of exactly 100 pounds, and cost just about $US175. Not an unreasonble price for a 100# "anvil". I'm not sure about the steel type, if someone could give me a better steel, I could do it over again. So if this bar were FIRMLY supported in the ground, it would offer you 100#s of mass directly under your work, and may help move the metal easier. And is essence, if you had an anvil that was just over 4 feet high in all areas, then no matter where you hit, it would be 100#s of mass under your hammer. But that would have to be moved with lifts and stay there. It would probably weigh about 900#'s. Maybe I should switch back to Engineering...

My forge name is simply, "Dan's Hand-forged Ironworks" Not overly complicated, and gets the point across.

Thats actually a really good idea. I have white counter tops, and it bounces the flash back like a mirror.

Thats a great looking weld Ian, and I like the paper towel background.

Thanks Strine, I've made S hooks and small leaves. Actually made some small keychains that didn't come out very well, but practice makes perfect.

Strine, you say a "3 heat trinket", what would be something small and easy that could be made in three heats?

SWE_Karl, I used an online translator on your Swedish, and the best translation I can get is that you want to know why he used the SS-2225 to make the tongs.

thanks ed. All I meant was that the excessive amount of clinker I have is caused by so much air, which would in turn cause more coal to burn, and more clinker to form.

I also develop a pretty decent amount of clinker, and I believe that it may be caused by too high of an air flow. I'm going to make some sort of a control gate for my blower so that I can vary the air I use.

I have an outisde forge, so when I need lighting, I use a very powerful worklight that makes my work area light up ike daytime.

thats interesting bruce. My dad has my grandfather's WWII knife that I hope to add to my collection at some point. Mild steel is the best I have to work with right now, so I guess the best I can do is give it a shot and see what happens. I'm also going to try making some spearheads and spears out of mild steel.

I know that mild steel isn't a good metal for blades, due to the low carbon content. Right now, its all I have to work with. The only dump nearby doesn't allow people to take or buy the "junk" thats already in there. By durability, I meant that the sword was poorly assembled, with pieces falling off or being loose. I'm not really looking for somethign that'll withstand the heat of battle, yet. For now I just want something I show show as my own that won't fall apart when I pick it up.

I want the sword, because I collect sword and other non-gunpowder weaponry. I get frustrated at the lack of quality that I get from these mostly decorative pieces that I order. They just don't have the durability I'm looking for in a sword. So instead, I've decided to make one of my own. I have the equipment necessary to make a sowrd, its just a matter of trying it. I'm not one of those kids who wants to make a sword and swing it around wildly. I have about 30+ blades that are all well taken care of.

I want to make a sword out of a piece of bar that's made out of mild steel. My question is regarding whether the mild steel will be strong enough to not bend. I believe the bar is at most 1/4" thick, and 2 inches wide. I saw a blacksmith in Florida at the Medieval Times show that had made a sword from the same size stock, but high carbon steel. There was some flex, but not enough to actually bend the steel to a different shape.

thanks for the tips, once the snow melts, and I have a chance to get back at the forge, I'll give it a shot

ok, I've attempted multiple forge welds with coal, not high quality blacksmith coal though. Every time, I find a fault in the weld, or I burn the metal. Did you use any flux to make the weld? I tried using ash from the forge, with no difference. I've also tried without any flux at all, and thats how I got my first, and only weld. Though it was not pretty. I burned most of the metal around the weld. I've only tried it with 1/4" round stock, I want to try with 1/2 inch though.

The last two times I went to light my forge, I couldn't get it lit for at least an hour. My dad said its probably from having an outdoor forge, and leaving the coal in the forge between firing, so it had moisture in it. but USUALLY, I throw a couple balls of newspaper in, followed by some wood, then charcoal, then my coal.

Hello, My name is Dan, I live in central Massachusetts, and I've been blacksmithing for about 6 months now. My forge is modeled after Tim Lively's forge, as can be seen at http://64.176.180.203/washtubforge.htm I am 19 years old and a student at UMASS Amherst. I was a mechanical engineering major for a year and a half, and have now switched to a history major. I am planning on focusing my studies on pre-1800 european and japanese history. I am a hobbyist smith, when I find time to get out to the forge, and am still improving my abilities every day. I enjoy the craft very much and hope to continue throughout my life.

Andy, I have almost the exact same forge! It's the Tim Lively design from his website. The only difference is that I didn't cut the slits in the sides for longer pieces of metal, but it hasn't become a problem yet. A deep bed of coals helps with maintaining a higher temperature. Three things I would recommend, first, I used Rutland black furnace cement. I don't remember what the temperature reating for it was, but mine is starting to crack a little. I have another pint of it, so I can repair the liner if it gets too bad. Second, if you use a couple of screws, you can attach a small sheet of metal to the far side of the forge, and that will keep your coal/charcoal from escaping over the edge. Its happened to me many times. Third, if you can find something to elevate the forge, do that. I put my forge inside an old grill. The glass was broken of the cover, so I closed it and the wind can't get to my fire as easily, which helps when lighting it. Also, if you can find some heating coal, it works MUCH better than charcoal. I got a 50 pound bag of it for christmas, I think my parents said it only cost about 7 dollars. I still have about half of it, and I've spent at least 24 hours at the forge since I opened the bag. Good luck with the forge!

I have no idea how long it took. When I'm out forging, hours go by without me realizing it. So this could've taken anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours.

I didn't use any special tool besides a set of tongs and a hammer, although I did use a large set of pliers to do the twist. All I have is lightweight tongs that I actually broke my last time out at the forge. I held the spike in a small vise to twist it. The spike I had was very rusty to start, does anyone think that starting out with a cleaner, or even pre-ground spike make the handle more attractive?

The candle that I found is in a small glass jar, and fits pretty well, I didn't fit the top to any specific sized candle, so it was a matter of finding one that fit well enough

This is the first railroad spike knife I've made. I put about 2.5 twists into the handle, then ground the blade to look like a small bowie knife. I used a 120 grit belt to grind the blade, and am looking into getting finer grit belts. I ground the butt end of the knife to give a contrast between the dark handle and the bright blade. The person I was making this for was in a rush, so I wasn't able to completely grind one side of the blade as well as I'd have liked. But it still came out nice. a a a a Any comments or suggestions are more than welcome.

I made this candle holder a few months ago, as a birthday present. Its 1/4" round mild steel, with 1/8" "vines" that were not textured and leaves that were chiseled to texture. Any comments and suggestions are more than welcome.

I was out forging from 11 in the morning till dark yesterday, I got a lot of work done, but when the sun had pretty much set, I couldn't see much of what I was doing. I have an outdoor forge, no protection from the elements. I turned on an outside light to provide some visibility, but it didn't help much. I was so close to finishing a project that night, but quit when it got too dark. Point is, when my visibility was gone, I knew I was going to make mistakes. The only thing I could really see was the fire, it was the only bright object around me. I knew it was dangerous, so I quit. I couldn't hit something I didn't want to hit, like my hand, or tripped over my anvil stand (which happens to be a saw horse with a small vice attached to it) while holding hot metal. Not a good thing to happen. Be safe when you're working. After initially reading this thread, I've occasionally looked at my hands to check for damage. Nothing has happened yet. But iI'm still being careful