Search the Community

So I'm pretty new to blacksmithing, got hooked on it as kid only now at 17 getting into the hobby side of things. Unfortunately being 17 does mean a limited budget. My first ever anvil I ever got was a antique anvil/vise combo things that belonged to my grand father.My grandfather broke the vise right out of it, however because it was a Vise combo anvil thing... It has a great big hole in the body of it, were the threads used to sit. So I was thinking of cutting off the vise style base and welding on a new base. (I realize most smiths cringe at the idea of a novice welder [Would like to point out I now have roughly 2 years structural welding experience so I am decently confidant in my welding skills.]messing around with a anvil. But just you wait I'm just getting warmed up.) The other issue I have with the Anvil is the cast iron face on it. It's well a cast iron face, IE. it dents a even a light 1 lbs. hammer blow. I however want to now if it's a good idea to mill off the face in order to weld a steel tools face on to it. I'm going to be working on it in my Auto-Shop class so I will have access to; a mill, mig welding, arc welding, oxyacetylene torches, angle grinders and any other necessary tools. So to recap really quick: 1. Terrible legs and body support on the anvil, is it worth putting a new one on? 2. Removing the cast iron face and replacing it with a steel one? The anvil face is 6'' by 2&3/4'' by 1/8'' The steel face I plan on using is 6'' by 2&7/8'' by 3/8'' (L*W*H) The step is 3/4'' by 2&3/4''(L*W) The Horn is 3&1/2'' long the tip is roughly 3'' in diameter the widest part (Next to the step) is 7'' in diameter (L*D) The full height is 5&1/2'' The Tip of the horn to the far end of the base is 1' Attached are pictures of the anvil. Thanks for having read trough that short story of mine, -Ray Ps, even if I don't end up cutting and welding stuff I still plan on cleaning it up. (Sand blasting paint and rust off. Along with re-finishing the horn, as it really flat on top.[As is customary with cast anvils I know.])

I've gotten the bug and as cheaply as possible I've put together a shop. Rag tag items like a forge made from an old grill and a piece of railroad track for an anvil. My mantra to taking on this hobby/ possible future business, is to make money to put forwards purchases. in my opinion wood as a fuel source is not very efficient. Seem to be going through a lot of it really fast without it ever getting really hot. So I may need to spend some money to make money and find a good coal source for my area. But I can't seem to find anything close by. Any Charlotte area smiths have any leads on any suppliers? Thanks in advance.

I'm a new smith. Its a hobby that I don't want to sink too much money in. With that said, I'm hoping to make most of the tools I need. The way I understand it, there are a ton of types of tongs out there, all with different functions and jobs. My question is what types should I focus on first? I got started as a way to get into knife making. I'm playing around with small trinkets like bottle openers, key chains, ect... to give you an idea of my needs. I've been using vice-grips when the material is too short for me to hold on too for now. But I want to make things easier for myself and this will also give me practice. Also what are good stock sizes and metal types for tongs, so I know what to look for at salvage yards? Thanks.

Hi guys, so I've been blacksmithing/blade smithing for 5-6 months now and have made a few knives. Surprising myself that I am very good at bladesmithing. I can make great knives already in the forge and I'm wanting a newer challenge. I want to learn to create Damascus steel. I know it's something that very advanced for a beginner smith to try. But I'd really like to try it. So what do I need to do to make Damascus I've found a steel supplier with 15n20 and I was thinking going with 15n20 and 1075 spring steel I read that in a blacksmithing book I have. Now I have a gas forge and I know how to do simple forge weld. My forge wasn't really designed to forge Damascus I don't think. You can find my forge at majesticforge.com and it's the artist deluxe 2 burner I believe that's what it's called for those of you who want to look. But Im getting a new welder in September so I want to know if there's anything else I need to get before I attemp to do this? I figure I need to get my forge around 2300? But I've never done this before so any suggestions on what temperature I should be going for and what setting I should be running? I usually run my forge from 8-25 psi it doesn't have blowers I just use the pressure of the gas.