MrAceman Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Darren yours is awesome, how long did it take to make it, and what did you use, both steel and tool wise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chukster Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Wow, that is one cool looking anvil. I would like to know more of how you made this to work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua.M Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Just picked up this big momma, it's a 400lb peter wright, in good shape. More than good enough for what i payed for it! Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard V Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 My anvil is a piece of old boiler plate that had been buried in a old iron yard as a stepping stone to a shack for 40 years or so. I picked it up for almost nothing. Weighs around the 85 to 90 lb mark. works like a charm. I will also try to find a pic of my old railroad rail anvil my great grandfather made before I was born. Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Just picked up this big momma, it's a 400lb peter wright, in good shape. More than good enough for what i payed for it! Josh image (21).jpeg image (15).jpeg image (23).jpeg image (25).jpeg Good score Josh! That beauty will serve the next couple generations of smiths in your family. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 My anvil is a piece of old boiler plate that had been buried in a old iron yard as a stepping stone to a shack for 40 years or so. I picked it up for almost nothing. Weighs around the 85 to 90 lb mark. works like a charm. I will also try to find a pic of my old railroad rail anvil my great grandfather made before I was born. Richard That's about the same pattern humans have been forging on for a few thousand years now and will do the job in fine style today. Well salvaged Richard, scrounge on. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren70 Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Darren yours is awesome, how long did it take to make it, and what did you use, both steel and tool wise? Wow, that is one cool looking anvil. I would like to know more of how you made this to work for you. Here is a link to the build tread '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>> If you need any more info let me know Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knife maker man Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 Hello everyone. Like some of you, I am also new to blacksmithing. I have made several knives via the stock removal method, but am eager to forge my own blades. I uploaded a picture of a forge that I built and a RR anvil I made. It's 24" long and I got it for free from a coworker. I work for a trucking co, and my boss generously said I can have whatever I like from the scrap metal bin. So I got a large brake drum and scrap metal for the forge. The only thing I bought was that brass valve. I have read on here that an anvil can bend/break at the hardy hole, so I made hardy tools that extend down to rest on the base. The 3/4" hardy hole I made is just for keeping the tool in place. You guys think that should work? I'm fixing up my backyard and can't wait to get started making more knives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigred1o1 Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 the only problem with this set up is that the hardies tools could mushroom at the point of contact with the base and you will get stuck when you try to take them out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Coke Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 Greetings Knife Maker, Anvil OK except what Big Red said,,,, Forge not so OK .... Are you going to use a compressor for air?? Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knife maker man Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 xxxx... Good point about mushrooming the tools. For air I was planning to attach some kind of electric air blower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Coke Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 Greetings Again, Ya gona need a bigger pipe ... low pressure big volume... Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigred1o1 Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 woops did not even realize that was the forge under there as well you might want to reconsider the cone shape as getting ash and clinkers out of there will be a bit of a pain a simple T shaped pipe fitting will give you far less problems with your air intake off to one side '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>> a quick search of the gallery let me snag this photo hope it helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 Yeah, Big Red's right, the cone is going to be mostly problems if it works at alll. Check the solid fuel forge section for good designs. Does your trucking company have a shop guy/mechanic? Ask him to save you a broken drive axle. Set on end, flange up, they make really surprisingly good anvils. Donuts and coffee might smooth the search. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knife maker man Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 That makes sense for sure. Creating more volume is what I was attempting to do with the funnel. With the tube going into the funnel I capped it off and then drilled holes on the sides so that the air will be pushed to the walls of the funnel. The attempt is to create even air flow going to the bottom of the drum. I plan to drill more holes on the bottom plate. I haven't lit it up yet, but I have hooked up air to it and air comes out pretty good. I also have nothing to compare it to either. I don't personally know a single person who does anything like this. All I can really do is try it out, see what isn't working, figure/find out what to do to fix it, and try again. Improvise, overcome, and adapt as I've been taught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knife maker man Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 Sorry, the last post I saw was Jim's before the last post I made. I do have a T were the pipe L's off. I am thinking that the internal pipe setup may cause problems getting old ash and stuff out. Hopefully not too much trouble. The picture of the forge helps some, but would he have any internal parts that can't be seen? I am actually one of the mechanics here. I've been here for 8 years and can only think of twice a rear axel being thrown away. I don't have nearly unlimited amounts of broken leaf springs and lots of brake drums. Ultimately if I need to scrap it and sart over I'm ok with that. I love building things. And I appreciate any advice given. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knife maker man Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 So if I cut the end off and welded on a larger nipple, and let the air just go straight up, it would work better? Would a rigged up leaf blower be ok to use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 You're seriously over thinking your air supply. You don't even want an even blast up through your fuel, you want to localize it to maybe 3" dia or say 8-9 sq/in area. The fuel needs to be deep enough to consume the oxy before it reaches the steel. changing the shape and size of the heart of the fire is fuel and blast management but generally larger across means a deeper mound with more air, it'll spread on it's own. You have exhaust pipe available and exhaust flapper caps. No? make the vertical part of the tuyere from 4" exhaust pipe 10-12" long. About half way up "T"weld in a piece of 2-3" long enough, say 6-8" to connect to your blower. Now clamp the flapper cap upside down to the bottom of the vertical pipe and make a counter weight to keep it closed and act a an easy place to open it with a piar of tongs, stock or a deft boot to dump ash. This is exactly what I made for my large coal forge and it took me all of half an hour, including making a flange to pip rivet it to the bottom of my forge pan. If I used a brake drum or other fire pot it might have taken me a little longer to make a suitable flange but I don't think so. You're falling into a trap most of us have as beginners. WE all tend to everything and really over design some really basic and simple tools till we actually know what works and why. Forge or hearth literally means "fire place." When I was a kid, maybe 10 or 11 I distinctly remember Mother yelling at Dad to make me a forge OUTSIDE! GEORGE, get that boy out of MY house and let him play at blacksmithing but do it OUTSIDE! What I'd been doing is building a fire in the fireplace and using the little hand bellows to heat steel and forge it on the bricks. I might have been able to weld had I known ANYTHING about forging, it was the sparking yellow steel I was pulling from the fire that got Mother going so. She never yelled at Dad unless it was REALLY important. Okay, enough old memories. The point is a forge is a really simple piece of equipment. It can be made of wood and dirt with a clay pipe for an air blast. Some extras are good, like cut outs to allow long stock to lay where you need it or slide out helpers to support long stock, tong racks are really handy too, the fire is where you need to change tongs the most often so I like them right there. I guess that's a long enough post for Saturday morning. I even got some childhood memories in and kept on topic. WOW, must be a record for me. End ramble. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knife maker man Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 You are most certainly right. Your description sounds easy to make and I'm sure perfectly effective. Deffinetly sounds easier to clean than mine. For the bottom of the bowl, keep the plate? Or should I get something more like a metal grate? I never had a fireplace until I was older. My being yeld at was for grabbing a screwdriver and dismantling the toaster, microwave, sterio, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knife maker man Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 Quick update. Thank you frosty and red. I went and read all of the solid fuel forge posts and looked at lots if picture. I have a much better understanding now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 My pleasure, feels good to be helpful now and then. the air grate in my large forge is a 4"rd. pattern of 3/8" holes drilled in a piece of 5/16"(maybe) plate. I have almost all the holes plugged with 1/4" dome head rivets because that's WAY too much air grate. Were I to build it again I'd use a simple pattern of bars welded with gaps between but not so many sq. inches. I don't think I've built a fire in my coal forge in 4-5 years, I'm a gas forge guy under normal circumstances but seem to have a natural knack for making fires do what I want if I tinker a bit. I'd use coal more if it weren't such a PITA to get. I can go to an old mine and dig my own but the seam is weathered enough it's really clinkery coal now. <sigh> charcoal is nice but puts out a lot of sweat making heat and costs more than propane or i labor intensive to make in quantity. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geehi Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 G'day everyone - my first post but I have been browsing the site for a while. I recently bought this anvil at a Farm Clearing Sale at Yankalilla in South Australia. It is branded "BROOKS" with "WH" beneath the name. It weighs 127lb as per the numbers "1 0 25" stamped on the opposite side. Does anyone have any knowledge of where this anvil would have come from and its age? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doggonemess Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 . It weighs 127lb as per the numbers "1 0 25" stamped on the opposite side. Does anyone have any knowledge of where this anvil would have come from and its age? Wouldn't it be 137 lbs? Or did you mean that and accidentally hit 2 instead of 3? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doggonemess Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 My work (Anne Arundel Community College) has this anvil in the metal shop. It's a Pieh Smithy Special TFS, double horn. Sorry for the cruddy picture, it was dark and I had to get close to get the writing. They're going to install a gas forge this summer. I'm excited. Just a little bit. Or maybe a lot excited. http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37382-pieh-smithy-special-tfs/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geehi Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Wouldn't it be 137 lbs? Or did you mean that and accidentally hit 2 instead of 3? Oops, Hit the 2 instead of the 1 - should be 127lbs. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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