Hello from 20878 (Gaithersburg, MD)

[jcornell]

Hello - another newbie here.

My son (16) and I have been taking some classes in blacksmithing - it's a marvelous craft, but as of yet we don't have our own forge (I'm saving up for a Chile Tabasco) or forge time anywhere close to our area.

A client gave me an old anvil which I'm going to be grinding down over the next few weekends (very weathered, but deemed sound by one of my instructors, especially for the price - which was free).

Classes were at Sandy Spring Museum (intro) and Carroll County Farm Museum (intermediate).

[David Einhorn]

Welcome to the forum, I am glad to hear that you started taking blacksmithing courses with the Blacksmith Guild of Central Maryland and that you and your son will likely take additional intermediate courses BGCM Classes at the Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster, Maryland.

Please be careful about grinding down anvils. If you bring your anvil to the next http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f81/bgcm-november-monthly-meeting-15412/ taking place starting 9am on November 15th, there will be lots of folks there that can advise you *before* you start grinding. It is too easy to turn a usable anvil into a decorative anvil-shaped-object (ASO) by *overgrinding*. The steel plate at the top is very thin, so grinding it is not advisable, as when the plate is too thin or gone, then it is simply gone.

..Clicking on "User CP" at the top of the page and editing your profile to show your location will go a long way towards helping folk close to you find you. IFI is represented by members from more than 50 countries and a lot of info is location specific......Frosty

Edited November 6, 2009 by UnicornForge

[jcornell]

Thanks for the reply.

When I was in class last weekend, I had Al (Albin Drzewianowski) look at my anvil - he showed me where the top plate ended, what type of sanding disk I should use, etc.

I want to make the horn smooth (it's pebbly right now) and clean up the face (top?) of the anvil - there's a saddle depression in one spot that I most likely will not be able to do anything about.

[David Einhorn]

Great. Be careful not to over grind the plate.