Borntoolate Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 All, I have been working on my hammer technigue a good bit and trying to practice moving the metal the way Brian teaches. I have a long way to go and so many things to learn but I was curious as to the following: Considering only the near and far side of the anvil which do you use the most? I can understand that it depends perhaps a lot on what you are doing and what you are making and what you are starting with. But in general where do you find yourself working the most... On the near or far side of the Anvil? Also say why? Near or Far? I for one feel the far side is my most often used spot. Why? Seems that there is a lot of drawing out needed quite often. the half hammer blows on the far side with the rounded hammer can make some serious headway in drawing out. With the right heat I can almost overdo the divets if I am not careful. It's amazing that with the right hit the metal can just blow out to the sides and make a serious divet to aide in drawing out. Drawing out is a pain regardless and this makes it so much faster. I must admit I have been working on several tongs that I need so there is a lot of drawing out the reins needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easilyconfused Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Far side for me! I use the inside to isolate an area only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Private Entrance Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Far side for me. Broke my right wrist in my 20's and the near side makes for an awkward angle, especially when drawing out. Like you, I am making tongs. Even though my first pair isn't terribly great, it is a noticeable improvement over the channel locks I had been using, and my 2nd pair has come along much faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 About the same. I use the edges for cutting shoulders using half faced and edge blows. If you want a tenon on the end of a bar you do it on the near edge. If you want to make a leaf then it goes with an edge blow on the far side, etc. That's also why about three inches of the edge near the horn is slightly rounded and the rest are sharp. Some times you need a radiused shoulder, other times a sharp one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 If you draw out iron with half face on the far edge, then you need to calculate "clean-up," meaning you will be spending time correcting the 'divots,' waves, and side-spread. I will often use the horn for drawing. I don't know which side of the anvil that I use the most; it depends on the project at hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeddly Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Seems I use the near side the most. On a halfway related note, which way do you point the horn? Mine points to the left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I use the horn when I need to do a lot of drawing on my BIG anvil it has a "soft radius" and so doesn't mess up the piece as much. That anvil has pretty sharp edges so I don't use them save for tenons or incuts for dragon's heads, etc. As for the horn direction I have one anvil pointing left and one pointing right and generally one pointing towards me and one pointing away! Why would anyone think that there is a "single right way" when it depends on how a person works and what they do. Last time we had a discussion on this topic I dug out my old smithing references and in the 100+ year old books they showed anvils pointing pretty much all directions including with the horn pointing towards the forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knots Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I almost always use the horn for drawing. The table area flat extends out onto the base of the horn on my anvil a short distance so different contours are available by simply raising or lowering the work piece to tilt or moving back and forth along the length of the horn to find the perfect contour for what I am doing. Most of the time I use a wide blunt straight peen for drawing so I usually stand side to side with the horn at about 45deg. Using this position and tooling the metal moves well without excessive divots. I work mainly with the anvil horn pointing to the right and favor the far side but work all around the anvil since it is my main work surface when forging and especially when using special tooling in my hardy hole. What ever works best for you is the right way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willis Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Both my anvils point left and I like the near side, however I am a big fan of the Far Side cartoons. Does that count? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptree Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Yes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 2---10--11! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I would say its a three way tie between horn, far side and near side. I would consider adding the corners to the list as well. I to have used the Brian method of moving metal. I call it divide and conquer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Maybe I can break the tie, I agree with Frank Turley, I use the horn and virtually all of the face and edges, depending on what I am making. I'm only a farrier though, what do I know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ten Hammers Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 The real question is which hammer do you use ( OK Frank I know how you do it ). Far side starts a dull point and then the neck for the leaf stem. Horn continues the stem till length is happy. Full face (or far corner) next to smooth the stem. Near side (or near corner) to finish the inboard transition. There is no real answer on which side I use the most. I use them all. I also use cross and straight piens and rounding and ball piens on all sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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