Lawls Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Hello, all. My name is Josh, or Lawls. I'll answer to either. I am a 22 year old aspiring blacksmith from the North East Arkansas area. I am very interested in smithing, and am in the process of setting up my first smithy. Currently I'm having trouble finding an affordable anvil. I have a good vice and work bench, and am starting to slowly accumulate tools. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, and I look forward with talking to you lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Welcome to IFI from the Nevada desert. Don't worry about an anvil. Just find yourself a good sized piece of scrap iron, and get to work. Look through the threads on homemade anvils for ideas. Once you have an anvil, a hammer, and a heat source, you can make a lot of the tooling you need. What got you interested in smithimg? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawls Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 This article originally started the fire in my belly. Since I read it I've been picking up whatever info I can! Youtube videos, online articles, and several books. The more info I get my hands on, the more I itch to build my smithy. It's just a slower process than I wish it was. lol The thing that interests me the most about it are the tools. Specifically the hammers. So manly I want to set up a shop to make/repair tools for my town. Especially hammers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Welcome aboard Josh, glad to have you. Thanks for the link, that's an excellent article. Of course we manly men of the blacksmith's craft know just how manly we are but don't brag about it, folk know naturally . . . when they get down wind. <grin> Don't get in a hurry there are blacksmithing tools in your area if you want to try hard to find, try finding blacksmithing anything in Alaska. Search TPAAT here. the Thomas Powers Anvil Acquisition Technique is one of, if not the best way to find stuff you're looking for. In short, tell EVERYONE what you're looking for: friends and family of course, their friends and family, the mail man, the checker at the grocery store the people in line in front of and behind you, Church, work, diner, fancy restaurant, fishing at the creek, the guy at the next urinal, the cop writing you up for speeding. . . EVERY DARNED BODY. You'd be amazed at how many folk have old uncle Barnard's anvil or whatever getting in the way in the garage, barn etc. I found my Soderfors when one of the guys at work told me his neighbor was getting out of farrier work, knees and back were shot. Regardless, do NOT get in a hurry and you're a LOT less likely to spend good money on junk. Read through the anvil subjects here, we talk about the things all the time and are frankly EAGER to help folk find and evaluate anvils and other tools and equipment. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawls Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 Thanks for the advice and the warm welcome! That's what I've been doing now, asking everyone I know. I have a friend that owns a ranch and he knows someone with some old anvils. I'm hoping to hear back from him soon. And I'm hoping that he won't break the bank! If he contacts me, I will definitely make sure to go to the anvil forum before buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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