HondoWalker Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 Well my budget is as close to zero as you can get. I built my forge out of car parts and donated cinderblocks. My first 5 forgings I did using channel locks and corn tongs from the dollar store. It was very difficult using those things. I needed tongs. So I looked online and people want $50 for those things! No way can I afford that. I scrape up the $4 in change I found and went to Lowes and bought a piece of rebar. I forged a set of tongs out of it. Yeah they're not very good. Didn't expect them to be. But they work far, far better than dollar store corn tongs. I figure I can muddle through with them long enough to aquire the talent needed to make good tongs. Sorta like my anvil. It is a piece of 2 inch thick by 8 inch round sunk into a large chunk of wood. I might be able to get the $15 anvil at Harbor Freight in a few weeks but I keep hearing they suck. I would like to have a real anvil but it's just not possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 do NOT waste the money on HF anvils !!!!!!! read the posts on acquiring anvils in the anvil section, a good working anvil does not have to look like a modern london pattern anvil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 BP001 Easy to make tongs They work. A collection of improvised anvils The more you read the less you have to spend. Drive by the car repair shops, or other places that service vehicles. They throw away tons of usable metal. Go to the businesses in your area and ask to look into their dumpsters, ask first and tell them why you want to look and that your a blacksmith, not a scrapper. Wear PPE to show them your serious. There should be some welding or manufacturing shops in your area. They throw away all sorts of usable materials. Always ask first and then thank them before you leave. Second time there bring cookies or donuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 On 5/11/2020 at 9:18 AM, ThomasPowers said: Watching someone who doesn't know what they are doing, may be amusing; but generally doesn't help. I can't agree there Thomas. Watching someone do something that doesn't work is very educational for the same reasons we share our mistakes with new comers. Remember Edison's response to the news paper interviewer? Never let a failure go to waste. It's the things that almost sort of work that fool the new guys and why IFI is so important to the craft. Videos and such get to be vetted here with all the tolerance we have for: dangerous, mediocrity and fraud. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HondoWalker Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 Thanks for the great tips. Now I gotta conince the wife to take me to the machinist shops and such. She isn't very supportive of my hobbies but she helps a little. I am disabled and can't drive. Lost too much eyesight due to strokes. Also lost a ton of my coordination and balance. It took me three years to be able to turn bowls that don't look like Micheal Fox made them. Learning how to drive nails again in my free time. It isn't fun if it's not hard to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 Stroke, TBI, both are similar enough to compare issues without surprises. There are lots of us here, I'm lucky I'm still reasonable functional. Did you watch the Space X launch? American private enterprise just put two Americans in orbit on an American spacecraft from American soil using a reusable launch vehicle and capsule. Falcon 9 blew out the camera when it landed dead center of the target rings on "I Still Love You" the recovery barge. Dragon's on orbit to rendezvous with ISS. Yeah I'm pumped, can't help it. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 1, 2020 Share Posted June 1, 2020 I really wish my Father was still here to have seen it. He worked for NASA during the 1960's; I once asked him his thoughts about commercial spacecraft----he was all for them, said that anything that got us working in space was a good thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluerooster Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 On 5/30/2020 at 2:10 PM, HondoWalker said: Sorta like my anvil. It is a piece of 2 inch thick by 8 inch round sunk into a large chunk of wood. While not the best anvil, it's most likely better than one from HF. Thomas, My uncle also worked for NASA. He designed and built the ulage motors for the Saturn V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
localsmith Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 I started with a HF 18 (or was it 20#?) anvil and it is better than nothing. Most beginners won't know what to look for in an anvil anyways so just having something to beat on is better than nothing at all. The first one cracked on me at the base but they are pretty good about returns in my personal experience. Once you figure out what kind of an anvil you want then you can look into something better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 I can get improvised steel anvils at the scrapyard for 20 UScents a pound; what is the HF running these days? (Nearest HF is 60 miles away so I don't drop in very often...Scrapyard is 6 miles) I think the Acciaio anvils are now considered suitable "starter anvils" for folks who refuse to go improvised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natkova Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Poker is important , chase araound fuel with it to get good heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USANewbie Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 I made my anvil out of forklift tines. Its better than a cast iron anvil shaped object. A ball bearing bounces off its surface. I called a forklift repair shop and asked if they had any old forks that i could buy. They agreed to sell me a pair for $60. One day when my skill improves i plan on buying an actual anvil but for now, in my opinion, forklift tines are better than a rail track or anvil shaped object. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natkova Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 Always bend thing that you poke fire with that way you will know which side is hot! Otherwise you will get burned . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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