Bud in PA Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 my son is helping me to learn to use this forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 The youngster teaching the old dog new tricks !! A wonderful son you have there. Welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 Hi Bud. Welcome! What part of PA are you in? There are a couple hand fulls of Pennsylvanians on here. If ya could, put your general location in your profile, there might be other blacksmiths close by. If you feel like it, in "Introduce Yourself" tell us a little about yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickOHH Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 Hey bud , welcome to the site. There are a bunch of smiths all over PA. I'm out by philly daswulf is on the other side and there's people spread out in between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Welcome, depending on how far you wish to drive, some guilds that may be within driving distance include: - Philadelphia Blacksmiths Guild https://sites.google.com/site/stuarttheblacksmith/home/hammertymephilly-the-philadelpia-blacksmiths-guild - Pennsylvania Artist Blacksmith Guild: http://www.pabasite.org/ - Pittsburgh Area Artist Blacksmiths Association: http://www.paaba.net/ - New Jersey Blacksmith Association: ?website? - Central Virginia Blacksmith Guild http://cvbg.org/ - Blacksmith Guild of the Potomac http://www.bgop.org/ - Mid-Atlantic Smiths Association http://www.masasmiths.org/ - Tidewater Blacksmith Guild http://tidewaterblac....com/index.html - Chesapeake Forge Guild meets at the Kinder Farm Park in Millersville http://www.chesapeakeforge.org/ For a more complete list visit: http://www.abana-chapter.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud in PA Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 Hello I'm Bud in Pa I had trouble posting here until my son came by and gave me a few lessons. At 71 yrs. old this electronic stuff is not my best skill. I have always wanted to try black smithing but as usual life got in the way. I figured that if I don't try it now I'd have to wait for my next life to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 1 minute ago, Bud in PA said: Hello I'm Bud in Pa I had trouble posting here until my son came by and gave me a few lessons. At 71 yrs. old this electronic stuff is not my best skill. I have always wanted to try black smithing but as usual life got in the way. I figured that if I don't try it now I'd have to wait for my next life to do it. I have to say I have respect for a man of your age that's willing to still get dirty and learn something new. I hate to admit it but I'll probably be stuck in a rut at that point in my life and doubt I'll be tryin to pick up new skills. That's dependent of course on whether they figure out how to extend life well into the 100s by then (40 years from now) so who really knows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud in PA Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 Well I just posted when I didn't mean to. I live in the Pocono Mountains in north east PA about 3 miles from the NASCAR track. When I finally decided to do this I went on Youtube and saw a video by Dan Brazzell about brake drum forges. Well I use to weld for a living many years ago, so with a brake drum a bed frame some EMT, and sheet metal I made one. Mike I appreciate that. I guess I'm just too dumb to admit that I'm old, although my wife keeps hollering at me for doing what I have always done. Being on a fixed (read broken) income I have learned to make do. I bought my cross peen at HF for about $7 and a 3lb. sledge for about the same. I chucked that one in the vise and attacked it with my angle grinder and belt sander. It almost looks like a rounding hammer. I bought a furnace blower off the internet for the forge. I have a piece or RR track for a anvil, as I found out that I can't afford a real anvil, or so I thought. I contacted a guy on the local for sale list who advertised an anvil for $250. I talked to him and he admitted that it had no ring or much bounce.He offered it to me for $125 and said that he was a scrap hauler. I said that I might be interested if I could find a piece of steel to make a new face. He offered to get me a piece of a fork from a forklift for $40. I told him he has a deal. I noticed on youtube that when these people repair an anvil by welding on it they do a whole rod at once, which kills the heat treating. I learned to take your time and weld about 1 inch at a time on opposite sides and from different directions. Even if it doesn't work, it's still better than my piece of track, as it will weigh over 100 lbs. Thanks for listening. Bud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Bud, depending on the condition of that anvil it might be perfectly usable without welding a plate on it. A few imperfections don't ruin a work piece. And hot steel your hammering into shape is way softer then a dead sounding anvil. But it's yours and you do what you see fit. Maybe give it a try first unless it is severely messed up. Better to start late then never Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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