trk109 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) Hi Guys I live in NW Indiana, in my 50's, actually given this anvil for xmas by my bro. I am millwright/maint tech by trade. At this point not sure what I am gonna do with this tool yet, just learning about it, not sure of maker yet. I cleaned it up a bit. face is about 4.5" x 15" I will be reading up on things for a while, takin it slow. bear with my computer skills please. thanks Tom Edited December 27, 2015 by trk109 duplicate pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Welcome aboard Tom, glad to have you. That anvil looks to be in decent shape only a little chipping on the edges. Please don't do any grinding on the face. It's a limited thickness and every bit removed is gone forever. Once you have some time smithing is time to decide if and how much you want to do with the edges. You'll hear a lot of guys say radius them and if it was in my hands it's what I'd do but I have a few decades messing with fires and hitting things on anvils. What else do you have in your kit? Have you decided what kind of fire you like? A millwright won't have any trouble building one so let us know when you decide what you want to use. Smooth faced hammers are good, any type but I suggest you stick to 2lbs. or less till you've developed good hammer control. Tongs, hot cuts, punches, chisels, etc. etc. are good learning projects, tongs aren't a beginning project but once you've made your punches, sets, etc. you'll be ready for tongs. One thing I recommend for sure is hook up with the local blacksmith's organization. Nothing beats some time with an experienced smith, you'll learn more in a few hours than days trying to figure it out yourself. They'll put you in contact with tools, equipment, materials, gatherings, BBQs, etc. all the good stuff, Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 trk,Welcome. a forge can be simple to make, just search some. life frosty said depends what you want to use/ have access to. but after much procrastination I built a brake rotor forge easily to use coal/charcoal (prefer Bituminous coal) and have been happy i did since. You have the "usual" hard part down as far as finding what looks like a good usable anvil. build a fire and play around. make an S hook or something. you'll probably like it. I agree with rounding the edges a bit. A friend "helped" me with that and I've been glad since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trk109 Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 Thanks for the welcome guys, nothing yet in the kit, but I am taking all you guys say into consideration. Time to do a lot of reading. thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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