Mark Ling Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 Blacksmithing do's and don'ts; Got any? DON'T mill the face of an anvil. DO where safety glasses when forging, grinding, etc.. DON'T use a semi brake drum to make a forge. Come on now, lets see what yall got. Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 All steel near a forge is considered hot until proven otherwise. Don't give a new to smithing student a sledge hammer to strike with---unless you are using a scrap anvil! Don't turn your back on a student with hot steel in their hands. Do Hydrate in the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 5 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: Do Hydrate in the summer. excellent one! well they all were, but that one spoke to me. Don't make a sword the first time you forge, or the second, or the third,... Railroad spikes don't make good steel for knives. do remove the hot cut hardy once done cutting. Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 Do NOT use an anvil as a table for torch work! Do use a hammer on anyone who uses an anvil as a table for torch work and don't feel bad if you can't remember the number to call 911. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 Don't name your business "Forge" unless you're a counterfeiter or a maker of blacksmith forges. Draw out stock with either the edge or the horn of your anvil. Flatter peins leave less texture to clean up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 Don't.......... wear gloves and enjoy the freedom of handling hot iron. Cuz when you go to pick up that hot object just like you normally do it be too late to come to realization that you hadn't slipped on your bulky leather glove(s) Do......... get the word out that a blacksmith shop is not a steel mill with blast furnace, billowing black coal smoke and heavy machinery pounding away casting a shadow against the walls from 40 foot tall flames in the furnace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gote Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 OK I am going to stick out my chin. Most of whatever we do and not do depends upon the circumstances. I work on mild steel, alone on a double horn anvil. I wear eye (and ear) protection when grinding but not when forging. I cannot remember seeing anyone I have been forging with, including my masters. who has been doing that. I have never seen any kind of steel splinters or sparks coming up from forging. (but I do dress all chisels and such tools so they are nice and smoth.) The only "spray" I have seen, comes when fire welding and that comes horizontally in anvil height where my leather apron catches it. I would not mill or grind an anvil with only a steel plate at the top. However, I own a solid steel anvil and when I got her I had her milled about 3/16" to remove sway and dents. The result (including rebound) is excellent. I do not use a flatter (and I have never seen one used in real life) I use the anvil face. I straighten whatever I want to straighten on it and it becomes straight. If the face were dished I could not do that. I do not draw out on my horn because the radius is too large at the base and where the radius is small there is no mass below. The pein is considerably better but less heat is lost when using the anvil edge. What I do is that I "strike when the steel is hot." The stock goes back in the fire before it becomes blackish. I believe that is a rather universal "DO". A Do Not is: Do not work when tired. A missed hit is a sign of tiredness - take a break. More than two missed hits - call it a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 13 hours ago, Frosty said: Do use a hammer on anyone who uses an anvil as a table for torch work and don't feel bad if you can't remember the number to call 911. I dialed nine (9) but there is no eleven number (11) on my phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51 Papy Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Do Not carry the hammer. If you attempt to put the hammer in the tool belt turn the forge blower off and stop for the day. Did the later this weekend...missed the hammer loop (it and my belt in the wood shop) and hit my heal. First thing I learned framing was the hammer is in your hand or on your belt. It's hard to leave it on the anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanOhio Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 8 hours ago, gote said: I wear eye (and ear) protection when grinding but not when forging. I cannot remember seeing anyone I have been forging with, including my masters. who has been doing that. I have never seen any kind of steel splinters or sparks coming up from forging. (but I do dress all chisels and such tools so they are nice and smoth.) The only "spray" I have seen, comes when fire welding and that comes horizontally in anvil height where my leather apron catches it. Just about a month ago I had a little tiny piece of scale fly up and burn me in the nose. Before that I was lax on wearing eye protection while forging, half and half. Not anymore. I've been burnt in the eye before by hot metal, it's not pleasant and I am in no hurry to have it happen again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 I had a piece of rice coal pop in the fire yesterday and send hot shards everywhere. By the worst bit of luck, it was one of the few moments of the afternoon when I had my safety goggles pushed up, and it caught me right on the lower eyelid. Not fun. If it were just me, I would probably be somewhat more lackadaisical about PPE, but I'm trying to be a good example for my son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted August 2, 2016 Author Share Posted August 2, 2016 That happens a lot in my coke forge; pieces of coke go flying and popping. Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Which is why: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Special Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Don't do serious work without money up front. Don't let your messy personal life stop you from forging. Do enjoy yourself. Do be safe. Do do the voodoo that you do so well. Don't engage with morons, you won't convince them, and you'll vex the moron. Also, thou shalt not throw the hammer, remember what happened the last time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Gote, I often use the edge of the anvil because it's easier to keep the stock straight, and forging on the horn is much louder. I'm actually planning to make a better stand that clamps the anvil down to stop the ringing. I've wanted to try out a double horn Refflinghaus for some time now, partly because the top of the horn is on the same plane as the face, and it's conic instead of swelled like my farrier-type anvil. It sure seems like having a straight conic section would make it easier to keep things straight while drawing out stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 I haven't had scale or sparks fly up but I have had a piece of stock slip out of the tongs and bounce up and tag me on the cheek below the eye---it was the hot end too and did not leave a burn but a *cut* neatly cauterized. Of course I get my regular prescription done as safety glasses so I an never without them save in bed or in the shower---I tend to swim wearing them... I do draw out on my large fat anvil horn---515# Fisher as I like the "soft" curve rather than a more abrupt one. Take a sledge with the face forged/ground to match and you get a lovely effect with no chance of cold shuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mtnstream Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Do make your own tongs and tools Don't despair when hard, long work goes into a failure Do push the limits every day in the shop Do push the outside world out of your shop with every hammer blow Do be proud of what you make with your hard work and two hands Don't be limited by conventional "wisdom" On 8/1/2016 at 9:55 AM, rockstar.esq said: Don't name your business "Forge" unless you're a counterfeiter or a maker of blacksmith forges. Draw out stock with either the edge or the horn of your anvil. Flatter peins leave less texture to clean up Def: forge noun 1. a blacksmith's workshop; a smithy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted August 2, 2016 Author Share Posted August 2, 2016 27 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: I haven't had scale or sparks fly up but I have had a piece of stock slip out of the tongs and bounce up and tag me on the cheek below the eye---it was the hot end too and did not leave a burn but a *cut* neatly cauterized. Of course I get my regular prescription done as safety glasses so I an never without them save in bed or in the shower---I tend to swim wearing them... I do draw out on my large fat anvil horn---515# Fisher as I like the "soft" curve rather than a more abrupt one. Take a sledge with the face forged/ground to match and you get a lovely effect with no chance of cold shuts. Yeah, ive had a railroad spike fly out of the tongs and hit me in the face, leave a 4 inch burn on my cheak, and chip a tooth. Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 36 minutes ago, littleblacksmith said: Yeah, ive had a railroad spike fly out of the tongs and hit me in the face, leave a 4 inch burn on my cheak, and chip a tooth. Littleblacksmith Proper fitting of tongs to the work piece is important. Even then sometimes the workpiece gets away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Clean Forge Fires The cleaner the fire the better the results for forging advanced steel alloys, and forge welding. Colored news print should be avoided when starting to light the charcoal, coke or coal, fire in the forge. The colored ink usually has heavy metals in their composition. Metals such as barium, and copper. Other metals can also be used such as zinc, chromium, molybdenum, cadmium, aluminum, and others. If newspaper must be used, for such a purpose, stick with plain newsprint or black ink printed paper only. Wood shavings are a better bet. But never use particle board, o s b., plywood scraps, or pressure treated wood. The glue, in them, is toxic. (such as urea formaldehyde, etc.) Not something that we want to breathe. Wood shavings can be had, by the bagful. at any woodworking shop. They have to get rid of the stuff. You could probably get even more if you sweep up the shop floor, and probably acquire a friend for life. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 On 8/1/2016 at 11:55 AM, rockstar.esq said: Don't name your business "Forge" unless you're a counterfeiter or a maker of blacksmith forges. Why not? Fenris Forge has served me well for many years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kozzy Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 2 hours ago, Steve Sells said: Why not? Fenris Forge has served me well for many years Playing around with google translate...Fen is Hone in Hungarian and ris is a loose (poetic according to the dictionary) form of rise in english so...honing/raising your craft? Yea, I know...but now you have a plausible answer when someone asks you what the "Fenris" part has to do with forging As to do's and dont's: Don't suck the fun out of it by the temptations of someone waving money at you to do a project you wish you had never taken on. Don't think you'll remember that really great idea you had..write it down (or take that photo when you see something that catches your fancy) Don't convince yourself mystery scrap saves you money on critical projects Do something else when the day/project seems to be cursed instead of beating your head against the wall Do take the time to recognize your own successes (a darned hard one for me...I nit-pick the flaws) Do experiment Do make sure that your wife gets something really special once in a while from your forge to help justify the time you spent not mowing the lawn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Fame-wolf Forge is not good enough for you Kozzy? Then take a look at the images for Fenris when you google it and try to imagine Steve as "an elven warrior".... Ah Steve you're not going to be at Quad-State this year are you?... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 38 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: Fame-wolf Forge is not good enough for you Kozzy? Then take a look at the images for Fenris when you google it and try to imagine Steve as "an elven warrior".... Ah Steve you're not going to be at Quad-State this year are you?... I plan to. I am sure I will see ya there, maybe ya can take a crow bar to your wallet and buy a copy of my book to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gote Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 I think the effect is marginal but most paper is usually filled with minerals that add to the ashes. My dressmaking aunt would never use her tailor's scissors on paper. One advantage with my forced draft "chimney" is that there is good suction also when I start the fire and the smoke from the kindling does not get out to where my nose is. Since I do some wood working I always use shavings as starter. If I had sparks or pits and pieces flying around I would wear safety glasses but I never have. However, I always try to keep my fire covered to conserve heat and I never hit material that is not hot enough to be softened. I use long stock instead of tongs as much as I can. When drawing out I hit over the edge of the anvil or I use the pein but before the stock becomes too cold I flatten/straighten on the face so the stock is flat and straight when it goes back into the fire. This means that the stock is squeezed in the right direction twice. Is this not common practice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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