acp380 Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Hello everyone. This is my first post here. My name is Adam and I reside in south texas(Jim wells county). I am a welder by trade but trying to get into a little blacksmithing to compliment my welding work. In the process of acquiring tools and setting up a smithy. For the next 3 years i am a stay at home dad until all my kids are in school and then after that I will be working for myself(hopefully). I have yet to strike my first hammer blow but I've been lurking Facebook groups and doing a lot of reading. .currently I'm reading Lorelei Sims "the backyard blacksmith". It's a good read for a beginner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Welcome aboard! We have quite a few Texans here, so if you add your location to your profile information, you greatly improve your chances of connecting with someone close. It sounds like you're on the right track with doing a lot of reading, and BYB is an excellent start. Get yourself a large supply of snacks and beverages and read everything that catches your attention here on IFI, paying special attention to information about getting started and basic techniques. Don't be afraid to ask questions, but DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST! The curmudgeons are helpful, but they hate to repeat themselves! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Welcome aboard Adam, glad to have you. Just telling us where you live in one post isn't going to stick in our memories. Putting your general location in the header will put it there on every post, you never know who lives on the next block. Don't get stuck on what you think an anvil is, the London pattern is relatively recent and most anything heavy and hard will work just fine. I like truck axles buried flange up for expedient anvils. RR rail makes an excellent anvil, especially if you mount it on end, you don't really need much more than the width of the hammer face to be an effective anvil. Iforge has tens of thousands of posts archived regarding almost any form of blacksmithing organized by subject. Doing some reading will speed you up the curve if nothing else you'll learn who the real players are, pick up the jargon and basic knowledge. Oh, we LOVE pics, anything you'd show a child you don't want to have to explain adult stuff. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 2 hours ago, Frosty said: you don't want to have to explain adult stuff. Frosty The Lucky. That's good advice in many settings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 5 hours ago, rockstar.esq said: That's good advice in many settings! True, unfortunately all too often it's adults who don't want to hear adult stuff. <sigh> Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 10 hours ago, Frosty said: you don't want to have to explain adult stuff. Especially since most of what gets labelled "adult" these days is actually puerile at best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 20 minutes ago, JHCC said: Especially since most of what gets labelled "adult" these days is actually puerile at best. I should've said, "grown up" in my last post I suppose shouldn't I. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acp380 Posted July 13, 2017 Author Share Posted July 13, 2017 Profile updated. I actually picked up an anvil on my recent trip to California. It's not the best but it should serve me well until I can find something better. 100lb vulcan. I also have a 100lb slab of mild steel that I'll use for a striker and any heavy work so I can save the vulcan from abuse. Also have a 4" shaft of 4140 that's about 12" long that I would like to make a post anvil with. And also a piece of crane rail track 18" long. It's a little on the small side but I'll find a use for it. Now I just need to build stands for them..I am I welder so I plan on making 3 legged stands for the vulcan and the striker. The shaft I'll probably stick in the end of a pipe filled with sand or concrete and then set the pipe in concrete a couple feet into the ground. I know it will be permanent but I can think of a way to solidly mount it on my uneven dirt. Unless I build a 3 legged stand for it as well..advice on my stand plans is welcome. Ps. I'm currently going through the forge blower pictured to clean it up and replace bearings. .as soon as it is back together I'll build a new stand and firepot for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Man, you're doing great. Any one of those hunks-o'-steel will do you just fine, and you've got four! There are some good threads about RR track anvils here on IFI. The one main thing is to put it on end, so that the mass of the rail is underneath the hammer blow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 acp380 There are lots of anvil stands out there. I imitated a three legged stand that I saw in person at a hammer-in. Hollow rectangular tubing for the legs going to a large "C" section that's wider than the anvil, cut to the length of the anvil base. I welded plates to close up the feet of the legs after I'd packed them with sand, ash, and oil. The oil was to help prevent rusting. I didn't measure it or anything but I must have been overly generous on one of the three. When I was welding the plate on to close it up, there was flame and smoke coming out wherever I hadn't welded yet! I used angle iron to make clamps which pull down two anvil feet per side. There are two half-inch bolts running through the clamp, through the C Channel and into nuts I welded into the web of the C channel in line with the holes. The first time I fit everything up, I tightened the bolts and the anvil quit ringing. Taking it all apart to grind, paint, etc. was a whole lot harder. The tension on the bolts pulled the threads out of shape which made them a bear to turn. I snapped one of the bolt heads clean off when I was in final assembly. Even with three bolts, the anvil doesn't ring. I've bought grade 8 bolts and nuts with visions of replacing all my hardware, but I haven't found time to do the grinding, welding, and painting. Lots of anvil stands include some kind of soft material between the anvil and the stand. I messed around with chain, magnets, silicone, rubber, and wood trying to get the anvil to quit ringing with no success. My current stand is just metal to metal. The only dampening material is the sand in the hollow legs. About the only other thing I can think to mention is that my anvils base wasn't particularly flat. I cleaned it up, then used a big magic marker to ink the whole bottom. With a straight edge, I rubbed and arc from one foot to the other. Wherever it scraped the ink off, was a high spot. In my case, the parting line from the casting was proud of the feet which created a rocker effect. I didn't have to remove very much material, but it took quite a while to get to where the whole base was flat. I used an angle grinder with a 50 grit flap disk. It's been a while since I made it, but I bought all the steel new from a metal distributor. It was less than $50 for the tubing and the C channel. While I was at it, I made a quench cup and a moveable tool tray that fit into sockets in the stand. The tray adds some rattle when I'm forging but it's nothing compared to the ringing I used to live with. I made it so the tray's lip points downwards so I can just blow scale and debris off. I'm planning to stick some magnets to the underside of the tray so punches and stuff don't go rolling off the tray on me. That way I can pull them off when it's time to clean up without having scale sticking to the magnets. The tool tray is wonderful to work with. I made it with a round shank that fits into a square socket. That allows scale and junk to just fall through the open corners without preventing a nice fit up. The tray stays wherever I put it, but I can easily shift it around with my right knee. It's surface is maybe an inch above the C channel, and it rides two to three inches below the bottom of my anvil's heel. Just make sure you measure carefully. If the shank on your tool tray is too long, you won't clear the socket before the tray hits the anvil's heel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Nice to meet ya, if ever near me, be sure to drop by! dont forget your hammer! Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.