Brewsky88 Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 Brand new to the forum and the forge. I have always loved working with metal and always had an interest in blacksmithing. Until now, getting into the community hadn't been anywhere close to the top of my financial priority list, but now that I have a little bit of disposable income, what better way to use it than by introducing yet another hobby because guns, race cars, and off-roading don't cost enough by themselves. I convinced the Mrs by saying that this one could potentially make me some of the money back...she bought it I'm currently in San Diego, CA and research has shown that this is likely the LEAST popular place for blacksmiths, can't blame y'all, I'm surprised CA doesn't require forges to have catalytic converters. Anyway, I digress. I've been doing a lot of Google Fu and out seems that a lot of what in looking up brings me to this forum, so I figured I might as well join the party. About the only things that I have so far are plans for a small foundry and a forge and have started gathering my materials for the builds. Both with be propane fired to avoid hassle from the EPA. Kidding. About the EPA, not the propane. I hope. Time is a luxury and I'd rather not spend it getting/keeping coals hot. Besides, I have a gas grill so I have the fuel source already on site and built a burner for the price of a big bag of charcoal, high pressure regulator already purchased. I have access to a couple 10 gallon air tanks that I will be cutting open and lining with ceramic wool and covering with satanite (sp?). Now for the expensive part, an anvil, I don't have THAT much disposable income. I had kicked around a couple ideas for this. First starters, the ones that would cost me $0. Taking the head off the 12lb sledge I have in the corner and sinking it halfway in a stump. Research on this showed that it is a VERY controversial topic, some say absolutely no way ever, some love them. So I took another walk around the garage and saw an old hitch, 2x2" steel bar welded in an L, the long end being 12" and the short at 10" with a 1/2" plate gusset welded in. That could definitely work. Then there's the fact of the small work surface with both options. Usable? Yea. Ideal? No. But like many have said, a less than ideal anvil is better than no anvil. Today I got my big break, found out about a shop that has a couple big fork tines laying out back that have been there a couple years. I went to check them out and they're 2 1/2" thick by 6" wide. Dear diary...JACKPOT. Just need to wait until next week when the manager is back so I can find out if I can repurpose them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubalcain2 Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 FINALLY! A newbie that uses complete sentences, Is coherent, AND didn't ask for our opinions of his sword! Brewsky, your gonna fit in just fine. Welcome to the forum/Bedlam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 Welcome aboard -- it's good to have you. If you haven't yet, please READ THIS FIRST!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 Good Morning, Brewsky If you put your location in your Avatar, we might be able to help you find loco/Local people. Fasten the straight part of the Tines together, with the flat cut surfaces, UP. It will now be Yurrr McAnvil. Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anachronist58 Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 Welcome aboard, Mr. Brewsky. Native San Diegan here, go to my profile and see who is hiding out in your back yard. Nothing can keep you from acquiring a satisfactory "transitional" anvil - a 12# Sledge Head is nothing to sneeze at. I have a few U.S.A.'s (Unconvetionally Shaped Anvil) lying about, if you find yourself in a pinch.Let me know by pm if you want to know about some of the resourses here in San Diego County. Cheers, Robert Taylor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewsky88 Posted March 27, 2018 Author Share Posted March 27, 2018 Maybe whoever is hiding in my backyard will mow it for me, it's the least they could do. Lol. I prefer to let people think I'm an idiot than to open my mouth and remove all doubt. Always been one to do as much research that I can on my own instead of posting a new thread asking a question that has been answered a million times already. Regarding the anvil build, I may incorporate all 3 ideas into one setup. Have the fork tine material as the main striking surface with as much mass as I can under the hammer, round off and taper the head of the sledgehammer into a horn with reduced risk of chipping because it won't be taking big hits, then figure something out for the square stock of the hitch. Maybe as a surface for finish work, or see about making some hardy tools with it. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 Something to Heat, Something to Heat with, Something to Hit on, Something to Hit with, Something to hold the Hot thing after Heating, something for the Hitter's Eyes and Ears, something to protect the hitter's outer envelope (skin), an idea of what you are trying to make something into, after it used to be something else in a previous life. A place to hold your wobbly Pop and a tee-towel to try to wipe that stupid grin off your Face. Priceless and soooo simple!!!! Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewsky88 Posted March 27, 2018 Author Share Posted March 27, 2018 Think I've got an idea for most of those, planning on sticking with the old mentality that a blacksmith should make his own tongs so that will likely be one of my first projects. Have a drawer of poundy thingies. I dabble in a little leather working so I can make my own apron, forging in the nude sounds like a worse idea than welding in the nude. I always wear eye and ear pro now because my ear drums think they're anvils and ring nicely all the time, I thank guns and uncorked headers for that one. Now I just need something to hit, er, heat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 6 hours ago, Brewsky88 said: planning on sticking with the old mentality that a blacksmith should make his own tongs so that will likely be one of my first projects. Really don't recommend this. Far better to invest in a decent pair of starter tongs (wolf jaws, mid-size bolt tongs, etc) and work your way up to making tongs. The amount of frustration you will save yourself is immense: there is nothing quite as discouraging as not being able to hang onto the piece of metal you're trying to forge. In fact, there are some of us here who strongly recommend that decent tongs are the single best investment you can make when you're starting out, better than an expensive hammer, anvil, or forge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 Tongs are generaly considered an intermediate skill, but their is a lot to learn from them. In a pinch a set of chanellocks make better tongs than vice grips and the very long needle nose piers that most autozone (etc) carry can be modified to get you started. To gorge tongs one needs fire, hammer , anvil , chisel, punch, drift and a file. The 12” sledge will do fine as will a piece of that fork with the nerrow end up will work just fine. The sledge unless it’s old generaly isn’t as hard as one thinks (do to liability most hammmers are no longer R55 hardness) and if it is hard that is a good thing (good anvils have R55 top plates). Horns are over rated tho the 2” drawbar can be drawn out and rounded up and given a bend to make a bick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 Have you run across this yet? I seem to post it regularly here: http://www.marco-borromei.com/fork.html (and yes I am the Thomas mentioned) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubalcain2 Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 28 minutes ago, Charles R. Stevens said: To gorge tongs one needs fire, hammer , anvil , chisel, punch, drift and a file. Yeah, I like my tongs nice and plump too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 " Takes a lot of forging to gorge a set of tongs!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draavi Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 In the San Diego area, you should look up Vista Forge. They are a Community/School, and have classes and some great people there that could help in your endeavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anachronist58 Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 draavi, would that be AGSEM (Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum)? Great Place. There is also a Working Smithy down in Old Town. Robert Taylor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewsky88 Posted March 27, 2018 Author Share Posted March 27, 2018 Makes sense. Did a search that took me to a couple different websites and showed me that there are a couple dozen different types. My guess is that a universal v-bit or wolf jaw would probably be the most useful at a novice level. Is this correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 30 minutes ago, Brewsky88 said: My guess is that a universal v-bit or wolf jaw would probably be the most useful at a novice level. Is this correct? Probably. Without knowing precisely what you plan to make, it's hard to say. There are some good threads here on IFI about choosing tongs for beginning blacksmithing. Check them out; even if you don't find a precise answer, they will get you thinking about how best to think through the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustAnotherViking Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 I'd give a +1 to buying a decent set of wolf jaw tongs to get up and running... I made the mistake of wanting to make my own tongs and stubbornly wasted a lot of time and effort on failed attempts... would have saved a fortune in time and money by just buying a set in the first place, and working on general forging practice, and then coming back to tongs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewsky88 Posted March 27, 2018 Author Share Posted March 27, 2018 8 minutes ago, JHCC said: Probably. Without knowing precisely what you plan to make, it's hard to say. I intend to start small, using round or square stock in the 1/2" neighborhood. It's relatively inexpensive and I feel will show me just how much the metal moves without requiring heavy blows. Thinking some tong and hammer hooks to mount to my "anvil" stand might be a good start, then maybe move on to a slag scooper for my melting crucible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 If your piece is long enough, you don't need tongs to hold it. Wolf Jaws will certainly do for that size, as would a pair of 1/2" bolt tongs. 3 minutes ago, Brewsky88 said: my melting crucible If your crucible is melting, you may be getting it too hot. Just sayin'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 Actually 1/2" stock is fairy stout stuff for a new smith---depending on how much hammer experience they have. As I teach college students fairly frequently I generally start them off on 1/4" sq stock to allow them to finish several projects in class. 1/4" stock is 1/4 the hammering as 1/2" stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewsky88 Posted March 27, 2018 Author Share Posted March 27, 2018 8 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: Actually 1/2" stock is fairy stout stuff for a new smith---depending on how much hammer experience they have. As I teach college students fairly frequently I generally start them off on 1/4" sq stock to allow them to finish several projects in class. 1/4" stock is 1/4 the hammering as 1/2" stock. Duly noted, I'll keep that in mind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewsky88 Posted March 27, 2018 Author Share Posted March 27, 2018 44 minutes ago, JHCC said: If your crucible is melting, you may be getting it too hot. Just sayin'. Lol. That is some other research that I need to figure out. I know that a propane burner is way overkill for melting down aluminum and have heard that it will weaken a steel crucible and make it fail much sooner than it would in a coal fire. So I'll need to learn how to dial back the burner and find the sweet spot where the aluminum melts but it isn't subjecting the crucible to unnecessary heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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