well wile makin firepokers i findit really hard to split the end with the chisel or whatever by myself.
i awlys ushally have my neibour come pop by and hold it wile i split it.

Well i guess the question is how do you guys ushally hold it without help?
I was thinking maby one os those rollers for using at the table saw?
whats you method?

thanks.

Anvil holdfast. Either round to fit pritchel hole or square for hardy.

try holding it between your legs...

hehe steve i tried that alot o the time it falls and allmost burns ur nackers off!!

BP0092 Anvil helper
I have something similar to that and when needed I use Vise Grips and clamp the work to the helper.

welder19

well the pole is long soo......

make a welded loop on the end, then cut it to give u two prongs

You could always cheat and weld or rivet.

If I have to use a hold-down for something long I use a weighted chain.

Instead of splitting it, you can also do a faggot weld by bending it back on to itself and forge half wayup the bend.

Run over to your library and check out a book by Alexander Weygers. If they don't have a copy, they will be happy to order one for you through the interlibrary loan system.

Weygers has some fantastic drawings of hold-downs, third hands, and support stands. Most all his tools and implements are made from junk scrap iron so they don't cost much. The drawings are worth a million words as you will learn a lot from them, you won't regret it.

I second the motion!

"The Complete Modern Blacksmith" by Alexander Weygers will show you how to improvise virtually any and everything you need for a smithy, fab shop, lumber mill or stone quarry. But WAIT! There's MORE!

It's a terrific book. It has instruction for basic smithing skills but where it really shines is as a McGyvering guide for smithing.

Frosty

If you don't want to forge weld the poker and you still want to spit it, and you have a good vise, try splitting in the vise vertically, with a narrow chisel. I frequently use this method not only on forks, but larger splits as well. Check out in this article: Feeding the Army
If you are worried about splitting down a line, do a cold chisel line as your guide for the hot chisel. It makes a much cleaner split, no flashing to clean up or fight you when drawing out the tines. It does take a little pratice and you have to remember to take smaller bites at it or the work will bend in the vise.

Edited June 23, 200817 yr by Jymm Hoffman

If my memory is correct, it also has instructions for a fire poker.
Travis

The Complete Modern Blacksmith! Wow I didn't know there was a book that compiled three of his works. I only knew of, and have two of his books from the seventies; The Modern Blacksmith, (1974), and his first book, The Making of Tools (1973). What's the name of the third book?

I may have to run up to my library, myself;)

Sabre needs to ask Santa for an early gift if his birthday isn't just around the corner. That books is precisely what he needs.

"The Recycling, Use, and Repair of Tools" (1978)

I'm sitting in my library.

And YES, this book is exactly what anyone needs who wants to get going while looking for the "real" tools. My bet is if Sabre gets his hands on a copy he'll have an industrial complex up and running in short order.

There are plenty of good how to books for the beginner but none of them hold a candle to this one for improvising everything you need.

Frosty

'The Recycling, Use, and Repair of Tools', Jeez louise, that has been my creed for forty years. This Luddite is slowly moving into the twenty-first century, I put a hold on the book through our interlibrary loan system without even leaving the humble abode. It's them tubes, you know (don't tell my Luddite associates).

Should arrive up at the library Wednesday of Thursday.
Thanks for the heads up.

Oh, another author the younger generation might enjoy is Eric Sloane. Most people know him for his books of drawings of east coast barns - coffee table books. Well, he was more than that, he was an avid tool collector (my passion, too) and he wrote and illustrated a couple of books on tools. Most notable was A Reverence for Wood, and the very unique book, Diary of an Early American Boy: Noah Blake-1805,. and a good standby, A Museum of Early American Tools.

A lot of blacksmithing ideas can be gleaned from Sloane's books. Heck I made a zax after discovering what it was, even though I never used it and finally gave it to a friend who's never used it either. It's a dynamite Scrabble

Edited June 24, 200817 yr by nett

Cool. Think I'll have a little talk with our library.

Then if I like em, I'll see about finding one of my very own.

Frosty

Sloane ROCKS!!! I've read his books over and over till they are held together by rubberbands.
Finnr

Here's one we use -

Take a couple feet of small link chain (dog chain is fine, make your own if you like - good practice) and attach it to the anvil stand / leg on the opposite side, heel end. Cut it so it drapes up and over your anvil face and back down the near side and allows the weight to hang out of your way. What is the weight? We're using an old window SASH WEIGHT. Cast iron. Nice and heavy.

If you need to hold something to punch or cut or whatever... pull over the chain to the near side and put your piece under the chain. When you no longer need it, remove the chain and set the weight down on the other side of the anvil.

Bill

This would be a good place to learn to build stock stands with adjustable heights. I use an anvil helper sometimes at rondys ( fits in the pritchel and rotates across the cuttin ledge ) and I also have a piece of 3/8 rod that just sticks in the ground. The rod has a bend at the end that will hold stock off the edge of the anvil or in the forge. I also sometimes just use a tripod with a chain loop on it and adjust the height to hold something ( like a piece of 3/4 cold square for a big fork) at events. Home shop, I use a stock stand. I use a piece of aluminium on the anvil face for cutting. Yes, I sometimes use vise Grips to hold the stock on the stand but tongs and a tong ring will work well too. There WILL be times that a hold down ( in the hardy ) will work well too. BTW I hope you keep your energy and forethoughts in the kidsmith website. You guys are our future.

Edited July 29, 200817 yr by Ten Hammers

I have a small "swing set" chain nailed to my stump that drapes over the anvil,
but instead of a weight, I have a piece of 1" x 4" attached to the end of the chain. The chain lacks a couple of inches of reaching the floor, so I can step on the 1" x 4" board to hold down my work.
I hope this makes sense!

You can also get some heavy duty springs, but too strong where you cannot stretch them. Attach one end of each spring to the anvil heel end of the stump or stand. If using a stump, lag bolts are sufficient.

The other end of the springs attach to either chain or some strong flexible material in order for it form and put strong downward pressure on the metal. This way when needed, lay the cold end toward the heel and pull the holddown up and over the heel and on to the metal to keep it in place.

Vertical Bandsaw. Or an anvil hold-down. I prefer the bandsaw.

I agree with Welder19. Use an anvil/blacksmith helper. That's all that I have. Used to have a neighbor kid. But he found love!! So much for that apprentice. LOL