BlueRuStudios Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Hello y'all! I found this wonderful repository from Torbjörn Åhman. I am in the process of building a gas forge and on the lookout for a decent learner's anvil. I look forward to gleaning as much knowledge as I can and sharing my growth through this hobby. A little about myself; my name is Alex. I'm a federal technician that is a mechanic for the National Guard. I've been in the Army for 9 years and a mechanic, professionally, for over 10. I do plenty of diy around the house and have recently found a love and desire to craft with metal. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Welcome aboard, I always suggest this to get the best out of the forum. READ THIS FIRST If you edit your profile to show your location, we won't have to needle you for it when answers require knowing where in the world you hang your hat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Have you met up with the AZ ABANA Affiliate yet? Lots of stuff is better learned face to face than on a screen or even in a book! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Where in AZ? I am over in Moapa Valley - outside of Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueRuStudios Posted October 8, 2019 Author Share Posted October 8, 2019 Thanks for the warm welcome! 19 hours ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said: ...READ THIS FIRST If you edit your profile to show your location.. Thank you! I made sure to read that before I made any post. Also, I thought it took last night, but successfully updated. 8 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Have you met up with the AZ ABANA Affiliate yet? I haven't had the pleasure yet. I'm planning on jumping into a couple classes at Grizzly in the next few months. 2 hours ago, BIGGUNDOCTOR said: Where in AZ? I'm down in Phoenix! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatLiner Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 I'm in northern Utah but I have family in Phoenix. Welcome read up on the improvised anvil thread, sometimes its easier and cheeper to find an improvised anvil to begin with. I use my improvised anvils just as much as my "real anvil". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueRuStudios Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 23 minutes ago, FlatLiner said: Welcome read up on the improvised anvil thread, sometimes its easier and cheeper to find an improvised anvil to begin with. Thanks for the warm welcome! I actually finished up the forge and will making a smaller one this weekend. I ended up buying a good piece of rr track and it's working alright. Still looking out for a cost effective anvil. I did start the forge and work a little bit and I'm loving the learning so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Do you have your RR track mounted vertically? It will work a lot better than laying horizontally. I have a piece that's thirty inches and 115 pounds mounted vertically and it works pretty good. Definitely look through the improvised anvil forum and you'll get a better idea of what an anvil is. They don't have to look like Wile E. Coyote ordered it from ACME. Pnut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Ordered it from Sears Roebuck, ACME anvils was one of their in-house brands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Sears used to have everything. I have a lever action Winchester that's a Ted Williams Sears and Roebuck branded model. Old Ted licensed his name to Sears for about any vaguely sports related product you can think of. Pnut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Why I have copies of their 100+ year old catalogs. Amazing to see how many "Rare and Unusual" items being sold on-line were the cheapest "budget" items in the old catalogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 (edited) No kidding. I've seen some surprising things for sale in the old catalogues. Weird drugs and patent medicines, quack medical devices, and yes many of the "rare" and "valuable" treasures offered on Craigslist and the like were the cheap late 19th early 20th century equivalent of today's harbor freight tools. People today equate age with value regardless of quality instead of quality with value regardless of age. Pnut Edited November 22, 2019 by pnut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 There is also the "artifact of preservation" at work where the cheap stuff was more often used, abused, and tossed when it was "trashed" leaving fewer of them around today than the top of the line stuff that was gently handled, maintained and passed on. Me I'd rather have the *good* stuff over the *rare* stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 BluRuStudios, check around your area. Phoenix is big enough that you should be able to score a big chunk of steel easy enough for an improvised anvil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueRuStudios Posted December 1, 2019 Author Share Posted December 1, 2019 On 11/22/2019 at 2:45 PM, BIGGUNDOCTOR said: Phoenix is big enough that you should be able to score a big chunk of steel easy enough for an improvised anvil. Well, I actually have 2 usable improvised right now. I bought a piece of rr track that is being used the right way and a 2' section of I-beam I'm just not sure what to do with yet. I have located, and started cutting the welds off, a large chunk of steel 1"ish thick. I actually made my first piece tonight! It's a poorly forged leaf...thing. I learned a bunch and plan on getting after it a bit more tomorrow morning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 I beam is NOT improvised anvil material You wan solid metal all the way down. Try placing your hammer anywhere on your I beam and having solid metal under ALL of it all the way down. They are also very loud to hammer on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 I'm sure that somewhere in the vegetable kingdom is a leaf just like that! Don't worry; we all start somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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