Good evening from Kentucky!

[IrregularReno]

Hello everyone, finally decided to visit this forum and have already learned a LOT from just a few posts. I would love to learn from all of the experienced people here and even help some people when I can. I am a 15 year old beginning blacksmith from western Kentucky. I began forging last fall in our wood stove in the shop, then made myself a forge from a brake rotor and some exhaust pipe, and have since upgraded to a fabricated forge with the help of my welding teacher. However, I'm still running Tractor Supply coal with a hairdryer, so I still have plenty of room for improvement. My current anvil is a piece of railroad track that my dad had sitting on his workbench for years. He has no idea where it came from, but it works. It's got a "horn" on it with hole kind like a hardy, but round. Typical London shaped piece that isn't ideal, but it works for now. 4 1/2in lag bolts hold it securely to an ash stump and help it punch above it's weight. I use my dad's shop for all kinds of things from woodworking, welding, and now even blacksmithing. A lot of my knowledge has come from him, but blacksmithing is new to him, so most of my info has come from YouTube. I hope to learn plenty while I'm here. Thanks!

[Glenn]

Do not believe everything you see on yourtube.  There is no way to correct bad information on those videos. 

On IForgeIron people are encouraged to correct any bad information and usually do so in just a post or two.  On this site you can talk directly to the fellow posting the information if you have questions, as well as talking with over 50,000 other folks from more than 150 world wide countries to get their ideas.  We want you to succeed.

Nothing wrong with your current set up as long as it works.  Many started out that way and improved one item at a time as materials became available.  Welcome to the site.

 

[JHCC]

Good morning from Ohio! Glad to have you with us.

6 hours ago, IrregularReno said:

I'm still running Tractor Supply coal with a hairdryer

Might want to take a look at our Recommendations for Working with Anthracite page.

[pnut]

Howdy from northern Kentucky. I love the Jackson Purchase area. Welcome aboard, be safe, and remember it's supposed to be fun. 

Pnut

[swedefiddle]

Good Morning Reno,

Welcome from the Left Coast.

You were born with 2 Eyes and 2 Ears (hopefully), Make sure you are always wearing your Personal Safety Gear!! You don't get (yet) a second chance for replacements!!

Neil

[ThomasPowers]

You might check if there is an ABANA affiliate near you.  They can be very helpful in locating local sources for stuff.   Perhaps even bituminous coal!

Take a look at the improvised anvil thread for ideas on how to have a larger more massive anvil on the cheap AND things you can do with Railroad Rail to make it more useful.

After the warning about youtube, the next best piece of advice I can offer is how to search on this site. Don't use the site search; use your browser search and include site:iforgeiron.com   to the search terms.  You will get site specific listings that way without all the trash folks are trying to push on you.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Welcome from the Ozark mountains. We have a few members in your age group. Best advice, get it hot and hit it hard. Finding experienced smith's near you will bring your skills up much faster than trying to learn off of YouTube, with the exception of video's that are recommended here in the Reference Section.