Hey all!  New member here, I’ve always been interested in smithing but never had the opportunity to try.  Took a knife class in Columbus last year and I’m pretty much hooked!  Thanks to everyone for the stunning wealth of information here!

I’m just starting out really with a small DIY firebrick forge and basic tools.  I’ve been working over a small rail anvil for a few months but this weekend I was incredibly lucky and scored an M&H Armitage 138 pounder for about $3.5 a pound.  I think I’m actually in shock.

Anyways, looking forward to sponging knowledge from everyone and getting more blisters!

Welcome from the Ozark mountains. That is a great looking Mouse Hole anvil that is ready to go to work. Hope you have read about not grinding, milling or welding on the hardened steel face, which usually does more harm than good. How is the ring & rebound?

To my limited experience, the ring is very bright.  Supported 1 lb hammer drop sprung right back up.  Going to try to rummage a ball bearing and get a measured test soon.

Yes, I’ve read those suggestions.  No planned grinding here.  Just going to rub it gently with a diaper, lay down some hot iron and call it good!

Was that Columbus OH, IN, GA or NM?   Adlai teaches in Columbus Ohio; was it him?   (I'd watch out for John as he has an obsession with Mouseholes and lives in OH...)

Welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming.  Glad to have you.  Nice score, probably a fair price.  You are just the current custodian and it will probably still be in use when your grandchildren are old.

I hope you find the craft as rewarding as I have for the last 44 years.  It is a great stress reliever and has gotten me through both good times and bad.

Like many forlk, you have been initially attracted by knife making but there is a lot more to the craft than just that.  I, personally, don't make many knives because knife making involves lots of bench work and I'd rather be hitting hot iron.

I suggest that you invest in some good reference books (plenty of suggestions on IFI) and watch good videos on You Tube.  I like Black Bear Forge, JPL Services (our own Jennifer), Crist Centered Ironworks, and Torbjorn Ahman (from Sweden).  There are some truly bad and dangerous blacksmithing videos out there.  If it looks sketchy, even to a novice, it probably is.

Contact you local ABANA affiliate.  There is nothing like in person instruction or watching somethng live.  But if you see something demonstrated try it yourself as soon as possible.  That develops both muscle and mental memory.  The kinesthetic muscle memory will last much longer than just a mental impression.

And, most importantly, be safe.  Use proper PPE and keep your wits about you.  Any distraction can contribute to an accident.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand.
 

Welcome aboard Dana, glad to have you. If that diaper isn't a clean one I sure hope it's soiled with boiled linseed oil (BLO) or perhaps carnuba paste wax!

Using the hammer works fine though a bearing ball is easier to estimate before you've done it a few times. What I really prefer a small hammer for is listening for delaminated or annealed spots in the face. Rap a pattern over the entire face and watch/listen for sudden changes in the ring, a buzz and dead rebound indicates potential delamination of the face from the body. It could be a crack running parallel with the surface, either is a B A D thing.

A dull sounding rap with poor rebound indicates a place that may have been heated with a torch and lost the heat treat. Too many people will use an anvil like a bench to heat or cut something with a torch. A delamination is a worse fault, a soft area doesn't make an anvil unusable it just lowers it's performance.

That looks like a fine old lady you've acquired, use her in good health.

Frosty The Lucky.

Howdy from eastern Oklahoma and welcome to the forum! 

that’s a good lookin anvil you found, can’t wait to see what you make on her!

Thanks everyone!  Yes it was Adlai in Columbus, OH.  Had a great introduction there, but he’s not getting this anvil 

 

 

Welcome, Dana_, and congratulations on the anvil. Good on you for starting out with one of Adlai’s classes; he’s a very cool guy. 

Keep us posted on your progress! Hope to see you at Quad-State!

Adlai was a student of mine a couple of decades ago; BELIEVE NOTHING he says about me!  All my stories about him are the truth of course!