I finished making this forged stake anvil using traditional methods. It is made of 6 pieces of wrought iron and a hardened steel faceplate all forge welded together.

 

Here's a video on making it

 

Nice, well done.  

Awesome!

And love the video.

Thank you for the video, I really enjoyed it. It made me a little jealous how easily wrought iron welds, I've only had a very little experience with WI. 

I was a little surprised you didn't do more drawing the long tapers on the horn. Not criticizing just noting differences in our techniques. I certainly can't argue with your results, it turned out beautiful and a good useful tool.

Well done.

Thanks again.

Frosty The Lucky.

Very cool, Warthog!

I enjoyed the video and very nice work!

Awesome job, I am jealous you have access to the blacksmith shop at the farm. You should have sent me a message I might have been able to come over and helped you out. 

Thanks all for replying. 

I'll see if I can have you over for the next project Flatliner, my powers have quadrupled since last we forged together >:)

And to Frosty,

Longer horns would have probably been more useful for sure, I partly just didn't want to push my luck and accidentally burn something. I also have a pretty long bickering that I can use if I need something like that.

I wasn't talking about horns on the anvil you forged. I was commenting on my preference for using the horn on my anvil as a bottom fuller for drawing and spreading work. It was an observation of our differences in technique, not a critique.

Frosty The Lucky.

Ah I gotcha, yeah I do sometimes for really heavy drawing out but at a welding heat I can get a bit carried a way with that method.

I have almost zero experience forging wrought iron and was almost thrilled with how easy it was to weld the one time I got to play with it. 

Wrought iron isn't very common here, most went to the war effort in WWII and things didn't start really building up here till the 1898 gold rush and mild steel was taking the place of WI then. There are places where old whaling, crabbing and fishing ships ran aground, sank or were abandoned you might be able to salvage some that isn't a rust stain It's around but good luck not having to buy it from outside. Old canneries, mines, etc. are all historic sites and collecting anything is a felony. 

Anyway, more than 50 years hobby smithing and I have maybe a grand total of an hour working WI. And not likely to seeing as between a bum knee and arthritis I've pretty much laid my hammer down. <sigh>

Frosty The Lucky.

 

 

Aw Frosty, I'm sorry to hear that. It's a crying shame when we get to where we can't do the same things we used to. I've got hip issues and carpal tunnel and I can't do things like I used to either. Like get around very fast lol. But if you'd like some WI, I'll gladly send you some. You just let me know

It's just part of life Chellie, we all reach a point where it's time to move on, if we're lucky to live long enough. It's been hard enough saying fare well without trying new things I won't be able to pursue. 

Thank you, I appreciate it but it has be a hard pass. 

Frosty The Lucky.

 

I totally understand Frosty. I just wanted you to have some if you wanted it. It's really hard to come by here too 

Thanks again, I appreciate it, I really do.

There are a couple folk on the forum that have probably thousands of lbs. (available is probably the wrong word) if you want some more to play with. They'd be north of you a state or two. Oh okay, East and West too. 

Frosty The Lucky.

I have some from a big wagon wheel that was on the property we bought and the gracious JHCC sent me some. I'm proud to have it. It's like finding a rare item from antiquity in these parts lol. When I hear about people saying they never see sucker rod is about the same thing. That stuff is everywhere here. I already had a good store of it and  there was a bunch left on this property. 

I find it up here sometimes in beach junk or in old anchor chains - it was used for marine stuff way after they stopped using it elsewhere. I've got a little heart that I made my wife after the first time I visited up here from a wrought bolt I found on the beach. It's fun to work if ya get it hot enough.

Occasionally I'm tempted to buy broken, unrepairable anvils and cut them up for the wrought - it's expensive for steel, but as rare as wrought has gotten? I'll always conflicted though because to me it feels a little like murder. I'd rather start an anvil retirement home.

Yeah, the PAC NW was a major shipping port with a lot of early industry to support whaling and shipping. The forests furnished some of the best masts and other ship timbers on the west coast. 

The forests and natural harbors lead Lewis and Clark to recommend the area be colonized and developed as soon as possible. Evidently masts and lumber were in demand. A map showing old logging cans, saw mills, RR roundhouses, etc. would put a person onto a couple hundred years worth of wrought iron. Collecting any might be an issue though.

Frosty The Lucky.