Anvil and blacksmithing

ray66v · Nov 28, 2018

An anvil is a wonderful thing. But, it's not the tool, it's the operator.

You can use a piece of heavy I beam, or a piece of railroad track.

Just about any piece of heavy scrap metal can be used to forge, or shape metal.

Code54 · Nov 28, 2018

Thanks guys! Some good information that will help a lot.

forgeblast · Nov 29, 2018

With the success of shows like forged in fire, the prices of anything blacksmithing have really gone up especially on the classified market. I would compare what you want new with what people are selling "used". Also there is a lot you can make yourself.
I have a "two Brick forge" that uses a propane torch (bigger plumbers propane torch that was used to sweat 2-3'' copper lines) and soft fire brick.
In side I have a piece of black pipe to keep the torch from hitting the metal and letting it heat a bit more evenly. Enjoy though its fun to do.

tcreeley · Nov 29, 2018

There is always a way to get the tools together if you work at it. A brake drum forge is straight forward to make. (on you tube. The hole in the center has 3 bars welded across to let the air in and keep the coal in the forge. You can use black pipe for the air inlet on fold and weld on your own design. I used cement to taper the edges to make a nice firepot bowl. Legs weld on to the firepot and an old cookie sheet or sheet metal is a good way to extend the sides to hold more coal.
The blower is the tricky part, but a hair dryer to an old squirrel cage blower from some old appliance/ventilation ducting works well. 3" is a good size to shoot for. - Makes an excellent forge.
For a time I did demos and craft shows back in the 1980's. Here is my traveling setup - Everything was a 100lb or less so I could lit it into my pickup! - That is a brakedrum forge.

- door knockers (on the dusty side!) -

Code54 · Nov 29, 2018

Very interesting - thanks for sharing!

/pine · Nov 29, 2018

I don't have an actual forge set up but if I need to get something really hot...a contained pile of charcoal and the leaf blower will get me there...!

Big Barn · Nov 29, 2018

tcreeley: I really like that door knocker

tcreeley · Dec 1, 2018

Big Barn said:
tcreeley: I really like that door knocker

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

jaxs · Dec 1, 2018

My grandfather's blacksmith shop was still on the farm where I was born. I spent countless hours heating steel in the forge and beating it out on the anvil just for the **** of it. Sure wish I had paid better attention to what he told me about tempering. What I did learn was the weight and mounting of anvil has a tremendous effect on what happens when something on it is struck. The simplest way I know of to demonstrate how immovability effect's hammer blows is driving nails in a board. Lay a 2x4 across sawhorses and drive a large nail into it. Now do the same while holding another claw hammer against bottom of board,then repeat while holding a 5 pound sledge under board. The difference is quite similar to a small anvil sitting on the tailgate of your truck vs a Bois-D- Arc stump. Less pronounced but non the less true is a 250 Lb anvil on tail gate vs stump. Point is bigger is better(although 18"-24" rail track will surfice) and don't sit it on the workbench. If a rounded drain plug deserve's 800 posts :confused3:surly this thread deserve's a few additional posts regarding diy forges and anvils.