A question for the metal bashers

[Hammock Hamster]

Right well I managed to get the anvil home from work (after a 50 minute train journey with it weighing down my rucksack) I've now bored a 6" hole into my carving stump, chiselled out to fit the stake and put in a wedge to hold it in tight rather than wedging it in.
It is happily taking fairly hard strikes with a 3lb lump hammer without any movement.

My temporary "forge" is just some vermiculite bricks and fire cement with a propane torch, not ideal by any means but gives me a very down and dirty way of heating up some small pieces to practice the basics with.

Can't wait to get some more space and a proper forge and get stuck in!

 

[Paddytray]

I play with 2 forges in my garden . Not so much the coal one lately but the gas one gets lit often . I never go out too early or stay out too late . And it's the angle grinder that makes the most noise (cutting out blanks). Sometimes I use the dremel with speed click disc cutters so as to be a bit quieter. if I hear my neighbours baby having a rough night I go stealth the next day out of respect. For setting up quick and cheap I can can say google / ebay . devil forge. I have one it's great for a learning forge . for a simple cheep anvil i first settled for a cast iron scone plate . just have a good read on bcuk , britishblades , iforgeiron , etc there are loads of great forums out there . Enjoy and have fun I love learning how to use my forge and knife making and the like so I hope you all the best and keep us posted ,

 

[Hammock Hamster]

Ok so the first attempt failed miserably, couldn't get any metal up to temperature with the torch and the bricks in an open sided layout (I expect there are probably a few "I could have told you that's") on their way.

Anyway I have jigged things around a bit and made a sort of 4 brick version of a one brick forge.
I can now get to a temperature where I can upset a short section of bar and practice drawing out, scarfing, basic hammer blows etc so I can get my hand in before we move.

All in all I'm pretty chuffed with it.

Cheers, Hamster


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[lannyman8]

thats looking good mate, if your going to make a gas forge its very easy and costs effective to make, all you need is a container to make it in, some kiln insulation rated to about 1400 1500 c a ceramic board for the base (for the metal to sit on) a 1 1/2 inch pipe about 18-24 inches long, another pipe about 1/2 inch wide and about 18 inches long,longer is better for this one as it will take the gas hose on the end.last but not least a bit of sheet steel, its for the top of the big pipe to act as an air flow regulator and a nut and bolt.

you would need a welder for the above though, but easy to do, and the only cost would be the insulation and board, the rest can be had from the srcap dealer for free or 1 or 2 pounds max.

if you want any more details give me a pm, and if you ever wanted to pop over your more than welcome, your 146 miles away so probley not but the offer is there mate...

 

[Hammock Hamster]

thats looking good mate, if your going to make a gas forge its very easy and costs effective to make, all you need is a container to make it in, some kiln insulation rated to about 1400 1500 c a ceramic board for the base (for the metal to sit on) a 1 1/2 inch pipe about 18-24 inches long, another pipe about 1/2 inch wide and about 18 inches long,longer is better for this one as it will take the gas hose on the end.last but not least a bit of sheet steel, its for the top of the big pipe to act as an air flow regulator and a nut and bolt.

you would need a welder for the above though, but easy to do, and the only cost would be the insulation and board, the rest can be had from the srcap dealer for free or 1 or 2 pounds max.

if you want any more details give me a pm, and if you ever wanted to pop over your more than welcome, your 146 miles away so probley not but the offer is there mate...

Cheers Lannyman,

I'm hoping to go down the coal forge route if I can but dependant on where we end up I may need to go gas to keep the peace (I've had dodgy neighbours in the past).
I will definitely give you a shout for some more details as although the one I'm using is ok for small stuff I'm limited to how much of the stock I can heat (about 3-4" from the tip) and I get the feeling a full size torch rather than my puny handheld one would give me more heat/power.

Distance not withstanding if I'm ever round your neck of the woods it'd be great to drop over.

Cheers, Hamster

 

[VaughnT]

My turn!

Anvils - what you bought will work, but you're going to want to bury that shank into the wood as far as you reasonably can. The only reason I say this is because it's a small shank and will bend/flex with every hammer blow. This robs you of energy. A 20# sledge-hammer head will be every bit as good, and probably better because it has the mass all located directly under the impact zone. Not saying your stake won't work. Just remember that a tapered shank is for use in stake plates and not the hardy hole of an anvil. You'll snap the heel off that anvil if you're not careful.

Noise - folks don't want to believe it, but it's true. Anvils ring loudly if they don't have a cast-iron body like Vulcan or Fisher anvils. The way around that, however, is not with magnets and chains. Magnets attract scale and only work when they are stuck on the ends of the anvil (the thin parts). Chain doesn't work at all. It's an old wive's tale. 10 feet of chain wrapped around the waist of the anvil won't do anything but clutter up the side of the anvil for when you want to do a short bend.

The key to making your anvil really really quiet....... bed it in silicone caulk. That's right folks, spread some silicone caulk (I actually used masonry adhesive) on top of the stump and then set the anvil down into it. It deadens the ring immediately. You go from a church bell to an oak plank just that fast. Neighbors will love you. Your eardrums will love you. Doesn't matter what type of anvil you have, wrought-iron body or cast steel, the silicone bedding works a treat absolutely every time.

Smoke - a tall, tall, tall smoke stack. For a good draft, you need to go at least 3' above the peak of the roof, but there's no saying that you can't go higher. The higher you go, the higher the smoke is when it comes out and the farther away it will be when it comes down. The immediate neighbors might smell something, but not know where it's coming from. Charcoal is always enjoyed more than coal. If you can get propane cheaper, that's a win-win situation.