Basic Anvil for Forging

[santaman2000]

Sounds to me like you need to do a fair bit of googling mate.

There has been a couple of threads on here about this very subject. And over on Britishblades.com for that matter.

Basically the alternatives are - in order of preference:

Rail road track. - (RRT) - this makes a very good portable anvil and is IMO the best alternative.
Fork lift tine - again a good alternative.
Sledge hammer head - for knives you only need a small area to hit on so these are fine. - avoid hitting the face if you can but wear eye protection anyway (no matter your choice of steel)
caterpiller track - like the fork lift tine these are rare but are good steel.

I - beam - a decent sized bit will work well and they come in cheap.
A block of any old steel - depending on size these are as good as any of the above. though they tend to be more pricey.



As for making knives - don't expect to be knocking out amazing stuff right away. -If you have never done any forging I suggest you start small. - make a few nails or just play about with mild steel until you get the hang of it. - Even now I still find you tube "how to" videos very useful and these helped a lot when I was starting out./QUOTE]




Reply: When I was still in the Air Force part of technical course the welder's specialty code was to have them forge a cold chisel and cut a notch into the anvil with it.

 

[HHazeldean]

What would tools would I have to get other than an 'anvil' and a hammer.Would I need to get some tongs or is there an alternative to using them too??

 

[Dave Budd]

harry, why didn't you ask when you were in a workshop surrounded by odd lumps and anvils!?

Anvil - any lump of steel that is bigger than your hammer and can be secured to a log. best case is a 'proper' anvil, but the scrap yard you told me about should have some lumps around. It doesn't need to be good steel, mild steel is fine. find a 5kg lump of mild at the scrappy, or see if they have any fork lift truck spikes that can be cut up (my best teaching anvils are made of them). Avoid cast iron anvils like that machine mart one, it will break in use. Also if possible avoid the I (or H) beam as an option:they ring like a bell which is bad for the ears and the noise is a symptom of all that wasted energy from bouncing and flexing! If you find a sledge hammer head, bung it in the oven at the highest temperature you have for a couple or three hours, let it cool down and then secure it.Anviul blocks can be made by cutting a recess for teh anivl in the top (like mine) or casting a lump of concrete around the anvil whilst it is sat in a bucket.

Hammer - with me you used a 1kg (or 0.8kg) machinst hammer from Cromwells, but any hammer that is that sort of weight will do. Lump hammers are unpleasent to forge with and clay hammers are too small/light really. Car boot sales or even teh scrap yard should have some choice.

Tongs - ebay, carboots, auctions, etc. You could use mole grips or big pliers but they aren't as good, though could get you going. Or try and do as much 'on the bar' as possible (based on what I taught you, you could do all of it including drawing the tang without ever cutting it from the bar, then once straightened you could cut the tang end off and hold kin pliers for heat treating)

chisel - cold chisel from carboot, scrapy,or hardware store

Steel stock - files, old tools, springs etc all have good chances of being good steel but make sure you spark test and test heat treating on each 'new' piece. I say that because some springs etc are rubbish steel but the outer surface has been treated to work well for it's designed application (and won't work once you reforege/grind to shape)

 

[tasum]

what a helpful thread.

 

[ged]

... if possible avoid the I (or H) beam as an option:they ring like a bell which is bad for the ears ...

Ear protection is very cheap. Get some. Use it at all times when you're doing noisy work. If you don't, you WILL damage your hearing. A bad case of tinnitus is one of the worst afflictions you can imagine. To get an idea of what it's like, try gritting your teeth for the rest of your life.

 

[Dave Budd]

I do 95% of my work on a square stake anvil for exactly that reason My london pattern is 5 times the weight but the heel and bick make it much noiser to use. The hammer also makes a difference; a claw will vibrate more than a ball peen (I first worked that out when the head of my hammer was a little loose and made more noise as it whizzed past me ear)

 

[HHazeldean]

Cheers Dave, that has been very helpful.

The reason why I didn't ask when I was in the workshop was because I didn't think that doing anything like that would be possible. Now I am starting to think that it could become a bit of a reality.

 

[Everything Mac]

a few pics in this thread might give you ideas

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54175&highlight=comrie+smith+forge

I was using a rail track anvil and a £3 bbq from tesco for the forge (paint on the underside didn't even blister)

the stand for the wee anvil was made from scrap I found around Glasgow - one heavy pallet and some other wood.
but we moved onto Big Andy's anvil for obvious reasons.


I can't emphasise enough the importance of eye and ear protection. I'm often lax with it and my hearing has taken a beating (don't worry I'll give myself a boll*cking in the mirror)

If you use a sledge hammer head make sure to keep it cool - In my limited experience they tend to get quite hot very quickly.

I really do recommend you do a bit of googling mate - a wealth of information for beginners is out there. Though it appears you have had a day with Dave Budd so you should be well on your way.

nevertheless knowledge is power
http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/blacksmith/farmshop.html
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=blacksmithing+techniques&aq=0


Andy

 

[Zingmo]

Can any one point me towards a seller of tongs? I have followed a few on the bay but they are few and far between or in job lots. As they always look rusty it is difficult to judge the condition from a picture.

Z

 

[launditch1]

Can any one point me towards a seller of tongs? I have followed a few on the bay but they are few and far between or in job lots. As they always look rusty it is difficult to judge the condition from a picture.

Z

http://www.anvils.co.uk/blacksmithtools.htm they cost a bomb though!Can you not make a set?Hugely satisfying and good practise.So long as they open and close ok i wouldnt worry about rust.

 

[HHazeldean]

The tongs seem a bit pricey, could I get them for cheaper elsewhere or is that kind of price average.

Cheers

 

[Whittler Kev]

Agree with Launditch1 (another new avatar?) better to make them as a first project. I was glad when I had made mine, use them every time I fire up the forge

 

[Everything Mac]

keep an eye out on ebay:

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_...w=blacksmiths+tongs&_sacat=See-All-Categories

 

[HHazeldean]

Some of those tongs look pretty good on ebay. Might try some.

Thanks for all of the help everyone - appreciated!:You_Rock_

 

[HHazeldean]

Where could I get a hammer also??

 

[launditch1]

A 2lb ball-pein would do the job.Any decent hardware shop.

 

[Dave Budd]

these are the hammers we used, but any carboot sale, hardware store, etc will have a ball or cross pein hammer of use.

 

[HHazeldean]

Cheers Dave

 

[Whittler Kev]

Just bought one similar off evil bay. Don't be tempted to use sledgehammer size for small jobs - seen it done I kid you not) as you'll just get tired quicker and not move as much steel as you think. 2lb'er more than adequate IMHO
Be careful on evil bay as most cross pein are tack hammers (4oz)
This is a better one although a dear starter - £9 inc delivery (and I think the cross pein is too short - ground down from a ball?)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Engineers-Blacksmith-Style-Cross-Pein-Hammer-/350448605306?pt=UK_Collectable_ToolsHasdware_RL&hash=item51985d587a

 

[paul atkin]

I cant sort out how to put pics on here, so here is a link to my post on the bodgers forum. It cost me a pound and the timber wedged into the sides and bolted through takes out all the ringing.
http://www.bodgers.org.uk/bb/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1775