Last month I had a stretch of three days where everything went wrong in my shop near Tulsa. First a gas line fitting cracked on Tuesday, then my anvil stand wobbled loose mid-strike on a blade. I nearly gave up on a commission for a set of fireplace tools. But on day three I slowed way down, checked my propane connections with soapy water, and tightened every bolt on my forge stand. That frustrating week actually forced me to fix stuff I'd been ignoring for months. Has anyone else had a garbage week that ended up making your setup better?
Got told by a smith at a meetup in Harrisburg last spring that my welded repair on a 150-pound Peter Wright anvil would fail inside a year. He insisted on hot forging a patch instead. I changed my method after that, spent two weekends heat-treating and upsetting a piece of old rail to fit. Now I'm wondering if the extra effort was worth it or if the weld would have held just fine. Anyone here stick with welding on anvil repairs and had good results long term?
I was looking up fuel costs for my weekend forge work and stumbled on a fact from the Blacksmithing Association of Missouri's site. They said charcoal burns about 30% faster than coal for the same heat level, which means you go through way more bags. I did the math on my last session and I was burning through $12 of charcoal in 2 hours versus $8 of coal for the same time. Has anyone else switched fuels because of the hidden cost difference?
I switched to a gas forge for a project last month and honestly the difference in heat control was night and day. I was used to babysitting the coal fire every few minutes, but with gas I just set it and focused on my welding. Has anyone else found one type way easier than the other for certain jobs?
For like 3 years I swore coal was the only way to get real heat control. Kept saying propane was for hobbyists who couldn't handle real work. Then last month I picked up a used propane forge for $150 off a guy in Dayton and gave it a honest shot. After 2 weeks of running it I can set my heat exactly where I want it without babysitting the fire. Has anyone else switched camps like this or am I still the odd one out?
He said he just leaves them on the anvil to air cool, and I've been cracking tong handles for six years over a bucket for nothing, has anyone else tried skipping the dunk?
Was cleaning out his barn last weekend and hauled out this beat up anvil that's been sitting there for 20 years. Looked up the markings online and turns out it's a 150lb Fisher from the 1800s, some guy offered me $800 on the spot. Has anyone else stumbled on an old anvil that turned out to be a hidden gem?
Been messing with heat treating my own blades for about 6 months now and I keep going back and forth between my gas forge and a little charcoal setup I built from a brake drum. The gas forge is way faster and cleaner, but I swear the charcoal gives me more even heat across the blade with less hot spots. Last week I ruined a 1095 blade in the gas forge because the edge got too hot while the spine was still below temp. Took me 3 tries to get it right with charcoal instead of 1 try. Am I crazy or does charcoal actually do a better job for small knives? What are you guys using for heat treating?
I was at a hammer-in last weekend in Ohio, and this newer smith kept his fire way too oxidizing - lots of clinker and scale. The old timer next to me muttered something about "cooking the steel, not burning it." That simple phrase made me realize I've been running my own fire too hot for years, letting too much air in. Soon as I choked it down I got way better welds on my damascus billets. Any of you guys have a moment where one little tip totally changed how you run your forge?
Been at this for about 18 months now and finally got a billet to stay together. Tried 3 times before with flux and different heats, but yesterday popped a railroad spike twist out and it didn't split. Anybody else have that moment where it just clicks?
Last Tuesday I was forging a bottle opener out of some coil spring in my backyard shop here in Tucson. I hit what I thought was a clean piece but there was a tiny bit of scale stuck to it. That piece flew up and hit me right in the safety glasses. Left a nice scratch in the lens too. Makes me wonder how often do you guys replace your safety glasses after they take a hit like that?
I was showing a new guy how to draw out a tenon at a workshop in Austin, and my hammer head just flew off after the third hit. The hickory handle had a hidden crack near the eye that I missed during my morning check. Turned a 5 minute demo into a 20 minute hunt for a loose head rolling under benches. Anyone else ever have a handle fail at the worst possible time?
I spent 20 years doing all my heavy work by hand and figured I'd give a power hammer a shot on a batch of 10 railroad spike knives. Man, I was off on my timing and ended up with a bunch of deformed blanks that took twice as long to fix as just forging them normally. Has anyone else had a tough time switching from hand hammer to power tools for certain projects?
I've been forging out of my garage in Portland for about 3 years now, and I always figured my welds were hit or miss because of my technique. Last Tuesday I finally scraped out this thick layer of rust and scale that had built up in my coal forge firepot over time. The difference was night and day - my first weld after that came together clean on the second heat instead of the usual fourth or fifth try. Has anyone else noticed a big change just from keeping the firepot cleaner?
Last Tuesday I was working a 3-pound cross peen on some 1/2 inch stock when the whole plywood and 2x4 contraption I built buckled sideways, the 150-pound anvil tipped and landed on my boot, and I spent the next hour rebuilding it with carriage bolts and a level, anyone else ever had a portable setup fail on them in the middle of a project?
Been fighting with a dull center punch for years on horseshoes till I tried just tapping a ball peen on the edge while it was orange and it made a perfect divot every time, anyone else have a tool they use backwards?
Last Tuesday through Friday was my best stretch in the forge so far. I had 20 fire pokers to make for a local hardware store in Eugene. Every single weld held clean and I only had to reheat twice. Normally I mess up at least 3 or 4 on a batch that size. What really made it stand out was the metal was all the same batch and I kept my hammer rhythm steady. Anyone else have a run where everything just clicked for a few days?
I've been at this trade for about 6 years part time, and I finally crossed 1,000 fire pokers this past Wednesday. Never thought I'd make that many of one simple item, but they're my go-to for practice between custom jobs. Anyone else track numbers on their standard pieces, or am I just weird about it?
I used to think quenching after annealing was just old-timer superstition. Figured if it cooled fast, it cooled fast, who cares right? Then I ruined a batch of 5 good knives last spring because I quenched them too fast and they all cracked at the edge. I tested it side by side with a piece of mild steel letting it air cool versus dunking it, and the slow-cooled piece was way softer to file. Anyone else had a stubborn habit they had to break with hard proof like that?
I keep seeing guys making tongs and punches out of rebar and they crack after a few heats. Rebar has unknown steel composition and hidden stress points, so just spend the 8 bucks on a proper bar of 4140.
I was at a tool swap last weekend and this guy who's been shoeing horses for 40 years told me my fancy new cast iron anvil is basically a paperweight. He said it's too brittle for heavy forge work and will crack under a good 3-pound hammer. I mean, I paid $350 for it thinking it was a steal. Has anyone else had a cast anvil fail on them like that?
Ran out of borax halfway through and spent 2 hours driving to the only hardware store in Topeka that carries it, has anyone else had a simple step throw off their whole day like that?
I had a guy in his 70s watch me work a knife blank at a hammer-in last month. He just said "you're burning the steel, son" and walked off. I was grinding with a fresh 36 grit belt and pushing hard to shape it fast. After I cooled it off I could see the blue oxidation lines running down the edge. That steel was toast. I backed down to a 60 grit and started dipping in water every 3 seconds. The finish came out cleaner and I didn't lose any temper. Has anyone else had to slow down their grinding to get better results?
I used to heat my 150 lb anvil up to around 400 degrees before forging, thinking it helped with metal flow. One day an old timer at the Oklahoma Blacksmithing Association meetup watched me and asked why I was wasting propane. He explained that anything above 200 can actually make the face too soft and you lose rebound. Anybody else been told a tip that made you feel dumb about years of wrong technique?