c/blacksmiths

13

sandra_black•6h ago

That $80 Amazon anvil I bought was a total waste of cash

I figured I'd save some money and grabbed a cast iron anvil off Amazon for around $80. First week using it the face started chipping and the rebound was garbage, like maybe 10 percent. Ended up spending $250 on a proper steel anvil from a guy near Columbus and it's night and day difference. Anyone else get burned by one of those cheap cast iron blocks?

18

lunawilson•14h ago

Spent $200 on a so-called professional anvil from an online auction site

I won a bid for a "vintage farrier anvil" on some auction site last month, paid $200 plus shipping. Got it in and it was a cast iron POS with a cheap paint job hiding a bunch of cracks. Lost the money cause the seller ghosted me. Anyone else get burned buying tools sight unseen online?

22

karen_martin•3d ago

Back in 2005 I swore by hand files for everything. Now I barely touch em.

I got my start in a tiny shop outside Missoula where the old timer refused to let me use any power tools for the first two years. Every surface had to be filed and polished by hand. Fast forward to last week when I caught myself grabbing a flap disc on an angle grinder for a job that would have taken me hours with a file. The difference is night and day but part of me feels like I lost something. Anyone else feel like the trade got easier but maybe not better?

28

hugog43•8d ago

That Tuesday where every single heat treat cracked on me

I had a day last week that about made me want to throw my hammer through the wall. I was working on a batch of five chef knives, all 1084 steel, normalized them twice and everything like I always do. First blade came out of the quench with a hairline crack right down the spine, second one had a chip at the tip before I even tempered it. By the third one I checked my thermometer and it was reading 50 degrees low, so my soak temps were all off without me realizing it. Swapped the thermocouple out but the damage was done, two more cracked in the tempering cycle because I rushed the normalization on the last pair. Ended up scrapping all five blades after 12 hours of work down the drain. Anyone else have a run of bad luck like that where everything just decides to fail at once?

25

faith_price7•9d ago

Finally got my forge welds to hold after 8 months of trying

I've been hammering away at this little coal forge in my backyard shed for about 8 months now, and forge welding was just kicking my butt every single time. Last Tuesday I had a pile of scrap rebar sitting there and decided to give it one more go after watching a guy on YouTube talk about flux temp. I cleaned the metal super well with a wire brush, got it up to a pale yellow in a good part of the fire, and tried a lighter hammer blow than I usually do. The weld actually stuck on the first try, no delamination or anything! I pulled it out and it held together under a bend test, which I've never had happen before. It's just a simple stack of three pieces but for me that's a huge step forward. Has anyone else struggled with getting the right heat color for forge welding, or did you have a trick that finally made it click for you?

18

alice991•10d ago

Furnace floor cracked after 6 months of light use

Everyone says cast iron firepots are indestructible, but mine split right down the middle last Tuesday. I was just doing some small hooks and a few nails, nothing heavy. The crack ran from the air vent to the back wall, letting cold draft kill my fire. I ended up patching it with a piece of scrap steel and some fire clay I had laying around. It held for one more heat but I'm already planning to replace the whole unit. Has anyone else had a firepot fail on them like this, or did I just get a lemon?

16

the_nancy•11d ago

Picked up a trick from an old timer at a hammer-in last weekend

Guy next to me was quenching in warm oil. Not hot, just warm. Said it reduces shock on thin blades. Tried it on a kitchen knife I was forging. No cracks. Usually I have one or two with thin edges. Anyone else use warm quench oil?

9

bettym89•11d ago

Quick question about heat treating in a garage forge

I just read a post saying you can use a hair dryer as a cheap blower for a solid fuel forge, has anyone here actually tried that with a coal fire? I'm setting up my first forge in my garage and wondering if I need to spend $50 on a proper blower or if that hack really works?

7

lunah86•12d ago

Got some hard feedback on my hammer technique last week

A older smith at the shop told me I was holding my hammer too tight and it was killing my wrist. I loosened my grip and let the hammer do the work, and my welds came out cleaner after just 3 tries. Anyone had to unlearn a bad habit like that?

9

the_jake•15d ago

Paid $80 for a 'professional' anvil stand kit, ended up using a stump from my backyard

Saw this fancy anvil stand from a supplier in Ohio, all steel and rubber padding, looked real slick. Bolted it together, set my 150 lb anvil on it, and the whole thing wobbled like a loose tooth on the first hammer strike. Took it back, refunded my cash, and spent a Sunday hacking down an old oak stump behind my shed. Cost me zero dollars and my anvil hasn't budged since. Anyone else ditch the store-bought stuff for something free?

17

rivershah•16d ago

Vent: That moment my hammer head flew off into my neighbor's yard

I was out in my garage last Saturday, trying to finish a rail bracket, when my cross peen hammer head just launched off the handle mid-swing. It flew straight through my open garage door and landed in Mrs. Gable's rose bushes next door, scaring her cat so bad it bolted up a tree. Has anyone else had a handle just give out on them like that, or was I just unlucky with this one?

3

jessel35•17d ago

Had to pick between a propane forge and a coal forge for my backyard shop in Austin

I went with coal because I found a used one for $150 but after a month of fighting with smoke and neighbors complaints I'm wondering if I should have just spent the extra $300 on propane, anyone else regret their forge choice?

12

lisa820•22d ago

Hooked a hot piece of steel by mistake and it flew across the shop

Was working on a railroad spike knife last Tuesday in my garage in Akron. Got distracted by my phone ringing and grabbed the wrong tongs, the piece shot off the anvil and bounced off the wall behind me. Landed right next to a bucket of water with a nasty hiss. Anyone else have a near miss with a flying piece of hot metal?

2

rowan_hayes•25d ago

Old timer told me to quench my tongs in water between heats

A guy who's been forging since the 70s told me to dip my tongs in water every time I put steel in the fire and it's saved me from burning my hands three times already - anyone else do this or is it just an old habit?

5

sage_rodriguez•26d ago

Should I trust the old guy who said 'just oil your anvil more'?

I'm split on this one. An old timer at the guild meetup in Portland told me most new smiths don't oil their anvil face enough. He said hit it with boiled linseed oil after every session, even if it looks fine. I did that for six months and my anvil started feeling slick, like the metal was skating. But then a guy at the shop said you're just attracting rust and gunk, and he swears by a dry face with a wire brush only. I tried his way for three months and got surface rust spots I had to grind off. Now I'm stuck wondering who actually knows what they're talking about. Has anyone else gotten totally opposite advice from two experienced smiths and had one wreck their setup?

12

beth559•27d ago

I finally stopped quenching in used motor oil

Switched to canola oil after 3 ruined blades and the difference in hardness is night and day for a 10 dollar swap. Anyone else still running mystery oil from the shed?

14

patricia_chen67•27d ago

I finally realized most people heat treat way too fast and it ruins the blade

Was at a demo last Saturday over in Springfield and watched this guy rush through his whole quench. Hardened before the color even settled. I used to do the same thing until a mentor pulled me aside after I cracked my third blade in a row. Slow down, let the steel soak evenly. It's not a race. Anyone else notice this at local meets?

1

emeryr38•1mo ago

Tried a tempering oven I made from an old filing cabinet and it melted my tongs

Built this thing in my backyard shop last weekend using a $20 thrift store cabinet and some firebrick. Thought I had the temp dialed in but walked away for like 10 minutes and came back to my tong handles drooping like wet noodles. The whole thing caught a little on the outside too. Anyone else try making cheap heat treating setups and have them go totally sideways? What did you use instead?

22

finleythomas•1mo ago

Tried forge welding with a wire brush technique I saw online and got a weird result

I keep getting that same blue tint with wire brushing if my steel is sitting right at welding heat but I'm brushing too aggressively. It might be dragging some oxidation back into the joint. You using stainless or carbon steel bristles?

4

wendy_murphy16•1mo ago

That old timer was right about quenching in used motor oil...

I was working on a railroad spike knife a few months back, nothing fancy just a little project for a friend. An old guy named Carl who's been forging since the 70s told me to ditch my fancy canola oil and try used motor oil instead. I thought he was crazy, figured it would smoke like crazy and mess up the hardness. Finally gave it a shot last week with some oil from my buddy's 98 Ford F-150 and dang if he wasn't right. The quench was way more consistent, no huge steam pockets or uneven cooling like I always got with the canola. The spike came out harder than anything I've done before, filed right through my test file without biting. Anybody else use weird quenchants like old brake fluid or something? I'm curious what else works that people look down on.

14

harper_owens•1mo ago

Debate: Should we normalize using mild steel for high-wear tools or stick to the hard stuff?

I was reading an old blacksmithing journal from 1984 and stumbled on a claim that mild steel with a good case hardening can outlast high-carbon steel in certain applications like chisels for softer materials. The author argued it's easier to maintain and less brittle, but I've always been taught to go for 1095 or similar for anything that takes a real beating. I'm talking about stuff like cold chisels for metalwork, not just decorative pieces. Has anyone here actually tried that and seen it hold up over six months of regular use?

24

rivershah•1mo ago

My first attempt at forge welding railroad spikes totally failed until I figured out the flux trick

I tried forge welding some railroad spikes together for a bigger project last weekend. First three tries the metal just crumbled apart at the seam. Then an old timer at the shop told me I wasn't using enough borax flux and my heat was too high by about 100 degrees. After I dialed it back and coated the joint heavy with flux, they fused perfect on the fourth try. Anybody else struggle with getting the temp right when forge welding this kind of steel?

24

beth_sanchez47•1mo ago

Reached 500 hours on my anvil and it hit me different

I've been keeping a log book since I started forging 3 years ago. Last night I added up my hammer time and hit exactly 500 hours. What got me is that I still feel like a beginner on some things like scroll work. But looking back at my first fire poker vs what I made last week, the difference is huge. Anyone else track their shop hours and get surprised by the gaps in your own skills?

16

leo603•1mo ago

Remember making your own forge fuel?

Back in the 90s I spent every Saturday crushing charcoal and mixing it with clay for my forge. Now I just grab a bag of coal from the hardware store for $12 and call it a day. Anyone else miss that weird satisfaction of building your own stuff from scratch?

5

river_adams25•1mo ago

Took me 3 years to figure out why my anvil ring was driving me crazy

I finally realized last month that the ring wasn't from the anvil itself but from the stand bolts being loose... tightened them up and the ringing stopped instantly. Has anyone else dealt with a weird noise that turned out to be something simple?