c/blacksmiths

26

roberts.troy•1h ago

Tong weld snapped on a $4,000 commission piece

Last Tuesday I was drawing out a pair of fire tongs for a customer in Portland and the jaw weld gave way mid-strike. The piece was already shaped, so I had to start over with fresh stock and lost about 3 hours of work. I've been using the same mild steel for my tongs for 2 years and never had one fail like that. Turns out I'd been burning the flux off with a bad torch tip, so the weld was shallow the whole time. I re-did it with a proper scarf joint and a fresh tip, and it held fine on the next run. Anyone else had a tool fail at the worst possible moment like that, or is it just my luck?

22

barbara_owens•2d ago

Picked a hand crank blower over an electric one for my little shop

I was torn between a $40 electric blower and a $25 antique hand crank I found at a flea market in Denton. Went with the hand crank because I wanted to control the fire slower, and my first forge weld this weekend actually held. Has anyone else gone old school and regretted or loved it?

27

the_miles•2d ago

That time my forge fire melted my work boot and I didnt notice for an hour

Last August I was out in my shed in Springfield, working a piece of 1/2 inch round stock for a gate hinge. I got so wrapped up in tapping out the curve that I didnt feel the heat creeping through my boot sole. Next thing I know, I smell burning rubber, look down, and the whole right boot is smoking and the sole is half melted onto the floor. I kicked it off, damn near burned my foot, and had to finish the day in a flip flop with a towel wrapped around my ankle. Took me a week to realize the boot was a 15 year old pair I only wore for finishing work, so I never thought to check them. Now I stick a piece of scrap steel under my foot as a heat shield whenever I work close to the anvil, and I keep a spare boot in the corner. Anyone else ever wrecked a shoe or boot from stray heat and not catch it until too late?

15

olivia_wilson•2d ago

That week in March when every heat treat went sideways

I had three days straight last March where nothing would harden right. First batch of 1095 came out soft as butter, then the second one cracked right down the middle of a knife blade I'd spent 4 hours on. Turns out my thermocouple was reading 150 degrees off, and I'd been soaking at like 1375 instead of 1525. Found out by accident when I borrowed a buddy's digital gauge from his shop in Dayton. Has anyone else had a mystery batch go bad and later realized it was the gear, not the steel?

22

williamt44•3d ago

The $45 anvil horn attachment that finally made sense to me

I used to think anvil horns were just for bending hooks until I watched a guy at a demo in Portland use one to flare a pipe end, and now I see why that money was worth it.

24

jasons63•3d ago

Just realized my hammer head weight was fighting me for years

Tbh I've been swinging a 3 pound cross peen since I started in 2018, thought heavy meant better control. Then a guy at the Friday hammer-in in Austin watched me work a leaf spring and said I was muscling it instead of letting the steel do the job. He handed me a 2 pound rounding hammer and told me to try the same draw out. Night and day, I was overstriking every third hit and bending my wrist weird to compensate. Switched my main hammer to 2.5 pounds for the last 6 weeks and my shoulder pain is gone, plus my scrolls are way more even. Anyone else drop down in hammer weight and see a huge difference in their finish work?

11

lindareed•5d ago

Vent: My tongs gave out on the last big commission order

Spent all Tuesday on a 14 piece railing job for a client in Boise, and my favorite pair of tongs finally snapped at the jaw right when I was setting the last twist. The steel was cherry red and I had to grab it with my vice grips, which took twice as long and left a nasty mark. I've had those tongs for maybe 8 years, never thought to check for stress cracks near the rivet. Has anyone else had a favorite tool die at the worst possible moment, or am I the only one who gets that attached to a specific pair?

19

the_julia•5d ago

I switched my anvil face prep and now my welds look different

For 5 years I dressed my anvil faces with a flap disc every month like everyone in the shop told me to. Then I stopped doing it for 3 months straight and just used a worn down stone instead. The hammer bounce changed completely, my pieces stopped showing those shiny cold spots near the edges. People swear by smooth faces but rough texture honestly gave me better control on leaf work. Has anyone else dropped the polishing routine and seen a difference in their upsetting?

0

laura940•7d ago

The day my hammer head flew off taught me about my striking technique

I was about 8 months into making leaf keychains when my 2 pound cross pein came flying off the handle on a hot July afternoon, nearly hit my garage window. Turns out I was choking up too high and flexing my wrists on every swing, which let the head loosen without me noticing. Anyone else find out a bad habit the hard way like this, or is it just me?

4

charlie_ellis•8d ago

Overheard a guy say his anvil was too soft, then watched him blame the steel

I’ve been guilty of the same thing with my own anvil for years. Last month I finally borrowed a friend’s hammer and realized my old one had a huge chip in the face. Swapped to a 2.5 lb cross peen and suddenly everything felt smoother. How do you all check your hammer faces for wear before you start blaming the anvil?

8

wright.caleb•10d ago

Hand hammer or power hammer for the quiet days

Back in 2018 I had to pick between buying a used 50lb power hammer or sticking with my hand hammer for a commission of 40 hooks. I went with the power hammer because my elbow was shot after a long summer. It took me a week to relearn how to control the blows, but that machine cut my shop time in half. Do you folks find power hammers worth the noise and upkeep, or do you stay with the old ways? I still keep the hand hammer around for the fine stuff.

14

jana584•11d ago

Talked to an old farrier at a swap meet, changed how I think about my anvil

He said he never bought a new anvil in 40 years, just fixed up ones everyone else gave up on, and that made me look at my own dents and scars different. How many of you still use an anvil that's been through a few owners, or do you run something new?

10

kimr33•11d ago

A punch slipped in the rain and nearly cost me a finger

I was out in the yard last week with a hot punch, hammering a drift through a 1 inch plate. The handle was slick from the drizzle, and on the third swing the punch kicked sideways, slicing my glove open right at the thumb. Blood everywhere, I had to stop and wrap it with shop rags before driving 20 minutes to urgent care in Salem. Six stitches later, I'm wondering if anyone else keeps a dry grip wrap or rubber handle on their tools for wet days, or do you just wait out the weather?

26

sandra693•13d ago

Finally got my hammer swing to be consistent after 5 months of messing up

I kept watching videos and my hits would land all over the place. Took a class at the local forge in Dayton and the instructor told me I was choking up on the handle like a baseball bat. Switched to gripping near the end and let the weight do the work. Night and day difference. Now I can hit the same spot 8 out of 10 times. Anyone else struggle with grip for way too long before it clicked?

26

kimr33•13d ago

One stubborn truck axle ate my whole Tuesday and half my forearm

Had a 2008 F-250 come in with a siezed hub that took 4 hours, a 10-foot pipe, and a torch to break loose, and the customer just said 'thought it was a quick job' while I was still bleeding through my glove, so has anyone else had a job that looked simple but turned into a full day war?

5

gavinh26•15d ago

Quenching in cheap oil isn't the hack everyone thinks it is

I see people bragging about using dollar store veggie oil for hardening, but after 6 months of testing on 1084 blanks at my setup near Tulsa, I get more consistent results with a proper quench oil that costs $18 a gallon. The vapor stage in that thin stuff leaves soft spots on thicker sections, and I've had two blades crack from the uneven cooling. Am I the only one who thinks the savings aren't worth ruining a knife? What's your go-to quench liquid that actually works every time?

14

christopher389•15d ago

That gravel lot in Ohio taught me about forge welding heat

I spent last summer helping a buddy set up his mobile forge for a demo at a county fair outside of Columbus. We were working on a gravel lot and the wind kept shifting, so my coal fire was all over the place. I kept missing my welds, blaming the weather or the coal quality. Then this old timer walked over and said, 'You're watching the color, but you ain't watching the scale.' He showed me how the scale on the steel starts to dance and shimmer right before welding temp, even when the color looks off from the sun. That one tip changed how I judge heat in open air, and now I barely miss my welds. Anyone else had a trick like that from a stranger at a demo that stuck with you for years?

0

theathomas•15d ago

My first damascus billet finally showed layers after 9 months of trying

I have been fighting with forge welding since last winter. Every attempt came out as a blob with no pattern at all. Last Tuesday I cut the billet, etched it in ferric chloride, and there they were, clean wavy lines all the way through. The difference was controlling my heats better and using a lighter hammer. I kept the billet at a bright orange instead of letting it go pale. Has anyone else had that moment where it just clicks after tons of failed tries?

10

thomas_brown•16d ago

Switched to a coal forge after 12 years of propane, here's what changed my mind

I was over at Hank's shop last Tuesday, he's 70 and has been swinging hammers since he was a kid. I always laughed at his coal forge, thought it was outdated and dirty. He let me work a piece of 1080 on it, just a simple leaf punch, and the way the heat soaked into the steel was totally different, more even, less guesswork. He said 'propane gives you a flame, coal gives you a fire' and that stuck with me. I'm not tossing my gas forge, but I'm building a small coal station this weekend. Anyone else run both and got tips for a newbie coal guy?

17

spencerfisher•17d ago

My forge blower setup got a lot simpler after a demo in Denver

I used to run a fancy variable speed blower with all these adapters and dampers to control air. Then I watched a guy at a demo just use a cheap hair dryer jammed into a pipe, and honestly his fire was more consistent than mine. I swapped mine out last fall, saved about $80, and I get better heat control now. Anyone else drop the fancy gear for something basic like this?

11

oscarh16•18d ago

Hammer handle shape, I had it backwards for years until a job in Cleveland

Watched an old timer at a shop in Cleveland rehang a sledge and he filed the handle oval, not round. He said the flat side faces the strike direction for control, and I realized I'd been gripping mine wrong for 8 years. Anyone else check their grip after a long swing session?

1

sageburns•21d ago

My anvil face was way softer than I thought

I had a Harbor Freight anvil for years and assumed the face was hardened enough. Swung a chisel wrong last month and put a ding in it, so I ran a file test and it cut way too easy. Anyone else ever check their anvil hardness the hard way, or did I just buy junk?

16

lindaw12•22d ago

Anvil ring changed completely after switching from stump to steel stand

I picked up a beat up 150 lb anvil from a farm sale outside Dayton last month. Bolted it to a stump I've used for years, and the ring was dull, kind of dead. Then I found an old I-beam stand at a scrap yard for 40 bucks and got it welded up. Now the same hammer blow rings sharp and the rebound feels like night and day. I think the stump was soaking up all the energy, and the steel stand lets it bounce back. I also leveled it with some shims, which probably helped too. Has anyone else seen that big of a difference just from switching the base, or is my stump just extra rotten?

14

alicecooper•22d ago

Vent: â anvil positioning, the internet is wrong about this one

I used to mount my anvil dead center on a stump like every video says. Last spring I moved it about 4 inches closer to the edge so I could get my legs under the horn easier. My hammer control got way better in a month, less bouncing on heavy hits. Everyone online swears by centered, but I swapped to a slight overhang and now my shoulder stops aching after a 6 hour session in my shop near Tulsa. Has anyone else tried offsetting their anvil on purpose, or am I the only one who thinks the standard advice is overrated?

16

grayh60•22d ago

Spent 5 hours on a simple twist twist that shoulda took 45 minutes

Was making some gate hooks for a customer over in Tulsa and needed to do a quick decorative twist on 3/8 square stock. Figured it was a no brainer, heated it up and went at it with my hand twist wrench. First one came out all wobbly and uneven, looked like a drunk snake. Tried again with a slower twist, still got that weird ripple in the middle. Turns out my stock was slightly twisted already from the way it was stored, and I never thought to straighten it out cold first. After fighting it for hours I finally marked the center, straightened the bar on the anvil, and then did the twist in one smooth pull. Worked perfect after that. Has anyone else run into pre twisted stock from cheap suppliers and how do you check for it before you start heating? That little bit of time lost really messed up my whole afternoon delivery schedule.