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?
I got one of those IR temp guns from Harbor Freight for like $25 last month and decided to check my forge temp against my regular thermometer. Turns out my old analog gauge was reading 150 degrees too low the entire 2 years I've been using it. I've been overheating all my high carbon steel without even knowing. Has anyone else had their forge thermometer drift that bad over time?
I've been running a coal forge out of my backyard shed in Salem for about 3 years now. Last Saturday I had to stop 4 times because of wind knocking my fire around, so I finally caved and bought a Mr. Volcano propane forge for $140. First heat on it was so steady I almost cried, and I got a railroad spike knife done in under 2 hours. Anyone else make the switch and find it worth it?
I was working on a fireplace grate for a customer in Albany when the 2x12 oak stand I built last spring just split right down the middle under a heavy hit. No warning, just a loud crack and my 150lb Peter Wright tipped over onto the shop floor. I think the wood dried out too much over the winter, has anyone else had a wooden stand fail on them like this?
Propane was costing me $80 a week in fuel so I built a coke forge out of an old brake drum. The heat is way more consistent but the smoke is brutal - am I doing something wrong or do I just need to deal with it?
Guy told me he quenches his horseshoe nails in used motor oil and swears by it, said my fancy canola oil method was just wasting money. Now I'm wondering if I've been overcomplicating things for the last 3 years for no reason - anyone else ever try something weird like that and have it actually work out?
Turns out the flux I was using was absorbing moisture from the air because I left the container open in my shop. Has anyone else had a problem with damp flux ruining their welds, or am I just the only one who didn't learn this in year one?
I ran a coal forge out of my garage in Ohio for nearly 15 years, but last spring I finally made the switch to a propane setup after a buddy showed me his. The old forge was messy and I was tired of dealing with clinkers and smoke complaints from the neighbors. Went with a Diamondback 2-burner for around $900, and honestly the temp control is way easier now. Anyone else make that jump and miss the coal smell?
I've been at this for about 8 months now, mostly making small stuff like S-hooks and gate latches. This morning I was sorting my scrap pile and realized I had 50 hooks sitting in a bucket that I'd forged myself. That number surprised me because I only work on weekends after the kids go to bed. Each one took maybe 10-15 minutes and wasn't perfect, but seeing them all together felt like real progress. It's not a big milestone for the pros here, but for a guy with a modified brake drum forge in his backyard, it meant something. Anybody else keep a count of their early pieces and look back at them?
I was finishing up a batch of camp knives for a local outfitter when I counted my order book. Turns out I had made exactly 500 knives since I set up my forge in the garage three years ago. I started out just making basic blades for friends and family, never thought I'd hit that many. Has anyone else reached a milestone that surprised them in their own shop?
So this guy named Bill who's been smithing since the 70s came by my shop last month. He watched me quench a chef knife in warm canola oil and he told me to try it at 80 degrees instead of the usual 120. I figured he was just stuck in his ways but I tried it on a few test blades of 1080 steel. The edge came out way harder and I didn't get any cracking surprisingly. Has anyone else tried a cold quench for thin blades or is this just a fluke for that steel type?
I was at a hammer-in last month and someone asked what color I run my forge at for welding. I said bright orange and they just stared at me. Turns out I was probably running 300-400 degrees too hot the whole time because I never actually calibrated my pyrometer. I used a thermocouple gauge from a buddy's shop and my readings were off by almost 200 degrees. Has anyone else realized their temp readings were garbage after checking?
At a hammer-in up in Portland last summer I watched a guy snap three blades in a row from recycled rail stock while his partner holding proper 1080 went through the whole batch without a single failure, so which side do you fall on for everyday users who aren't trying to win any awards?
Last week I watched a guy at a hammer-in try to normalize a 1095 blade right in the coals and couldn't see color for half the stroke. I've ruined three knives myself doing that before I switched to a propane forge with a dark background. Is there a trick I'm missing for judging color in direct sunlight or do people just accept the guesswork?
Been doing this since 2016 and always used canola oil because it was cheap and easy. Last week I was at a hammer-in up near Portland and an older smith watched me quench a knife. He asked why I was using such a slow oil for 1095 steel and handed me a jug of Parks 50. The difference in hardness was night and day after I tested it with my files. Anyone else have a basic mistake like this that took way too long to figure out?
So I had this piece of 1095 bar stock from McMaster-Carr that I tried to forge cold last Wednesday. Bad idea. It cracked right down the middle on the second hammer hit. I talked to Mike at the local shop in Salem and he said I should have normalized it first. Two hours in the forge at 1450 degrees and slow cool in vermiculite fixed everything. Has anyone else had trouble with 1095 being brittle right out of the box?
Last week I got impatient and dunked my anvil in the water trough to cool it off faster after a long day of forging. Cracked the face right down the middle - now I'm stuck using a railroad tie until I can afford a replacement. Anybody else ever do something dumb like this to their gear?
I was working on a knife blade at my forge in the backyard around 4pm, full swing coming down on a hot billet, and the handle just gave out right at the shoulder. Went flying into the cinder block wall and left a good dent. Lucky nobody was near me cause that head could have hit someone easy. Turns out there was a hairline crack running through the hickory from way back that I never caught. Has anyone else had a handle fail on them out of nowhere like that?
Last week I had a day where every single weld just... worked. No slag pits, no cold shuts, nothing like the usual mess I deal with. I made a pair of tongs in under an hour and the steel moved like butter under my hammer. Has anyone else had a day where the metal just cooperates for no reason?
I was just trying to beat my personal record of 450 and somehow nailed 500 before dinner, but now my shoulder is screaming at me every time I lift the hammer. Has anyone else accidentally crushed a milestone and regretted it the next morning?
I always figured tongs and a hammer were good enough for drawing out stock, but last week at a shop in Columbus I watched a guy knock out a 12 inch taper in like 3 minutes with a spring fuller he made from an old coil spring. It cut my time on a scroll bracket down from 45 minutes to about 15. Has anyone else had that moment where you ditch old habits for a tool you thought was unnecessary?
Old smith at a demo in Flagstaff told me power hammers ruin the soul of a blade, but I just finished a batch with my自家 rig and the edges held better than any hand hammered piece I've done. Am I crazy for thinking the machine stuff comes out more consistent, or is that old timer onto something about feel?
I had been using this expensive flux powder for years because some YouTube guy swore by it. At Quad-State last fall I watched this old timer from Ohio just use plain borax from the grocery store. His weld looked better than anything I ever made. Tried it myself that weekend and haven't looked back. Anyone else find that the simple stuff works better than the specialized products?
Back when I started out about 15 years ago, I was quenching everything in ice cold oil because I thought it would harden the steel faster. There was this older guy named Hank who worked at a shop I visited in Wichita. He watched me dunk a knife blank and just shook his head. He said son you are going to crack that piece or warp it bad if you keep doing that. I ignored him for like two more years until I ruined a batch of six blades in one afternoon. They all came out with hairline cracks and I was out maybe $120 in materials. I switched to warm oil around 120 degrees and I never went back. Has anyone else been given a piece of advice that sounded wrong but turned out to be dead on?