That being said if you're going to use it, you may want to forge the reigns round or hexagonal, so they feel a little nicer in your hand. I generally avoid forging things out of rebar as I found I was fighting with with the material itself more than necessary. It always happens right where you don't want it to. There is a also a lot of variation between not only different pieces of rebar, but even within different sections of the same piece. In my experience, rebar tends to split apart more readily than mild steel which can be very frustrating. If you really want to make your own tongs, rebar will work, but it's not going to be the best starting material. They were actually made by a blacksmith for this purpose. If you really need to hold something, a pair of vice grips are going to give you a much better grip than any flat jaw tong. My suggestion is to work with a piece of stock that is long enough for you to hold the cool end while you work the hot end. But sometimes it is necessary to have a pair or two. Tongs are a tough project for a beginner. I realize that is poorly described, but Jealdi does something similar to what I am describing and posts a picture here. You can also grind in features like a fuller or a cut off tool into the web or the feet of the rail Making it a multi-purpose anvil, which can be nice. No need to buy anything to do this, just take the stand you have and remove some of those pieces of wood you used to make your stand wide enough, and cut them to now make the working surface of the anvil tall enough. The extra mass under your hammer will make it much more efficient than it is in it's current state. However, to get the best results out of you track, you will want to mount that piece vertically rather than horizontally like you have it. I'm glad you found a section of rail you can use rather that working with that guy who was obviously just trying to make a buck, many people have done the same with good results. Good to see you got going on your journey! It's *mostly* downhill from there! I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it with practice though. It might help if I kept my jaws a little more square when forging. With everything upside down and not being able to see if I’m center it doesn’t feel right. If I put the chisel in a vise and put the tong jaw on top of it I start to feel uncomfortable like I won’t keep it center. I wanted to use a chisel to put a groove into the surface that holds the material but I can’t quite get it without an extra hand. They still need a little more work bending into shape but they’re close for as far as my skill will get me for now. a set of tongs that I’m making without any tongs to use. I tried to negotiate a little bit better price and he pretty much told me to F off and instead of coming down on the price he changed the price on his ad from $390 to $450.Īnyways here’s a picture of what I have set up for now and how I set it up. Plus a picture of my first project. Btw I wasn’t the one that did the grinder work to it. I’m still on the hunt for something with a little more mass but it will work for now.Īs for the fisher anvil. Someone on Craigslist had a piece of RxR For $20 and they delivered it to my house. Just an update in case anyone is interested. You might just have $400 before you know it which should buy a decent old anvil of good weight. If you can't find an old one for what you have saved, keep looking and keep saving more money. When new smiths get all excited they end up buying junk they are not happy with in a few years. A few years ago I paid $1.29 a pound for my first anvil and it cost $300. I think your money will stretch further buying an old anvil. I was using an old cast iron anvil borrowed from my Dad, but I learned a lot using the horn, hardy and pritchel holes. It took me a year to find my first anvil and it was worth the weight. Don't be in a hurry to find the first one out there, but take time to look. My advice would be to get a London pattern anvil that you can afford. Most smiths I know say the same thing, that they started out with a piece of railroad track or a cheap Harbor Freight anvil but now they have a London pattern anvil. Sure, there are people out there doing great work on things other than anvils and yes the London pattern is relatively new as far as anvils go but I think most guys starting out will be happier with a London pattern anvil. My two cents isn't in opposition of those that are trying to encourage you to use something other than an anvil, but I don't know anyone who is happier with a piece of scrap steel than with their anvil.
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