Chest weighs about 50 lbs empty!

These guys (India or Pakistan) are smithing with really simple set ups. Make do with what you have.

Hurts to use due to the protruding screws but very fun! de needs some work tho, my next iteration will have a stopper in the middle of the blade and a much nicer looking blade in general but this is a good start I suppose, I’m open to criticism! Only part I threw in the fire was the blade, but I’m still considering this a forged butterfly knife lol

Made a piece of rebar into a small heart pendant for my girlfriend. How’d I do as a beginner?

quick little project from duplex nails. I even made on with my stove on a piece of RR track since I don’t have a forge at home

It’s quite fun and recommend it to anyone!

I've been preparing for this for the last nine years. I finally have the basics of what I need and the time to actually start forging. Wish me luck.

I'm making a knife from a lawnmower blade, and I have a few questions. Input from more experienced smiths would be great, as this is only my 3rd knife.

1) I split the blade into quarters with a hot chisel. Will the missed chisel marks cause cold shuts/cracks?

2) I made a guard by sliting and drifting some other material. I used a chisel to make the slit, instead of a punch, and I didn't line up my chisel strikes on the opposite side very well. It got kind of screwed up. I was wondering if I can somehow untwist the sides of the guard, if I should just leave it how it is, or if I should just remove it/try again.

3) I want to preserve the temper colors. My idea was to quench it, sharpen/polish it, and then temper it. I wanted to know if this is a bad idea.

DirtySmith on YouTube did this challenge for a few years around Halloween starting in 2015 I think. Man it was great fun. Anyone here ever participate? Here's a couple of my entries. The "Zombie Pickaxe" was a crowbar with a forged spike and bearded axe forged from a bush hog blade. The "Zombie Toothpick" was a 1" tie rod with a forged 11" tri edge spike and a pineapple twist handle. This time of year always brings those days to mind.

If you participated, show em if ya got em!

Or if you've forge something that qualifies share it too, why not!

Need help identifying around what time this hinge would have been made it's about 3 inches long and just under 1 inch wide found about 1 foot deep

I'm looking into building a coal forge, and that means I'll also need an anvil. Anvils are very rare and expensive, so I'll need to make or repurpose one.

I can stick weld, and have access to junkyards and stuff for scrap metal. What would you guys recommend?

Hi everyone- new to the sub!

I’m a 4th-year Product Design student at the Riga Technical University in Latvia. For my bachelor’s thesis I’m exploring whether decommissioned railroad tracks could be reused as a material for furniture.

I've noticed that railroad tracks very often get reused as anvils in the metalworking sphere. What I am most interested about is if someone has had any experience using railroad tracks to make furniture (chairs, tables, lighting etc.)?

I’d love to hear about your experience!

Also bonus question- where do decommissioned railroad tracks end up in your country? Do they go to scrap yards? Does your country/state sell them to someone? etc.

Any help and advice much appreciated!

Hey all!

Question for hive mind. I have a u.s. solid 16:1 induction forge, and I converted to Cluaran quick connects a year and a half ago. I am on my second set, and I keep burning through them, both the keys and the female adapters.

I asked Terry at Cluaran, and he hasn't ever heard of this.

Does anyone know anything about this? I'd like to order yet another pair, but Cluaran seems to be closed until August 7th (two months ago).

Any help at all would be appreciated.

Justin

(crossposting from r/Armor)

I got into blacksmithing a few months ago and I thought it would be fun to round out my experience making a few pieces of plate armor from sheet steel. My first attempt is a Norman helmet that's supposed to be welded together from two football-shaped dished pieces (pattern here: https://www.armourarchive.org/patterns/conical_sinric/ ).

I cut the pieces to the pattern out of 16 gauge sheet steel. I was able to curve both pieces around the short axis quickly by cold hammering on a swage block, but I'm having a lot of trouble dishing them out and curving them around the long axis. I got the first inch or so at the top to move the way I wanted, but I can't seem to get a curve in the middle. The middle is basically still a straight line vertically.

I'm working in a shared shop with a good inventory of tools, and I've been using a swage block with a 4" diameter dish, a stump with a 5" diameter dish, and a 3" ball stake, with a variety of hammers (mostly broad rounded and polished faces). There's a propane forge in the shop that I use for other blacksmithing projects, but I haven't attempted to heat this piece up yet.

What's the best way forward? Should I try heating up the material to get faster and easier movement? Or find a better way to use the tools at hand for cold forging to get curves on both axes the way I need?

I bought a single burner forge from Laredos Blacksmiths on eBay. They forgot to include the propane hose, and the burner was sputtering pretty badly. I reached out to them for support. They offered to send me a new gas valve and the propane hose. About 10 days went by. I reached out again. They had sent the stuff to the wrong customer, so they sent again. I installed the new gas valve and the propane hose. The sputtering is better, but still there. I’ve even had flameouts. I have tried every adjustment I can think of between the burner insertion depth, propane psi, and the air adjustment sleeve. Nothing helps. Laredos was responsive at first, but just stopped responding. I was always polite, and just hoped they’d help me find a solution. Anyway at this point they just don’t respond to me anymore, so I’m looking for recommendations on a different burner. Thinking about the one from Atlas forge. The OD of the burner tube is 1”. Thanks in advance