c/blacksmiths

Just dropped $450 on a proper post vise and it's already paid for itself

I was using a cheap bench vise for years and it would always twist and slip on heavy scroll work. Finally bit the bullet and got a solid 6-inch post vise from a local estate sale. Mounted it to a stump in my shop last week. The difference is night and day, I can hold a piece steady with one hand and hammer with the other without any wobble. Anyone have a good method for keeping the screw threads clean from scale and grit?

I finally gave in and tried a proper rounding hammer after years with my cross pein

For the longest time, I thought my trusty old 3lb cross pein was all I needed for moving metal, you know, the one I got from a yard sale in Toledo. I'd just muscle through, hitting hard and often to shape a curve or draw out a taper. Then, about two months back, I was working on a set of fireplace tools and my wrist was killing me after just the first poker. A guy at the guild meet said I should borrow his rounding hammer, just for a day. The difference was crazy. The rounded face lets the metal flow so much easier with way less effort, and I'm not fighting rebound or leaving deep hammer marks I have to clean up later. I finished that poker in half the time with way less ache. Now I use my cross pein only for specific jobs like starting a sharp shoulder. Has anyone else made a switch like that and found it changed their whole approach to forging basic shapes?

Appreciation post: My coal forge clinker issue took me a full weekend to sort

I spent two days just trying to get a clean, even heat because the air flow kept getting blocked. Anyone have a better method for managing clinker in a bottom-blast setup?

My main forge burner sputtered out halfway through a commissioned gate hinge

It happened yesterday evening, right as I was getting the steel to a good welding heat. I had to shut everything down and finish the piece cold in the vise, which took an extra three hours. Anyone have a reliable burner design that won't quit under a sustained run?

I finally got to see the old forge at the Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska.

The hand-cranked blower system they had set up was still fully working, which really made me think about how much effort went into every heat. Has anyone else visited a historic shop that gave you a new respect for the basics?

I visited the old steel mill museum in Bethlehem PA and the sheer size of their forging hammers blew my mind.

Just realized my old forge setup was way safer than this new 'efficient' one

I was working in my shop in Tacoma last winter, trying to get a rush order done. My new high-output burner started backfiring, and a jet of flame shot out the air intake... it singed my sleeve and nearly caught my workbench on fire. I shut everything down, went back to my old reliable venturi burner the next day, and haven't had a single issue since. Anyone else think we overcomplicate things chasing efficiency sometimes?

Pro tip: I switched from a basic coal forge to a propane one last winter and the difference in heat control is crazy.

My steel heats up way more even now, and I'm not fighting to keep a fire going. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed they use less fuel?

My old boss in Tulsa said to always quench a leaf spring in water, not oil

He was sure it would make the steel harder, so I tried it on a cleaver blank last month. The thing cracked right down the middle with a loud ping, a total loss. Now I've heard other smiths say oil is the only safe way for that steel. Which method do you actually use for truck spring projects?

Honestly, I used to forge every knife with a 2-pound cross peen for an hour straight

Now I just use a 3-pound rounding hammer and get the same shape in 20 minutes after a smith in Austin showed me his technique. Anyone else switch up their primary forging hammer recently?

Question about using a piece of soapstone for marking hot steel

I always used a regular metal scribe for marking my cuts on hot work, but the lines were so faint I'd lose them under the scale. Last month, an older smith at the county fair in Springfield saw me squinting and said, 'Kid, you're fighting the metal. Grab a chunk of soapstone from the hardware store.' I thought it was a weird old-timer thing that wouldn't work. I got a piece for about five bucks and tried it on a gate hinge I was forging. You just rub it on the hot steel, maybe around 600 degrees, and it leaves a bright white, clear line that doesn't burn off. It made cutting my tenons so much faster because I could actually see my marks. I don't know why I fought it for so long. Does anyone have a good source for the bigger sticks, or do you just break up the smaller ones?

Reading an old book on metalwork, I found a fact about quenching that made me stop

I was looking through 'The Art of Blacksmithing' from 1976 and it said that in the 1800s, some smiths would quench tools in urine for a harder edge, believing the salt content helped. I had always thought that was just an old wives' tale, but the book cited several primary sources from the time. Has anyone here ever tried a historical quenching medium like that, or know if there's any real science behind it?

Can we talk about how I thought a $20 cross-peen hammer was just a gimmick?

I bought one on a whim from a flea market in Springfield, and after forging a simple leaf keychain with it, the control for spreading metal was way better than my regular ball-peen. My buddy, who's been at it for fifteen years, just laughed and said 'told you so' when I showed him the results. Has anyone else had a tool they wrote off completely change their mind after actually trying it?

Found my old coal forge notes from 3 years ago in the garage

I was cleaning out my shop in Springfield last week and found a notebook from when I first switched from propane to coal. My notes from back then are full of questions about fire depth and clinker breaks. Last month, I was helping a new guy at the local guild with his own coal setup, and I realized I could answer all his problems without even thinking. It's funny how stuff that felt so hard then is just second nature now. Anyone else keep old notes that show how far you've come?

Shoutout to my first anvil from a garage sale, which went from a rusty doorstop to my main tool after 3 months of grinding and oiling.

The change happened because I finally took the advice from an old guy at the Tacoma guild meeting who said, 'Kid, just keep hitting it with a wire wheel until your arm falls off, then soak it.'

Why does nobody talk about using a cheap angle grinder for initial bevels?

My uncle, a retired farrier, said he's used the same Harbor Freight grinder for roughing out knives for 15 years. It made me rethink spending big on a dedicated belt grinder right away. Anyone else have a go-to 'good enough' tool for the early stages?

My old coal forge was smoking out my whole shop last winter

I tried a trick from a guy at the county fair and built a small brick baffle inside the firepot. It cut the smoke by half and saved me from freezing with the doors open. Has anyone else tried something like that with a coal setup?

Was reading a 1920s smithing manual and it said a forge could burn through a ton of coal in a single week.

Found that in a scanned copy of 'The Blacksmith's Craft' from the Milwaukee library archive, which really puts the scale of old commercial shops into perspective for a hobbyist like me.

Bought a 'high carbon' bar stock online for $80, turned out to be mild steel with a bad case harden. Ruined a whole knife blank.

Changed my mind about using old files for tool steel

Read a metallurgy paper from a university that showed the carbon content can vary wildly, making heat treating a gamble. Anyone have a reliable source for known steel stock they'd recommend?

TIL a simple change to my quench tank setup saved me a lot of trouble

For years, I just used a plain steel drum of water for quenching blades. It worked, but I'd get a lot of scale and sometimes warping, especially on longer pieces. About six months ago, I was at a meet in Knoxville and saw a guy using a tall, narrow tank with a mesh basket at the bottom. He said it keeps the piece moving and cools it more evenly. I went home and built one from a piece of 6-inch square tubing, about 3 feet tall. I put some scrap expanded metal in the bottom to keep things off the floor of the tank. The difference is night and day. My quenches are way more consistent now, and I haven't had a warp on a simple blade since I switched. Has anyone else tried a setup like this, or do you stick with the old bucket method?

PSA: My first time trying to forge weld a chain link in my backyard shop went sideways

I was in my garage in Portland, trying to join two pieces of 3/8 inch round stock for a simple chain. I had my little single burner propane forge going, and I thought I had a good welding heat. When I pulled the first link out and set it on the anvil, I hit it with my cross peen hammer and... it just sort of crumbled. The metal didn't fuse at all, it just broke apart into a grainy mess. I realized I had let it get way too hot, basically burned the steel. I was so mad at myself for wasting the material. I shut everything down, cleaned up the scale, and just sat there for a minute. I ended up watching a bunch of videos on heat control before I tried again the next day. Has anyone else completely cooked a piece when you were sure you had the temperature right?

A guy at the scrap yard said something about old galvanized steel that stuck with me.

He mentioned he got sick for a week after grinding some without a proper respirator, which made me check my own gear. Anyone have a good source for affordable P100 filters?

PSA: I was shocked to learn how many blacksmiths worked in my small town in 1900

I was looking through some old census records online for my family tree, and I got curious about local trades. I typed in my town's name and the year 1900, and searched for 'blacksmith'. The record showed 17 different smiths listed in a town of only 2,000 people. That's one smith for every 117 folks, which is way more than I ever would have guessed. It really shows how essential the trade was before cars and factories. Has anyone else dug into the history of smiths in their area and found something surprising?

Finally got a clean weld on that mild steel to wrought iron join

I've been fighting with a repair job on an old farm gate for about three weeks now. The main issue was getting a solid weld between the new mild steel bar and the original wrought iron upright without it cracking. I must have ground out and re-welded the same six inch section five times, trying different pre-heat temps and rods. What finally worked was keeping my oxy-acetylene torch on the wrought iron piece for a full two minutes before even striking an arc with the 7018. Has anyone else found a better method for these old iron mixes?