c/blacksmiths

Heard a guy at the hardware store say he just uses a regular drill for his tongs

I was picking up some 1/4 inch round stock in Bellingham last week and overheard this. He was telling his buddy he drills the rivet holes with a cordless drill and a basic bit. It made me stop and think about how we can overcomplicate simple tools. I've always used the drill press for that step, but maybe the extra setup isn't always needed for smaller work. What's your go-to method for drilling tong holes?

A demo at the state fair made me switch to a different hammer weight

I was watching a guy from a shop in Boise work on a gate hinge at the fair last month. He was using a 2.5 pound cross peen for the whole job, drawing out the metal way faster than I ever could. I always used a 3 pound hammer for that kind of work, thinking heavier was better. After seeing his control and speed, I tried his method on a simple leaf project at home. It took half the time and my arm didn't feel like it was going to fall off. Has anyone else found a lighter hammer works better for certain forging steps?

Vent: Bought a cheap 'forge ready' refractory mix that cracked after one firing

Wasted about $45 and a whole afternoon patching it up. Anyone have a go-to brand for small forge linings that actually holds up?

I wasted $200 on a 'quick fix' forge lining that crumbled in a month...

My uncle told me to always soak my hammer handle in linseed oil for a week before using it

I ignored him for years, but after my third handle split in a month, I tried it and haven't had a problem since. Anyone else get stubborn about a piece of advice that turned out to be spot on?

My apprentice called a coal forge a 'dinosaur stove' yesterday

We were cleaning up the shop and he pointed at my old rivet forge and said it looked like something from a Flintstones cartoon. It made me realize I've never actually shown him how to manage a coal fire, only the gas forge. Do you still teach coal basics to new smiths, or is it becoming a lost skill?

Changed my coal forge setup after a workshop in Kentucky

Used to just pile the coal up and blast air. Figured more air meant hotter fire. Worked okay for basic stuff. Then I went to a workshop at the Appalachian Blacksmith Center. The instructor there, a guy named Carl, showed us how to build a proper firepot shape. He said, 'You want a heart, not a hill.' Started building a deeper, narrower fire with a good coke bed. Night and day difference. The heat is way more focused now. My steel heats faster and more evenly. Saves coal too. Anyone else switch up their fire management and see a big jump in efficiency?

I dropped $80 on a 'high-temp' paint that bubbled off my forge in under a week.

What brand of paint actually holds up to forge heat for more than a few firings?

Question about a surprising number of hammer strikes

I was working on a large decorative gate hinge yesterday, and I decided to count my hammer blows on one of the scrolls. I hit 1,247 strikes before I was happy with the shape. I've been at this for over twenty years, but I'd never actually counted before. It made me think about how much of our work is in the repetition. Has anyone else ever tracked something like this on a project?

Talked to an old timer at the scrap yard about my forge welds

Honestly, I was grabbing some old leaf springs and mentioned I kept getting cold shuts on my Damascus billets. He just looked at my fire and said, 'Kid, your coal's too clean, you need more green coal on top to really seal it.' Tbh, I tried it last night and my weld was way cleaner on the first hit. Anyone else find a simple tip that just clicked like that?

I swore off using a power hammer for scrollwork until a custom gate job in Austin changed my mind.

The client wanted over 50 matching, tight scrolls for a fence, and I figured I'd just muscle through it with the hand hammer. After three full days and only finishing about 15 pieces, my shoulder was killing me and the shapes weren't consistent. I finally dragged my old 25lb Little Giant out of the corner, set up a jig, and finished the remaining 35 scrolls in one afternoon with perfect uniformity. Has anyone else had a stubborn project that forced you to switch up your usual tools?

A client in Portland said my forge weld looked 'cold' and I almost argued

He pointed at a subtle line in the steel and said, 'That's not a union, it's a suggestion.' I cranked the gas and got a better heat the next time. How do you spot a weak weld before it fails?

I thought those cheap anvils from the hardware store were fine for a beginner

I bought a $90 cast iron anvil when I first started in my garage. After about six months, the face was dented and the horn chipped on simple projects. A guy at the local guild let me use his 150lb Peter Wright for an afternoon, and the difference in rebound and how the metal moved was night and day. I saved up and found a decent used one, and it made learning so much easier. Has anyone else made the switch from a cheap starter anvil and been shocked by the improvement?

A warning about using old coal in your forge

For years, I just used whatever bituminous coal I could get from the local yard in Toledo, never thinking about its age. Last spring, I grabbed a bag that had been sitting outside all winter and my fire was weak, sputtered a lot, and left a huge clinker. I found out damp, old coal loses a lot of its volatile gases. Now I always store it dry under a tarp and test a small batch first. Has anyone else run into problems with coal that wasn't fresh?

A guy at the Montana forge meet said my hammer blows were too hard for finishing work. I tried lighter taps and the difference is wild.

Finally bought a proper post vise for the shop, cost me about $250 and it's already saved my wrist on a tricky scroll.

Warning: My forge's heat-up time went from 45 minutes to under 20 after I switched to a ceramic fiber blanket lining from the old firebrick.

I swapped it out last Tuesday and the difference in fuel use and shop time is huge, anyone else tried this and have tips on keeping the blanket from getting beat up?

Ngl, I was cleaning out my old shop in Toledo and found my first set of tongs from '92, all hand-forged and rough.

Honestly, back then I'd spend a whole afternoon just making a pair of tongs to hold the work, but now I grab a $45 pair of V-Bits off the rack so I can focus on the actual blade, which makes me wonder if anyone else misses that kind of foundational work or if it's just me getting old.

I thought using a piece of railroad track as an anvil was a bad joke.

Found a 2-foot section at a scrapyard for $20, mounted it on a stump, and it's handled everything from knives to hooks for 5 years now. Anyone else have a surprisingly good 'makeshift' anvil story?

PSA: That demo at the Ohio forge-in about quenching in brine was a total game changer for me.

I was at the big Ohio forge-in last fall, and this old guy from West Virginia showed us how he quenches his high carbon blades in a bucket of warm salt water instead of oil. I tried it on a simple knife I was making, and the edge came out way harder than usual, with less warping. Has anyone else switched to brine for certain projects, and what mix do you use?

Just read that a medieval anvil could weigh over 500 pounds

I was flipping through a library book on old tools from the 1400s and saw that number. Can't imagine moving that without a crane, let alone working on it all day. How did they even get something that heavy set up right in the first place?

Showerthought: I thought those little magnetic tool holders were just a gimmick until I dropped a hot punch on my boot.

My buddy gave me one of those cheap magnetic strips you screw to the wall. I figured it was for guys with too many wrenches, not a real forge. But after burning a hole in my leather because I set a tool down on the anvil horn and it rolled off, I stuck the strip up next to my post vise. Now my hot chisels and punches just click right onto it, handle up. It's stupid simple but it actually works. Anyone have a better spot for theirs or a different way to keep hot tools off the floor?

Got a reality check on tool durability from a gardener

I was at a local swap meet with my handmade shears, thinking people only care about the sharp edge. A gardener asked if they'd hold up in clay soil, and I realized I'd never tested for that. What's your method for checking how tools handle different conditions?

My grill grate bending taught me to skip anvil preheats

I used to warm my anvil first, believing it helped the metal move better. Seeing my grill grate twist from uneven heat made me question that habit. Now I start cold, and my work has fewer hidden stresses. Other blacksmiths argue with me, but my pieces turn out straighter.

Seeing more junk steel in my scrap pile lately

I've noticed a big increase in contaminated steel from recycling centers. It's got coatings and alloys that don't work for forging. This ruined a gate hinge I was making last week. Always inspect your metal carefully before heating it up!