- Joined
- Sep 6, 2002
- Messages
- 106
My buddy and I rigged up a forge using my smoker-barbeque/hairblower/pipe and a ton of homemade charcoal.
We loaded the bed of the forge with about 8" of charcoal and got it going well- we then put the anvil face down on the bed of coals, and as the charcoal was consumed very quickly, more had to be constantly added to keep it up around the sides at least a couple of inches. After about 1/2 hour, it was ready, so we lifted it out with a bar through some wire loops we wrapped on beforehand. We then lowered it into a plastic bushel of ice water. The water boiled for well over a minute and the water got too hot for our hands, so my son had to run for the hose to cool the water down. After taking it out, I could see that a couple of areas of the face got burned. I belt sanded it a little then let my hammer lightly bounce off the surface-
the change in tone of the ring was amazing, and the entire face was hardened dramatically, especially the middle portion that got most of the blast. I did notice a few hairline cracks that seem to have opened up from the quench- they were visible before I sanded the paint off the surface but after polishing the face (prior to heat treat) they were not apparent. I am extremely pleased with my anvil and would recomend the anvil to anyone who might want to tackle this sort of job. It helps immensely to have a friend who is into smithing too.
We loaded the bed of the forge with about 8" of charcoal and got it going well- we then put the anvil face down on the bed of coals, and as the charcoal was consumed very quickly, more had to be constantly added to keep it up around the sides at least a couple of inches. After about 1/2 hour, it was ready, so we lifted it out with a bar through some wire loops we wrapped on beforehand. We then lowered it into a plastic bushel of ice water. The water boiled for well over a minute and the water got too hot for our hands, so my son had to run for the hose to cool the water down. After taking it out, I could see that a couple of areas of the face got burned. I belt sanded it a little then let my hammer lightly bounce off the surface-
the change in tone of the ring was amazing, and the entire face was hardened dramatically, especially the middle portion that got most of the blast. I did notice a few hairline cracks that seem to have opened up from the quench- they were visible before I sanded the paint off the surface but after polishing the face (prior to heat treat) they were not apparent. I am extremely pleased with my anvil and would recomend the anvil to anyone who might want to tackle this sort of job. It helps immensely to have a friend who is into smithing too.