Your first day at the Anvil
check out this link for the page by Jenny List - "First time at the Anvil."
Think About The Steel You Use
This piece of steel has been left in the fire too long, and is burning like a sparkler.For your first experiment, select a piece of steel stock about 10 mm (3/8″) in diameter, either square or round, it doesn't matter. I suggest one 300 mm (1′) or more long, such that you can handle the cold end without needing tongs. You will no doubt try a variety of materials depending upon what comes your way and you will discover what works best for you. Harder steels are correspondingly more difficult to work, so sometimes lower quality stock may be better for experimentation.
If you place the end of it, about 25 mm (1″) or so, into the hottest part of the fire where it is bright yellow, you can watch as it comes up to temperature. Ideally you want it to reach the point of being nearly but not quite as yellow as the coals around it at which point you can withdraw it and start work. If you leave it in too long it will first start to burn such that it will be sparking like a firework sparkler when you withdraw it, and if you leave it in longer still it will start to melt.
Your First Stroke Of The Hammer
Hammering a flat on the end of a piece of bar stock. Mine has by good fortune remained consistent, but don't worry if yours has a slightly oval shape.Given a piece of 10 mm steel with its end 25 mm yellow-hot, holding it by the cold end you can place it on the face of the anvil. Hammer the hot end repeatedly in the same place, and it will start to spread out. You're not making anything here, instead it's a simple exercise in getting used to both the metal and the hammering motion. Instead of lifting the hammer high for each stroke in the stereotypical image of a blacksmith, you are aiming to create a rhythm with it in your lower arm and wrist, taking full advantage of the rebound we mentioned when we looked at what makes a good anvil. As you hammer, you will see the work lose temperature, it will change from yellow through orange and red to a dull red with grey seeping in. At this point you will need to put it back in the coals as described above to bring it back up to temperature, and repeat the process.
As you continue hammering, if you are consistent you will see the end of the stock flatten out until eventually it will be a flat piece of steel on the end of your stock. It probably won't be a consistent shape and you haven't yet made anything useful, but you've started to gain a feel for both the metal itself and the hammering motion required. Quench it in a vat of water so it is cool enough that you can handle it and you will see that some grey oxides have flaked off its surface, this is normal.
Now you have a bit of a feel for the metal, it's time to learn something a little more useful. Take the other end of your piece of stock whose end you've just flattened, and heat it up in the coals as before for about 50 mm (2″). If it's a square piece of stock you're going to make it round, and conversely if it's round you'll hammer it square. Lay it down on the face of the anvil, and give it a set of blows with the hammer evenly spread across its length. If you continued you would end up with a longer flattened piece of metal as before, but in this case you are going to turn the stock as you hammer.
If it is a round piece you'll hammer one face until it starts to flatten slightly before rotating it through 90 degrees and hammering the other, while if it's a square one you'll first hammer it on its corners to round them off, and then consistently rotate it as you hammer to ensure that the blows are distributed evenly across its surface. You may find that it starts to bend as you do this, in that case simply lay it on the face of the anvil in the axis you want to straighten, and hammer it flat. Throughout this process you'll need to continue to return it to the fire to heat it up again, and you may surprise yourself by discovering that a lighter touch is needed with the hammer than you expect.
Eventually you will find yourself with either a newly squared piece on the end of a round piece of stock, or conversely a rounded piece on some square stock. There's no shame in getting it wrong and trying again multiple times, but you will get the hang of it before too long. You will have learned more about the feel of the metal and the hammer, and what kind of effort is required in the process.
Giving It All A Point
Forging a point, the piece of stock is held at an angle to the face of the anvil and rotated, while it is hammered to the desired angle.Finally for today, you'll put a point on your newly squared-or-rounded piece of stock. Heat up the end 25 mm, and place its tip on the face of the anvil at an angle of about 20 degrees. Hammer at right angles onto its very end as you slowly rotate it, and you will see a point beginning to form. As you work the hammering back from the point it will become more pronounced. You'll never get it to a pencil-like sharpness, but with a bit of practice you can produce a consistent result. Quench it, and all being well you should have a piece of stock with a leaf-like flat piece on one end, and a point on the other. You haven't really made anything useful, but you have already learned quite a bit of basic blacksmithing.
This series will continue with more basic blacksmithing techniques, in the next installment we'll have a go at bending steel, making curves, loops, and scrolls. You won't be an expert blacksmith just yet, indeed though having grown up around expert blacksmiths I am not one of them either, however as you proceed you should amass a set of basic skills upon which you can build the ability to make more complex pieces of work.
Notes from First Session- things to practice on for 2nd Session
1. build up a coal fire with wood and paper - buy the large coal in Fond du lac.
2. Warm up buy smashing out a square nail head with the round side of the good hammer.
3. Try to get a uniform shape like an oak leaf cluster.
4. Move to 1/4" round stock and draw out the end to a point.
5. Form the tail using the hardi tool and then large round end.
6. On the other end repeat the process without the hardi tool using the side of the anvil and horn.
7. Heat up one of the railroad spike and whale of the hot metal. Notice the difference in metals (use blue hammer.)
Thoughts for the future:
A. Where can I use S hooks around the Old Falls Village?
B. How would I make twist on a square piece of metal?
C. How do I draw out a 3/8" piece of metal to make my own fire rake?
D. Read up about making nails and buy larger round stock.
E. Buy 12Ft of 1"x 1/8" bar stock and tell me the difference between Cold Rolled Steal CRS and Hot rolled steal.
F. Read up on the parts of the Anvil so we can start with that next time.
G. How would you punch a hole in bar stock? How would you make a leaf - read about it!!!