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Anvils in America - THE anvil book.







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Anvils in America - THE anvil book.



Anvils in America - THE anvil book.

Blacksmithing and metalworking questions answered. Blacksmith projects, plans and DIY. Craftsmen's tools and machinery discussed. Welding and welders information. Forge Equipment, anvils, book reviews and stories. Gas Forge plans and instructions. Step-by-step how-to on the iForge blacksmithing instructions page.

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Anvils in America - THE anvil book.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Index to Articles

Compiled FAQs, Articles and Glossaries at anvilfire.com

NOTE: These are just a few of the articles on anvilfire! See the 21st Century page for many standing articles and the iForge page for step-by-step blacksmithing projects and tooling demonstrations. See our home page for descriptions of many of our features and explore the drop down menu that links to our other pages, related pages and advertisers.

A

Adobe Spanish Colonial Forge
Building an 18th-Century Adobe Forge at The Presidio de San Agustin del Tucson, AZ. History, Materials, Construction and Testing by Eric G. Thing.


Alphabet Soup
Acronyms related to the metalworking industry. Includes many association links.


Anvils Our collection of anvil articles.

Anvil Selection
What type and size anvil do you need? Weight ranges, styles. Links to our other anvil articles.


Anvil Finding NEW!
How to find an anvil anywhere in the world.


Anvil Making
Index to our collection of old and new anvil making articles.
Gallery of DIY and Fabricated anvils


Anvil gallery
Gallery of anvils including rare and unusual anvils from private collections, classic anvils and new anvils.





Apprenticeships
An institution of the past, history of and current state in North America.
The ABANA Journeyman program and links


B

Bellows, Great
Great Bellows built by the guru in 1977 and used until 2005.

Bells, Gongs and Triangles
Math and Design of Simple Vibrators. The 12th Root of Two, Binary series.


Bench Hooks and Bench Pins
Woodworkers bench hooks and standard bench pins.


Benders 1
Common blacksmiths benders for duplicate bends.

Benders 2
Commercial benders, DiAcro and Hossfeld.

Benders 3
Special Benders. Belly pickets on weld platten, custom built U bolt bender.

Brass and Bronze
The difference, alloy specifications, forging and selected Q&A


Borax
Sodium tetraborate: Used as flux, how to dehydrate, 20 Mule Team History. (Also info on Flourite or flourspar.)


Buffer Polisher
A simple motor buffer polisher made from a common motor. Costs, pros cons and links.


Burners, Black Beauty
New budget burner made by DEMPSEYS FORGE / anvilfire.com. Details and mounting information.


Burners, Gas Forge DIY
Gas forges and DIY gas burner design using MIG tips.


Burner, Really Stupid
Blower type gas burner for forges, furnaces, kilns. . . .


C

Case Hardening
Surface hardening of steel, color case hardening, primitive case hardening.


Cast Iron Properties
ASTM cast irons with comparison to common steels.


CHAIN HOISTS
Types of chain hoists and how they operate.


Chinese Working Holding Bench
Traditional Chinese work holding and a "Sen". International Metalworking


Claying Forges
Reasons and how to.


Coal and Charcoal
Differences. pros and cons, selected Q&A. Links to coal information resources.
Charcoal making and links to coal forge information.


Coal Fire Management
Building and maintaining a coal fire.


Copyright Issues on anvilfire
Copyright and those stealing from anvilfire. The Hall of Shame


D

Drill Press 101, Mounting a Vise (vice)
How or where to mount a drill press vise. Links to iForge Drill press articles.


Drill Coolants and Lubricant
Keeping drill, taps and cutters cool and sharp.


E

F

Famous 10 Minute Gas Forge
Building the famous 10 minute gas forge, photos and drawings.

Fiberglass Handles vs. Wood Handles
Advantages and disadvantages


FORGE, Blacksmith
Blacksmith Forges, Ancient and Modern : Article in progress


Forge Blowers
Chart and article from MACHINERY'S HANDBOOK, 1914, Champion and Kaynes


Forge Burner by DEMPSEYS FORGE
The Black Beauty Forge Burner designed by Jock Dempsey.


Forge, Convertable
Stands horizontal and vertical.


Forges, Gas
General information about propane gas forges and burners.


Forge, Lightweight Fiber Panel
General information about building with lightweight fiber panels.


Forge, My First
A junk yard forge I built in 1969. Jock Dempsey, anvilfire guru


Forge/Punch Lube Comparison Report
Informal forge lubricant test report by Jeff Reinhardt AKA Ptree of Persimmon Tree Forge. Forge/Punch Lube Testimonial article by Jeff Reinhardt AKA Ptree of Persimmon Tree Forge.

Above have links to product reviews and factory information sheets.


Forge, Micro
Miniature propane torch burner forges.


G

Gas Facts
Fuel gas information, burning temperatures and rates.


Gas Forges
Building your first gas forge. Links and more.
NEW!

Galvanic Series
Factors in bi-metalic corrosion.


Getting Started in Blacksmithing
Things you need to know and where to find information about getting started in blacksmithing.


Glossary : English
Blacksmithing and Metalworking terms glossary by Jock Dempsey (in progress).


Glossary : International
Blacksmithing and Metalworking terms in English, French, German, Italian and Swedish.
Selected terms in Latin, Dutch (Holländisch), Afrikaans and Portuguese.
An ongoing project that will eventually link to individual glossaries in each language.


Got Away With It Factor
Gotta-way with it, Lucked Out, Waiting for the Darwin Award . . . The world is full of those who get away with things that us mere mortals cannot. . . . eventually . . .


H

Hammer Handle Repair Day
Annual wood handled too repair and maintenance day. Make it a spring tradition.

Hammer Weight Table
Common hammer and sledge weights in grams, pounds and ounces.

Hammer Eye Dimensions
Hammer eye sizes for forging hammer punches and drifts.

Hand Crank or Post Drills
Hand crank drill presses, Acme, Buffalo, Champion.

Handles, Rough
Handles for punches, chisles and flatters. Why they are loose fits.


Hardy (Hardie) Hole use and sizes
Purpose, sizes, fits and dressing. Table of brands and sizes

Hardness Conversion Table
Metal hardness value conversion table Brinell to Rockwell A, B, C scales.

Heat Treating
Hardening, tempering. Selected Q&A and metals heat treating specifications. Added Salt Bath information 11/23/2003
Links to materials information resources.
Heat Treating 4140 Hammer Dies Includes temper table.


Hydraulic Piping
Piping specification, fluids and safety considerations


Hydraulic Presses, Manual
Four Manual Hydraulic Presses.

I

Iron in the Hat
A NEW blacksmithing tradition.


Bad Illustrations
A warning to authors who self publish. Do's and don't and some how-to.


Images, Before and After
Image repair and enhancement for publication. Examples of "Photoshopping" images for publication on anvilfire and the web. A high resolution slide show.


J

Jewelers Saw Blades
Jewelers Saw Blade sizes, dimensions and recommended use. Images from iForge.


Junkyard Steels
Using recycled steel or steels of unknown pedigree. Rail road steel Specs.


Just DO IT
Editorial comment about flippant advise.


K

Kaowool, About
Refractory blanket information and comparison, Kaowwol, Durablanket, Inswool, Max-Wool


L

Lafitte Welding Plate
1905 Patent forge welding process using "Laffite plate".


Lathes
Should you have this King of Machiine Tools in your shop? Problems when buying used lathes.


Lathe Setup
Reverse engineering your old lathe to install a replacement drive.


The Law and Blacksmithing
What laws apply to my blacksmithing business?


Lead Pb Plumbum
Lead in the shop, Health and Safety.


Low Loss Stack
Low loss stack for forges. Correcting flue problems. Side draft hood links


M

Mathematics
Shop math and online calculators. Cone and Oval layout. Hole punching force. Riveting force. Metric to English conversions. NEW! English Hundreweights Calculator


N

O

One Pass Tenons
Machining pickett tenons on a lathe. Machine Tools in the Blacksmith Shop.


P

Photos - Before and After
See Images, Before and After


Platform Scales
Weighing devices in the Shop. Types of scales and their uses.


Polishing Mistakes
How to polish and the mistakes often made.


Punch/Forge Lube
Testimonial article by Jeff Reinhardt AKA Ptree of Persimmon Tree Forge.


Punch/Forge Lube Comparison Report
Informal forge lubricant test report by Jeff Reinhardt AKA Ptree of Persimmon Tree Forge.


Q

Quenchants
Coolants for heat treating. Air, Brine, Water, Oil, Synthetics.
With Rob Gunter's Super Quench Recipe.


R

Rebar
Reinforcing steel information. Selected Q&A


Repousse'
Sheet Metal Relief or Sculpture. Tools, materials and techniques. (Updated)


Repousse' Tool Making
How to make repousee' and chasing tools from existing tools. Types, design, photos, drawings and links.


Rifling Machine
Unique custom built Rifling Machine by Maj. J.G. Smithley - 1944.


Rigging and Moving Loads
Rigging tools, rollers, chains, wedges, pry bars, slings, eye bolts and shackles. Use and safety inspection.


Roller Chain Damascus
Selected Q&A on forge welding roller chain for knife making.


RR-Spikes
Rail Road Spikes, material and use.


S

Scales - Calibration
Calibrating weighing devices in the shop. Basic rules and procedure.


Spam, Viruses and the Nigerian scam
What you should know about being a cyber-citizen.


Steel product types
Commercial forms of steel, hot roll, cold drawn or finished (HR and CF bar)


Steel, Where to buy it
You cannot go but so far using scrap steel. Eventually you will need to buy new steel.


Sweet Iron
Sweet Iron for Horse Bits. What is it?


Sword Making, Gen X
Article in progress for those who ask "How do I make a sword?" Article in progress.
Bibliography : Sword Making Resources


T

Temper Color Chart with Steel Hardness
Standard temper color names text plus HTML color with Fahrenheit and Celsius. NEW Steel Hardness Temper data for four common SAE carbon steels.


Thermal Light iPhone App
NEW! Use your iPhone as an Optical Pyrometer! Simple App that lets you measure high temperatures with your iPhone.


Testimonials
anvilfire.com Testimonials, Praise and Press. What users have to say about anvilfire.com


Tongs, Blacksmith
iForge tong making how-to demos and dimensions chart links


Travel
Getting a passport, International Driver's license, Q&A, links


U

V

Vegetarian, Vegan or Nutritarian?
Diet for a healthy future using a scientific food rating system. Cure disease with diet and live longer.


Vises, Blacksmith Leg or Post
Solid Box Vices, size chart, make and mounting. Details.


W

Web Sites for Craftsfolk
Getting started and HTML basics. Anti-spam sample code.


Welding Benches
Welding benches for professional welders, blacksmiths and general metal workers. The four types of bench.


Wheels (briefly)
Grinding, buffing, polishing and wire. Compounds and speeds.


Woodworker's Work Bench
A heavy duty work bench as built by the guru.


Wrought Iron
Definition and identifying


X, Y, Z


A | B |  C | D |  E | F |  G | H |  I | J |  K | L |  M | N |  O | P |  Q | R |  S | T |  U | V |  W | X |  Y | Z ]



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