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
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. Hundreds of anvil images.




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


Apprentice Experiances
Personal experiances with a few apprentices. Your mileage may vary


A Day in the Life of a blacksmiths Apprentice
Historical fiction answering a question about a day in the life of a blacksmiths apprentice in 1700.


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. A discussion from the gurus's den.


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


Benders 1,2 and 3
All 3 bender pages in one. Common blacksmiths benders for duplicate bends, commercial benders and special benders.

Blacksmith Shop, Portable
The gurus's unique portable blacksmith shop trailer with Great Bellows, hand crank drill, fold out vise. . .
Original Design Sketches

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


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


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.


The Center Punch
BASIC TOOL series on the indesposible center punch. Includes a story with some life lessons.


CHAIN HOISTS
Types of chain hoists and how they operate.


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


Claying Forges
Reasons and how to, recipes.


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.


Colors of the Forge, Furnace and Kiln
Judging the temperature of forges and furnaces by eye. Chart and types of temperature measurement tools.


Compass and Dividers
Basic tools for layout in the drawing room and shop. Creating triangles and squares.


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


D

Drawing, Learning How To
Encouragement, examples, methods, links.


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, Portable Demo Shop
Ultimate portable blacksmith shop for shows, demos and hammer-ins with Great Bellows. Unique folding roof design by Jock Dempsey, anvilfire guru.


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, DIY Brake Drum
Original DIY brake drum plans from 1998, 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 tabletop 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.


Grape - Cherry Clapper Die
Dies for mass producing spheres on stems (grapes. cherries, nuts. . finials) by hamd or power.


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 . . .


Grinder, Foot Treadle
Big old Ohio Sandstone wheel mounted on a foot treadle stand.


H

HAMMERS
Hammer article links and a few miscelleaeous hammer images. Repousse' stump stand with hammers.

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.


Illustrations, Bad
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


Knife Making 101
Hardening and tempering blade steels.


L

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


LaGrange Hoho Water Pail Forge
A blacksmithing and engineering curiosity.


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.


Lever Forge
Early blower type forge with bellows type lever operation.


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. English Hundreweights Calculator


N


O

OLDLOCKS.COM
Book reviews and Lock and Key articles from the anvilfire guru.


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.


Portable Forge Shop
Ultimate portable blacksmith shop for shows, demos and hammer-ins. Unique folding roof design by Jock Dempsey, anvilfire guru.


Punching Force in Steel
Cold punching force chart and calculator.


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' and Silversmiths Hammers
Old catalog page with shapes and dimensions of dozens of repousse' and silversmith's specialty hammers.

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


REPOUSSETOOLS.COM
One of our web sites.


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.


Riveting Force for Steel Rivets
Hot riveting force chart and rule for cold riveting.


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.


SWAGEBLOCKS.COM
Our site specializing in everything swage block. Gallery, how to use them, how to design them, history.


Swage Block, Fabricated
How to make a swage block by welding fabrication.


Swage Block, How-to
Our original swage block use article.


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.


VICE Gallery
Blacksmiths' machinests' sawyer and woodwork vise photos and information.


Vision Safety
Eye protection while working with forges, welders and furnaces. IR and UV protection. ANSI, ASTM, OSHA, CCOSH


W

Web Sites for Craftsfolk
Getting started and HTML basics. Anti-spam sample email code. Updated 2019


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


What's New
Log of changes and additions to anvilfire.com over the years including recent changes.


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



Number one blacksmith site. Anvilfire logo