c/blacksmiths

Old timer told me to quench in warm oil not cold oil

I was using room temp canola for years until a guy at a hammer-in near Toledo said heat it to 130F first and now my blades come out way harder after 3 tries.

Hardened my own tool steel with a toaster oven and it worked fine

Everyone says you need a proper forge or kiln to heat treat tool steel. I needed a small chisel for a specific job last month, and my propane forge was down. I stuck the blank in a toaster oven at 450 for an hour, then quenched it in vegetable oil. Did it chip on the first test? No, it held an edge through 20 strikes on mild steel. Is it perfect? Probably not, but it worked for what I needed. Anyone else use a janky setup like this and get decent results?

My take on quenching in warm oil instead of hot

I know most folks say to heat your quenching oil to around 130-150 degrees for best results, but I've been testing it at room temp for the last six months. I do smaller blades like kitchen knives and hunting knives, nothing over 10 inches. The hard part is getting a clean quench without cracks, and everyone told me warm oil is the only safe way. I tried it cold by accident one day when I forgot to preheat the bucket, and the blade came out just as hard with no issues. I've done about 15 blades since then at around 70 degrees and only had one crack, which was my fault for a bad grind. Has anyone else played with lower oil temps or am I just lucky so far?

Tried quenching in warm oil instead of cold and it fixed my cracking issue

Been fighting with hammer head cracks for months now. Every other heat treat would leave a hairline fracture right near the eye. Read some old forum post from 2012 about preheating your quench oil to 120 degrees. Figured it was worth a shot since I was throwing away 3 out of 10 heads anyway. Heated up a gallon of park 50 in a bucket on my hot plate last Tuesday. First hammer came out clean with zero cracks. Ran 5 more through the same batch and not a single one failed. The slow cool rate just lets the steel relax more. Anyone else have luck with warm oil or do you stick to room temp?

Shoutout to the guy who told me to quench in warm oil instead of cold

I was out in my garage shop last month and cracked a blade right down the middle because I used cold oil from the can... switched to preheating it to 120° and haven't had a crack since. Has anyone else messed up a heat treat from skipping that step?

Had my anvil shift mid-strike and nearly lost a toe

I was working on a hot 1-inch round bar last Tuesday and my anvil decided to do a little dance on the concrete floor. The stand wasn't bolted down and the whole thing tipped sideways, sending the hammer flying into my boot. Has anyone else had a close call like this with a setup that seemed solid?

Coal vs gas forge debate - I'll take my $40 coal forge any day

Everyone in my local group swears by gas forges, saying they're cleaner and easier. But I picked up a used coal forge for 40 bucks at a farm auction last spring and it changed my whole setup. Thing is, coal gives me way better heat control for damascus billets and I don't have to deal with propane lines freezing in winter. Sure, I spend an extra 15 minutes cleaning clinker out each session, but that's worth it to me. Anyone else running coal and getting hate for it?

Had a buddy tell me my forge welds looked like 'melted play-doh' and it made me slow way down on my prep work

I used to just blast through the flux and heat steps but after that criticism I started spending a full 5 extra minutes on cleaning the scarf joints and now my welds actually hold without those cold shuts showing up, has anyone else had to completely re-learn their prep routine from one comment?

Propane forges aren't better than coal for detail work

I see everyone pushing propane forges for beginners, but I've been working with coal for 12 years now and it just gives you way more control. Last week I was doing a set of scrollwork brackets for a gate in Cleveland and the propane guys told me I was wasting time. But with coal I can heat just the tip of a 1/4 inch bar in under 30 seconds without messing up the temper on the rest of it. You can't get that kind of precision with gas unless you spend 500 bucks on a specialty burner. Has anyone else noticed propane forges struggle with smaller ornamental pieces?

Coal vs propane forge - which one actually works better for beginners?

I got into smithing about 8 months ago and had to pick a forge setup. Everyone told me coal is the real deal because that's what the old guys use. So I went with a coal forge from a guy in Ohio for $150. Took me 2 weeks just to get the fire right without smoking out my whole yard. Then a buddy let me try his propane forge last month and I had a blade hot in 5 minutes flat. The propane was way cleaner and easier to control, but the coal gave me a nicer heat for forge welding on a railroad spike knife I tried. Now I'm stuck with a coal setup I barely use. I'm thinking about switching, but coal is cheaper to run per hour. What did you guys pick when you started out and do you regret it?

Talked to an old timer at a hammer-in last weekend and he changed how I think about anvil setup

This guy who's been forging since the 70s told me I was wasting time trying to get my anvil perfectly level on all sides. He said the real pros actually tilt their anvil slightly forward by about 5 degrees to help hammer strikes flow better toward the workpiece. Anyone else ever tried running an anvil at a slight tilt instead of dead level?

Vent: Spent 5 hours on a forge weld that should have taken 30 minutes

Kept getting cold shuts no matter what I did. Finally realized my fire was running way too lean and I wasn't letting the billet soak long enough. Anyone else waste a whole day on something that basic?

That cheap harbor freight anvil I was skeptical about has held up for 8 months now

I bought their 55 pound cast iron anvil on a whim back in March, figuring it would ding up or crack after a few projects. To my surprise, it's taken everything from railroad spike knives to a leaf gate hinge without any real damage. Has anyone else had good luck with the budget anvils, or did I just get lucky?

Best day in the shop last Tuesday - forged 12 bottle openers without a single flaw

The difference 6 years of forge work makes on a simple leaf keychain

I dug out a leaf keychain I hammered out back in 2019 compared to one I made last Tuesday. The old one looks like a smashed potato chip with a hole punched in it compared to the new one. What changed was my hammer control and actually learning how to read the heat color instead of guessing. Has anyone else gone back to their early pieces and felt embarrassed but also kinda proud of how far you came?

Had a master smith tell me my hammer grip was too tight at a demo in Tennessee

I was at the Smoky Mountain Forge conference back in March. This old timer walks right up while I'm forging a leaf keychain and says 'you're strangling that handle, son.' I got defensive at first. Been swinging a hammer for 3 years. But he showed me how he just lets it ride loose in his hand and only squeezes at the impact. I switched to that grip the next day and my elbow pain went away within a week. Now I can work a 4 hour session without icing my arm. Has anyone else had a small tweak from a random critique that totally changed your forging?

Spent two years hammering with the wrong elbow alignment until a guy in Ohio pointed it out at a demo

My strikes were all shoulder and no wrist and after he showed me a 30 second fix my forge welds started sticking way better anyone else have a basic stance fix that changed their work?

Was dead set against using a belt grinder for forging, now I get it

Honestly, I spent 3 years doing all my heavy grinding with a hand file and an angle grinder because I thought belt grinders were cheating. Then I took a class last fall at a shop in Portland where the instructor made me try a 2x72 for 10 minutes on a rough bevel. After that one session I realized I was wasting hours of my life for no good reason. Has anyone else here been hardheaded about a tool and later changed their mind?

Went back and forth on a coal forge vs gas forge for my shop

After 15 years of using a gas forge I decided to build a coal forge last spring. Spent about $180 on the firepot and blower from a supplier in Ohio. The heat control is amazing but I spent the first month fighting clinkers and learning how to manage the fire. Anyone else find coal forges worth the extra work compared to gas?

Cross peen hammer head flew off after 4 hits yesterday

I was forging a small drawknife at my shop in Austin when the handle on my favorite cross peen just snapped at the eye. The head flew across the shop and dented the garage door pretty bad. Anyone have tips for wedging a new handle so it actually stays put?

Wasted $150 on a cheap anvil from a flea market

Picked up a so-called 'vintage' anvil at a flea market in Columbus for $150. Looked fine until I tried to use it and realized the face was way too soft, dents everywhere after one hit. Anyone else get burned on a bad anvil deal and have tips for spotting fakes?

So I tried copper tongs for the first time and wow what a difference

I've been forging for about 4 years now and I always used steel tongs because that's what I started with. Last month I picked up a pair of copper tongs from a guy at a swap meet for $30 just to see what the hype was about. My problem was I kept getting hot spots in the metal when I was pulling stock out of the forge and my steel tongs would heat up and transfer that heat right to my hand after a few minutes. First time using the copper ones I noticed they stayed way cooler way longer and I could keep working without stopping to let them cool down. The grip felt different too like they held the metal without slipping as much. Has anyone else made the switch or am I just lucky with this one pair?

Changed my mind about coal forging after a visit to the Pioneer Forge Museum

Always been a gas forge guy, thought coal was too messy and unpredictable. But last Saturday I stopped by the Pioneer Forge Museum up near Greenville. They had an old timer doing a demo with a side blast forge, just using lump coal and a hand crank blower. He made a simple S hook in like 4 heats, and the way that coal fire wrapped around the steel was just different. The control he had over the heat zones was something I never got with my gas burner. It clicked for me when he explained how you can bank the fire to get a soaking heat on thicker stuff. I'm still not switching over full time, but I'm thinking about building a small coal forge for weekends. Anyone else made the switch later on and regretted it or loved it?

Took me 4 years to realize I was quenching wrong

I always just dunked hot steel straight into the bucket and wondered why I'd get uneven hardness. Then a guy at a demo last fall showed me to agitate it in a figure-8 pattern and my blades stopped warping. Anyone else have a basic technique they overlooked forever?

Old timer told me my hammer swings were wasting energy - fixed it in one session

I had this guy walk up to my anvil at a demo last Saturday and say 'son, you're putting too much shoulder into it.' He showed me how to let the hammer's weight do the work instead of muscling it. I tried his method on a railroad spike knife and my arm didn't hurt after 2 hours. Has anyone else had some random stranger give them a tip that actually stuck?