Watch me make the blacksmithing mistakes, so you don't have to!
I'm Rusty Pearson, a complete novice blacksmith. Follow my blacksmithing journey as I learn to weld, build a scrap forge, make my own tools and discover what it really takes to make beautiful works out of metal. By making my mistakes on video I'm hopefully educate others to improve their own DIY skills.
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I see some basic mistakes here, creating a 6mm rivet 25 mm round stock is more than adequate, 8 to 13 a 40 mm stock , most of these standard stock mild steel in a blacksmith shop. A chop saw using a 115 mm grinder of even a basic type a must.
Hi there! I love finding more homemade anvil content like this, as I'm making one right now myself. You did a great job of shaping your horn! I didn't read thru the comments, but being as this video is 5 years old I'm sure it has been mentioned by now- the secret to getting a good weld on thick chunks of steel like this is PREHEAT! No matter what type of rod you use or how high you crank the amps, a big chunk of metal like this at room temperature will act as a massive heatsink. It will suck all the heat out of your weld before it gets a chance to completely fuse and solidify, and cools the weld down so fast it will often crack! Take a big propane torch to both pieces for a while prior to welding and blast them with fire on all sides until they soak up some good heat. There is an ideal temp range for different steels (lower temp for mild, and higher for carbon steels or alloys) but just getting it hot enough to sizzle water (~212F) is often sufficient. I probably get mild steel 250-300, just guessing. That will get the molecules moving and you will find that its much more receptive to taking your weld, even at normal amperages. It will also hold that heat after you're finished welding, and allow your weld bead to slow cool along with the base metal. A good deep bevel also makes a huge difference, as you figured out. The best case would be to gap the horn off the anvil enough so that you could get some stick electrodes in between and fully faceweld it. But- with a good preheat and a nice deep bevel filled with weld, it will be pretty well bomb-proof! Thanks for the content 🙏
I tend to follow a trick I learned on YT. I center punch each end of the slot on all four sides, then take a thin cut off wheel and go down and through. Saves a lot of time and gives crisp edges. Nice video, keep it up man!
Hey there Rusty, something to possibly help in the future with that massive steel you are trying to weld. The next time you are wanting to weld something like that then it helps to preheat the steel along with cutting in a deep bevel so you can get better penetration. Hope this helps even though I am way late with my comment here.
Great job. Ive done this before. The way i did it, i flame harden the horn by heating it up and dunking it in oil and repeating that process over and over. When done, i place both pieces in an oven. To weld it i use a lincoln 255 mig at 255 amps with .040 wire running about 5 passes.
Awesome build buddy. Just my 2 cents as a welder. Bevel the metal more for more build up and crank that welder up. Use a 6010 for the root pass 5/32 rod run about 130-180 amps should burn in nice and hot. If your welder can't go that high maybe pre heat your metal. Then get some 7018's same size around 110-190 amps and build it up to desired thickness and grind smith to your liking. Also Put a wire wheel on your grinder and make sure you clean the weld super good after each pass. Or a needle scaler. Great build buddy!!!
Torbjörn Åhman is a true master And Old hickory forge are my top 2 Also island metal forge with yamez And barr run forge with Troy if you like live streams.
An idea may have been to weld a smaller diameter piece of solid stock to the main body and then weld the horn to the smaller piece and work outwards until the weld beads build up to the diameter of the horn. In this video, when you tested the horn, you could hear a ring whereas last time it was thud. The ringing sound indicated a more solid anvil. I am going to go into my workshop after lunch today and crack on with mine. The weather today here in North Yorkshire, England is wet and windy and work has been cancelled off.
Hi Rusty! I am new to your channel and exploring the idea of making a cone for my home made anvil. Impressed with your determination so I am young man. When it comes to welding the horn on, I would recommend a wider bevel, run a root weld using 6010 or 6011 rods because they burn very hot and are a deep penetration rod. Then, lay in and build up several stringer beads of 7018 rods and cap with wide 7018 weave . That is what I am going to do and will be doing a Part 2 to my Grandvil anvil build video shortly.
Thank I'ma very much sir for your video, I'm young & learning, I have a question if it's ok, Can I use clay three holed bricks to forge metals safely or is it a bad idea ????
Yo Rusty! I did it! I made a set tongs! Yeah! Yeah! And let me tell you these tongs suck! They couldn't hold on to a crumpled up brown paper bag full of crumpled up brown paper bags! Probably because the jaws are all loose and misaligned and the wrist pin is a loose and what not. Still they are my tongs!
The hoodie strings swaying around machinery gave me anxiety lol, good job though, you also can countersink the shape of the rivethead right in the tool. For a easier and consistent head. Cheers
Suggestion: Try putting the heated jaws in a vise next time to form them around whatever you want, flat bar, square bar. round rod, etc. You may find it easier than using a hammer. Good effort and results, however.
Practice makes better. Don't give up!!! My first TIG welds were described this way -- "Random bird droppings on metal would have looked better!" But over time they have improved greatly. Keep practicing!
Rusty hi, do you have a drill press? Just thinking most of the material from the centre of your R could be done carefully with a small drill before carving out the rest!
Very welcome back. As you know, I like to see your videos but unfortunately when you turn your comments on to what looks like exclusive "American + Australian" audience (minute 2:35) it is a bit disconcerting ... Isn't your dream common to almost all mankind? Once more, thank you for your come back and continue publishing great videos, I am looking forward to see them.
Not only did I increase the AMPS (after this video) but I ended up putting everything in the fire and getting it to about 200 degrees celsius before welding it up.
I've often wondered the same, and I think you've touched upon some good points that resonant with me. I enjoy recycling mundane everyday items into something creative and useful but still connect to the original piece. The head of a railroad spike is the perfect example. I don't know how many you have, but I would take a few of them and forge some cool shelf brackets. Get rid of those mass-produced chinchy ones that are holding up the shelves behind you! Heh.
eviltwinx it’s a rental so I don’t think I’ll be changing too much about the property unfortunately or my coal forge would have black smoke decorating the roof of that garage without a thought!
