Burmese Forge

David · 17th July 2020, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

David, the big hammer head is a pretty common anvil for small work, both in Indonesia and in western countries. Just about anything that is big enough for the intended work can serve as an anvil. My first anvil was a section of railway track, I've taught a few people and they used sledge hammer heads, railway track, pieces of machinery as anvils. The trick is to mount the anvil on a good solid stump and sink that stump deep into the ground, somewhere between half a meter and a meter. The difference between a big anvil and a small anvil (like a bit of rail track or a hammer head) is that a big anvil makes the job faster and easier. I learnt on a 150 year old English anvil that weighed 350 pounds, it was really easy to work on. My own anvil is only 75kg (165pounds) and not as fast nor as easy.

This has probably been seen by a few of you, but it might be of interest to those who have not seen it:-

http://www.kerisattosanaji.com/BANDIFORGE.html

Hi Alan. I am assuming you are responding here to the statement i made on the Thai smith video you posted. Yes, railroad track becomes a first anvil for many people getting started in smithing. I've been trying to get myself started in smithing and find that a good anvil can be your most expensive purchase, so people use what they can find and afford. If i could find a 165 lbs anvil for a decent price i would be more than happy with it.

A. G. Maisey · 17th July 2020, 10:26 PM

Yes David, correct, I read both threads one after the other and thought of them as one when I wrote my post. Sorry.

Anvils are really expensive, but for knife work you can get away with just about anything steel that has a face or face area over about 3" across. Even a piece of old machinery will do.

The forge bed itself is pretty easy to improvise, and an old vacuum cleaner set on the reverse function makes a good blower.

Can you get decent fuel where you are? Peanut coke or hardwood charcoal?
Coal can be used, but it is messy and poisonous.

The other tools you make yourself.

17th July 2020, 10:26 PM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,085	Yes David, correct, I read both threads one after the other and thought of them as one when I wrote my post. Sorry. Anvils are really expensive, but for knife work you can get away with just about anything steel that has a face or face area over about 3" across. Even a piece of old machinery will do. The forge bed itself is pretty easy to improvise, and an old vacuum cleaner set on the reverse function makes a good blower. Can you get decent fuel where you are? Peanut coke or hardwood charcoal? Coal can be used, but it is messy and poisonous. The other tools you make yourself.