Anybody have experience with Blacksmithing/Metalwork?

[Lord Furdle]

You could try sinking a sledgehammer (or comparatively similar tool) into some concrete and using the head as the anvil. It wont last long but it does it's job

Yeah with that I think it wont work too well just because of the constant downward pressure when its being used, it would be enough to break the concrete open after probably one or two uses.
Anvils are shaped the way they are to mainly reduce the impact it has on the floor beneath it, I'll think of a way to use a free weight to be able to be placed on the outside pavement tile flooring.
Also I'm thinking that if I did this for long enough I'd make a youtube channel, mainly just so I can have a cool record of stuff that I make, but focus it on salvaging cheap stuff I find in thrift stores. The town I'll be living on next year has a road with literally 12 thrift stores all next to each other. (We call them 'charity shops' where people donate their junk which is mainly clothes to the stores and they give profits to charities)

The first project would probably be a go-kart.

Furdle you aren't trying to build your own shower pieces are you?

lol.

[Ad Bot]

[BlocklandBlockoCity]

I never had.

[Rally]

I've used a section of log as a base for a sledgehammer anvil (secured via a hole I chiseled out) but that's only because I had a bunch of spare logs in my backyard after cutting down some trees kek

Concrete would be too weak to withstand a hammer hit with a hot metal bar on it. Not to mention most concrete blocks aren't smooth unless you compress/sandpaper it.

???
Obviously you'd be using the sledgehammer head as the face, not the concrete keeping it in place.

[DaSord213]

Yeah with that I think it wont work too well just because of the constant downward pressure when its being used, it would be enough to break the concrete open after probably one or two uses.
Anvils are shaped the way they are to mainly reduce the impact it has on the floor beneath it, I'll think of a way to use a free weight to be able to be placed on the outside pavement tile flooring.
Also I'm thinking that if I did this for long enough I'd make a youtube channel, mainly just so I can have a cool record of stuff that I make, but focus it on salvaging cheap stuff I find in thrift stores. The town I'll be living on next year has a road with literally 12 thrift stores all next to each other. (We call them 'charity shops' where people donate their junk which is mainly clothes to the stores and they give profits to charities)

The first project would probably be a go-kart.

I've wanted to build a gokart for a while now, I have pretty much everything I need equipment/space wise. I even have an old ATV that I'm planning on nabbing the motor and other parts from. I just need to actually go out and buy the metal for the frame and do it but laziness is overwhelming.

I don't personally have experience with welding but I have friends that do

[Lord Furdle]

Obviously you'd be using the sledgehammer head as the face, not the concrete keeping it in place.

But the force of hitting the metal to the sledge hammer would hit down on the concrete, breaking it pretty fast.

[Bisjac]

Ive seen anvils on top of stumps and such. Or logs nn the bare  ground.
It really depends what you are hammering. The force of normal tool size objects will absorb into the anvil and not be an issue.

[Lord Furdle]

Right now im trying to figure out how to get metal. I will probably. Buy cheap stuff metal from thrift stores but idk where to get metal from. Is there an online metal yard?

[Bisjac]

what kind?

[Lord Furdle]

Sheet metal, metal poles, metal rods, that kinda stuff. Im not sure where the nearest hardware store is to my house next year but i don't have a car to get there. I could borrow my housemates but idk

[Otis Da HousKat]

I recycle precious metals from computer/phone/coin/jewellery/silverware. It involves purifying metals compounds, acids, assaying, electric stripping and plating.
But its done at a much smaller scale then actual blacksmithing, so i cant really compare.

This is something I've wanted to try. How much does your setup cost and what kind of scale do you have to operate at for it to not be a huge money pit? Do you purify all the metals, like copper and lead, or just focus on the precious ones?

My parents ran a metal recycling facility I worked at up to college but most of it was sheet metals and heavy steel. I did some loving around with blacksmithing but never got into it heavily.

[Bisjac]

my electro stripping cell i have a special design that i dont see people on the net using XD
but its very simple. cost me like 200 bucks to put together lol. its more an issue of using the proper materials, so things dont contaminate each other, stuff can either conduct or not conduct where needed.

i also use a tumbler i made out of an old box fan and a coffee can, with some ball bearings dumped in there.

and requires any old computer power supply where you can use the molex cables to adjust voltages used when you dip them anodes in.

any propane blow torch can flow silver and gold.

the only real cost is nitric acid. as hazardous material delivery fees is hefty as hell. moreso then the cost of the acid itself.

[TheABELBOTO]

If melting pennies to make a fugly "dagger" counts then yeah

[Bisjac]

melting pennies is easiest way to get pure copper.
do pre-1982 pennies as they are actually copper. the melting will burn away that 2% zinc as gas.

[BluetoothBoy]

Yeah, I can use a welder, mill, lathe, drill press, bandsaw, belt sander, etc, etc. Most experienced with alumninum, some experience with steel.

[Pastrey Crust]

Hey Bluetooth, how the forget do you weld aluminum? The AlO₃ layer forms too fast to be able to get anything done other than holes. I ended up using ratchets to finish what I was doing.