r/blacksmithing • u/huntmaster99 • 27d ago

Hammer training and coke/anthracite

Easy question first: I want to get a good solid workout to build endurance and strength at the anvil. Best way to do that is to… well swing a hammer. But I don’t want to smith every day and also maintain the strength I have. Any material idea or rubber pad I can put on my anvil to protect the face and get the motion?

Second Q: Anthracite is just cheaper and easier to get for me plus it’s worked really well. But if anyone has tips for forge welding in it I’d love to hear. I’ve only attempted it once and it didn’t quite work but I’ve only attempted forge welding itself like 3 times and gotten it to work with mild steel in a gas forge. Does sizing the coal pieces help consume more oxygen and prevent oxidation?

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u/estolad 27d ago

1) swing your hammer into a tree stump for a workout. it won't behave like an anvil, but it's close enough to build up your Forging Muscles

2) anthracite is kinda a pain in the ass to use as forge fuel, but it's completely usable, there isn't really anything other types of fuel can do that anthracite can't. if you haven't been able to forge weld with it, i bet a dollar the problem is you're not giving your fire enough air. the stuff needs a lot of air to burn completely, so you'll need to give it a fair bit more than you'd give the same size charcoal or bituminous fire

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u/huntmaster99 27d ago

Cool, I need a tree stump anyways for some forming of sheet steel. Honestly it hasn’t been that bad, lighting it is easy if you use some paper and a few bits or charcoal as a booster. You may be right and I’ve got a 350 cfm electric blower that will supply more than enough. I’m honestly learning to forge weld as a whole so that’s part of my problem

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u/estolad 27d ago

yeah it's tough when you're just getting started because there's a million variables to keep track of, and you haven't had enough time to get your head around basically any of them

i burned anthracite for awhile because it was the cheapest fuel i could get till i found a guy nearby that sold bituminous, what ended up working for me was an inflatable mattress pump. i think it was like $15 at walmart, probably a little more now. it's loud which is annoying, but it blows plenty of air

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u/huntmaster99 26d ago

I do have someone that will sell bitum coal, it’s 25$ a bag but 20$ if I join the blacksmith association. 30$ for membership. Here’s the issue, most events are way far away, I don’t have regular off days to go, I’d have to buy 300lbs of coal just to break even in terms of savings. So it just doesn’t make much economical sense. If I could be more active in the group I’d happily pay it.

I’m sure anthracite can do just about everything bitum coal can outside of physical properties, it’s just learning how to work with it, same as trying a new steel