Glenn

Use a point light source, low and side lighting.

Your anvil, you can paint it anything you want, including plaid. When it comes to selling that anvil the buyer may object as some sellers may use paint to hide flaws in the anvil, and therefore cast a questioning eye towards yours. Your call.

Cutting into any closed container can be dangerous. Sparks and the leftover contents may not play well with each other. Ask about a 55 gallon drum (clearly marked with 10-30 oil and new paint) behind a mechanics shop and got permission to put it in the truck. Noticed the head of the drum was hooved a bit, and opened the bung. The release of pressure and the smell of fuel was overwhelming. Left the bung off and ask him what was in the drum. He said they used it to take racing fuel to the race track last weekend. Left the drum where it was and moved on. NEVER guess that the label represents the actual contents. Now I look for drums that contained antifreeze, wind shield fluid, etc and always test a small sample poured from the drum. Dust, rust, gas explosions are not to be messed with. If you are lucky, your neighbor, friend. or police, will tell you that was an impressive and window shattering explosion when ( if ) you wake up.

Moony and all Aussies in the way of the fire are on the list. We wish them well.

There are now 35 days left until Christmas 2019. Still time for many things. Show us what you have made or are making for Christmas this year. We need ideas.

New anvils, fall 2019, go for $6.00 to $9.00 per pound. The new standard for anvils and Anvil Hype may help. Also look up TPAAAT for ways to find an anvil. A collection of improvised anvils should answer a lot of your question.

The challenge when she starts blacksmithing is to keep in front of her and feeding her the knowledge she can use.

Every wooden handle, hammer, shovel, rake, wheel borrow, etc, if it is wooden it is sanded with 100 grit sandpaper, down to the wood. All the varnish, factory coating, dirt, etc is removed. Then it is coated with a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits, allowed to absorb the mix and coated again and again until the wood will not take any more of the mix. Then it is coated daily for a week, weekly for a month, and monthly for a year. To use the handle, just wipe off any excess, use, and then recoat the wood when your finished. Each time after you wipe down the wood, BURN the rag. Getting a little of the mix on the metal tool also protects the tool. A 2 pound hammer is all you need to start with. Remember that you are not swinging that hammer once, you are going to swing that hammer for HOURS at a time !! As to being confused, massive amounts of information will do that to you, until you begin to start sorting it all out and learning what is good information and what is not so good. You learn by taking the information to the forge and trying it out. Keep what works for you, at your forge, at your location. Ask 10 blacksmiths how to do something and get 12 or more answers, all of which work for that blacksmith. Your job is to take them to the forge and try them all out. You will end up with one that works for you. The rest work, but are back up plans when needed. Blacksmithing is not a sprint as there is no finish line. It is a life long journey learning something new at every opportunity. We want you to succeed, and we want to be a part of that success. Enjoy the adventure.

The reason for the 30 day post period is so the material is fresh and the offer is still good. Repost for another 30 days if the offer is still current.

What ever stand you build, be sure you CAN NOT tip it over. There is no way to jump out of the way of a falling anvil, with hot metal in your hand, while looking for a soft place to land, in a blacksmith shop.

People will believe a salesperson using buzzwords and excitement to separate them from their money has to be right. Facts tend to skew things toward reality a bit. Research on NEW anvils in the 100 to 200 pound range puts the 2019 price at $6.00 to $9.00 a pound. One seller says: "Striking the face with a hammer or doing the ball bearing test will wreck any anvil (clip) and will ultimately void its warranty." This is for the new name brand anvils they sell.

That is because everyone has their opinion and respects the opinion of others, as long as that opinion is not dangerous or will get someone hurt.

Plasma could speed things up a bit by cutting out the design from metal flattened out or flat stock the right thickness and then welded to a stem stock. Then you can make a pattern to form the veins etc.

The site upgrades have sometimes broken the links to the photos from the past. The soft wear developers have been notified of this and we are still waiting for the fix.