Glenn

My Peter Wright has been heard at 4 blocks on a hot summers day !!

A 4" carrage bolt in the prichel hole will kill a lot of the ring as will two wraps of light weight chain placed loosely around the waist of the anvil. Setting the anvil in an inch of sand works.

BP0255 Stop the Anvil Ring - Gerald Franklin

I also have one of those neck coolers. You soak it in water and it expands. I tie this around my neck and it definitly helps keep me cooler. Occasionaly I re wet it in cool water.

Sorry but the visual image on this one is just too great to let slip past. I figure that you put it around you neck and as you sweat, the cooler expands your eyes begin to bug out. :)

Time to bring this thread to the top again.

With temperatures over 90*F (or 33*C) it is time to take on fluids and time shift to early morning or late evening forging. Any addirional suggestions?

I have been told to polish them up and find them a new home. For heat use a small propane torch for $15 or so at Wal-mart, Lowes, Home Depot etc. The ones with the auto start are about $30. The people that used the old blow torches have moved on to better equiptment for a reason.

You said steer head

Try IForgeIron BP0125 Wolfe Head - Jr Strasil

70# anvil?? Does it have a name (and I don't mean Linda).

Go to IForgeIron > Forum > Blacksmithing > What size anvil do you use and see what others use - after they searched for a while. 37% of those responding use an anvil of 100-150# and your close to that weight now. A lot of learning and then a lot of work can be done on a 70# anvil. Don't sell it short. Besides you can move and carry a 70# anvil. Try tucking a 400# anvil under your arm, or lifting it up and into the truck bed at the end of a weekend demo when your dog tired.

Remember we are always hunting for the Ray Davis anvil of 5280 pounds.

Frank,
The heads are not on the Blueprints yet (hint-hint to those making animal heads). Look at the iForge-Anvilfire demos #116 by BIll Epps or I think Bill also demonstrates a longhorn steer head in his teaching tapes.

Jim,
Join us for the Tuesday Nights for the live presentation of Blueprints - those how-to projects that make life easier. We can not tell you what is being presented, but we can tell you it will be fun. Doors open 8 pm EST US, Show starts 10 pm and lasts an hour.

Just another way to expand your knowledge in blacksmithing. :)

Please send me the information so it can be worked up into a blueprint.

Look for a flywheel from a standard transmission to weld to the brake drum for additional ballast. Weld a piece of steel plate to the drum so it extends out in front for you to stand on. Both are great help in preventing tip overs.

A 3# red hot hammer head in a small amount of oil is an invitation for a flash fire. Use a metal container that has a lid that closes and that can put out a fire. A fire extingusher needs to be handy, as well as a cell phone with the speed dial set to 911 (the emergency response). You may not need any of the above but just in case .......

Play safe.

BP1004 Woop Tongs by Uri Hofi

Cut the steel to length (in this case 5/8 x14" to hold 2"square bar). Steel for the tongs is 1045.





Woop tongs holding a 2x2" piece of steel.


Thanks to Uri Hofi for BP1004 Woop Tongs.

Brian, The information you have just received was posted on the BAWA (Blacksmith Association of Western Australia) Groups Forum hosted by IForgeIron. That means your local group got world wide exposure, your question got world wide exposure, and you got the answer from places other than Austrailia you could not have reached otherwise.

Did you see that 142 prople have looked at your question to date? Many more will view the thread as reference when they look for dog spike / rail road spike projects in the future.

The system works.
Thank you for using IForgeIron.

The IForgeIron Groups forum is open to any Blacksmithing group that needs a forum for their group. It will allow for the exchange of information within your group, as well as world wide exposure for your group. Contact me for information of how to set it up.

JPH
The hammer stand BP0166 has a car rim for a base. Just tilt and roll on the rim. I found that is an easy way to move the stand. No bumping into it and having it roll across the room on wheels.

Show us what you do, and how you do it, so we can learn. It is the rest of us that will have the cultural cringe when we find new ways of doing things. :)

6013, I believe the question was a serious inquiry, but I like the way you think.

Andy, check gaulding as an alternative spelling.

Put a twist on the "handle" as if making a knife. Then draw the rest of the spike out to 20" (500 mm) or so and put a hook on the end, great for turning stakes on the barbie. Hook needs to be 90 degrees to the side to work best.

Two spikes can be used to make a pair of tongs for the forge, or ice tongs for ice bucket at the barbie.

Ed, On this forum, there is plenty of room for questions, answers and also corrections. We are now some 35 posts into welcoming River-Gazer to the site and forum, and the thread is now way off the original topic. You can follow the conversation from beginning to end, as long as you can keep up with the twists and turns of the thread.

If someone repeats comments from an "expert", repeats something they have heard at a hammer in, or repeats something they have read and can not remember the exact source for reference, it is hearsay. But it is not necessarly posted to intentionally mislead the viewer. There may be information on the site that is misleading if you take one comment out of context, but follow the thread from post #1 to the last post in any given thread, and you should get good information. It is not complete by any means, and is not the last word on the subject. You must continue to research from as many sources as are available. You must chase down the leads mentioned in your research. Only you know when enough is enough, and only then can you make a decision based on your research.

To limit yourself to only the facts, and only first hand experience, also limits the creative process. One idea sparks another, which sparks another and so on. The end result of the conversation may have no relation to the original question.

A request to everyone:
IForgeIron does not wish to present bad or misleading information. If you find bad or misleading information on the site, please let me know. And please send me the good information so I can to correct the problem. Or post the good information in a reply so we can discuss the differences. This way everyone can understand why one is considered bad and one is considered good.

The internet, even including this site, is rife with disinformation and hearsay, and you just have to wade carefully through it all. There is no way for you to know the quality and accuracy of what you read online, so take it all with a grain of salt.

This comment of IForgeIron "being rife with disinformation and hearsay" has gotten my attention. I was not aware of the problem.

Ed, If you know of a post on IForgeIron that contains false information, disinformation, and or hearsay, please contact me with the location of the post and the proper information to correct the post. I will then make notations in the post setting things straight. If that means opening all 8,700+ current posts, then that is what needs to be done, and it will be done. It will take some time and I will need and ask for assistance, but notations will be made.

You are correct in advising that any suggestions made be taken to the forge and used. Not all will work, even if the information is absolutely correct. It will provide a basis for additional discussions and more forge time, which means more discussion and more forge time. I know of no one on IForgeIron that will give up on someone trying and struggling to achieve a goal. I have seen too many times when folks go out of their way to be of assistance. The old expression of ask 10 blacksmiths and get 12 answers is not a fable, but the truth. Try all 12 ways and then ask more questions.

We have been talking about anvils, but what about the smithing hammer? Can you wear out a hammer from normal use?

Is the hammer face expected to mushroom out much like a chisel with use? How does the dressing of the hammer effect the working face? Does it need retempered after dressings, or several dressings?

For July lets see what can be done with a square foot of thin sheet metal 14 ga or thinner. New for this month, all entries should be in by the 20th of the month.

The thin sheet metal can be worked hot or cold. Just be careful if your working hot, grinding, or sanding anything galvanized. Fume fever and or heavy metal poisioning is not fun. Play safe.

There was a discussion in the IForgeIron Blacksmith Chat Room about hammer size vs anvil size.

Let's say the anvil weighs 100 pounds (an easy number to work with) and is securely attached to the stump or stand. The smith works 40 hours a week and 50 weeks a year. This would be a full time job with lots of use for the anvil.

1. What weight hammer can be used with NO damage to the anvil under these conditions.

2. What is the size stock that can be used on this anvil for an extended perion of time with NO damage to the anvil?

3. If it reasonalbe to conclude that if you double the size of the anvil (100 pounds to 200 pounds) you can also double the hammer weight and stock size?

It would seem small stock suggests a small hammer and a small anvil, and large stock suggests a large hammer and a large anvil weight. But is there some type guidline that a particular anvil weight would suggest a particular hammer weight and stock size that could be used on a regular basis?

Let's amend the question:
How do you safely remove chrome from a piece of metal?

What size anvil do you use most often?