matto

fridge is well stocked in the office.

here is my trenton, got it for making some brackets on a boat trailer. it was covered in industrial hammered green paint and bondo. they thought it was a junk anvil. i thought it is an anvil. then alittle cleaning and presto a trenton

i hope to find a mentor around here with some of your skills. they all look great.

thank for the info.... i will look it up then post some pics after i get it built.

i have been using etra virgin olive oil for a about to years and as thomas said by keeping a lid on it it will last a long time. if you can find the new instruction you can make a batch of rob gunter's super quinch. i think the hammers blow or the california blacksmiths have details. or you can talk to your local oil supplier and see if the can still get chevron"s quinching oil last time i checked you could only get it in 55gal barrel.

i like it do you have plans for it so one might be able to copy it

mine is a 125# it is a great anvil to work on. i also use a magnet under the heel to quiet the ring. just stick it on and move it in and out on the underside of the heel till it quiets the ring.

I have used a 220 stick welder that i have used for 5 to 6 years on a 120 foot 10-2 with ground cord and have never had any problems. it needs a 50 amp breaker to run it.

I use a fifty pound bottle on my two burner. A lot of people around here use a 100 pound bottle because it is cheaper to fill.

more power to ya jacques the legs are cut at 20 degree angles on top and bottom. they are 2" heavy wall tubing. they are cut based off the end hight i wanted the face of my anvil to be, my legs are 15" long. the square frame that the anvil block sits on is 12x12 and is 1 1/2" heavy wall tube. the block is 3"x12"x12 made from 3x1 elm glued together. there is a 1/2" 12x12 plate under it welded to the frame work. you don't need it though. i have 2 more just like it that don't have the plate. i lag or through bolt through the frame tubing. with the turn buckles lags work fine. they're just there to hold the block on to the frame if the anvil is not on it.

i know there is a post of this on here somewhere but i have figured out how to add pictures. so i am just starting a post. this is a photo of part of my shop in kearney where i am setting up my smithy. nothing is bolted down yet and i don't have the sidedraft hood up yet. i am figuring out where i want everything. six to seven feet to the left of the coal forge is a five foot x eight foot roll-up door. the wood box in the right corner is my coal bin.
it may move to a new location to give more room for the other forging station and the power hammer. the 25lb LG is on the right wall. there is about a four foot to five foot working triangle between the forge anvil and vise on both sideds of the forge. the forge blower will be controled by a adjustable switch by the tong rack where you can reach it from both sides of the forge allowing two smithes to uses the same forge. I also have a gasses on a roll cart that canbe uses by one or both smiths depending on where you set the cart. the power hammer is about six to seven feet from the coal forge. other wall areas not shown have work bench steel racks a small office paper work and the start of my smithing library. any suggestions would be great, knowing that nothing is "set in stone" yet.

hear is a picture of my anvil stand. the stand is based off of mark aspery's tri-pod farriers stand. the turn buckels are great for anvil hold downs making a very solid base and for quick removal for transporting. there are hole in the feet to anchor to the shop floor or for stakes when doing outdoor demos.

i know there is a post on show me your vise can't find it. so i am showing you here.(if my pictures come up)
the stand is a 30gal oil barrel filled with concrete. the vise plates are bolted with all-thread attached to the rebar in the concrete. at the bottom of the barrel are brackets that fit 5/8" pins that slide into holes in my shop floor. that way i can move it to different location if needed. i do have a spot in the shop that i anchor bolt it down for most of the time. the 2 1/4" tube with the pin in the top is for my bending forks and other form and jigs i use. i have a 2" tube welded to them to fit into the 2 1/4" tube then pin them so they stay put. ( basically your trucks tow hitch)
so what do you think? it really works good and is very solid when just pinned to the floor or bolted. the reason for 2 vises on it is because i use my vise to hold a lot of my hardy tools, so i can still have a tool in one vise and still have an open vise in the same area. it also gives me the ability to have another smith working without taking up more floor space with another vise snd stand.

check into diamondback iron works economy line of forges. fire up right out of the box. you can get a one or a two burner for under $400 plus about $45 shipping.
i think the one burner is about $250-$275. gives you a good quick way to get started then when time and shop space are better you can build one more to your liking.
i have been using the 2 burner blacksmiths model and have only been running at 5 psi and i get 5/8" stock up to nice yellow forging heat in no time.

more good books; the backyard blacksmith by lorelei sims, the skills of a blacksmith vol. 1 and 2 vol. 3 when it comes out by mark aspery, new edge of the anvil by jack andrews, a blacksmithing primer by randy mcdaniel, the blacksmiths cookbook by francis whitaker, a blacksmiths craft by francis whitaker then any books about past blacksmiths. " for it is through the past that we will build the future" or " learning to use the tools from yesterday, today, will build tomorrow"

i have made some spike knifes, all marked whc on the head the w is where it was made and the hc is for high carbon. to my understanding the carbon content can be anywhere from .3 to .8 give or take. the hc spikes are for use at switch points and on curves where they need the hardness and strength for movement. no they don't make a $400 dollar razor sharp high end knife, but they are fun to do. they will hold an edge but will need to be resharped more than a quality knife. but they are not ment to be a high quality knife. they are ment to be functional but because of the unknowing of carbon content they are more display knifes. by the way did i mention that they are FUN to make. there is also a market for collectors of knifes and of railroad spike knifes. a lot of smithes make tomahawks out of them. as for hardining and tempering i water quench then draw temper. works for me.

looks like my vulcan. it is a cast anvil that does not have a lot of ring but it will put your hammer right back in your face if you are not paying attention.

Clean shaven could not even grow a soul patch if I wanted to let a loan a full beard.

do you know what grade of rebar you used? 40, 60,80, weld grade what size did you use 1/2, 3/4 ?
matto

i am thinking that is what i am going to do. i do prefer the side draft hood over a canopy.

hey all, in my shop i will have two coal forges, i think side draft hoods are better than a canopy style, but i am wondering if i can put the two hoods back to back and use the same chimney for both? the pipe size will be 12". or would it be better to put a long canopy style hood over both forges using the same chimney?

i am trying not to put two holes in my roof. matto

You could get the economy line forge at diamondback ironworks for a little less and it will do most all you need For a starter forge

three rings on the anvil in respect and honor for mister Sarver, may his loved ones find peace in knowing he will always be in our thought, minds and prayers.

Post leg you should look me up when in Kearney. I can show you my shop and the trails and rails shop. Maybe heat some stuff up and hit it. I lived in linclon for about fifteen years.
frank i was one of the head smiths at the golden history centers clear creek history park for a couple of years. my wife's grandpa veril dority did a lot of history talks at stuhr also. to bad you moved, it would of been fun to smith with you. maybe sometime.
matto

hi all it has been a while, i have moved from golden co. to kearney ne. i miss the members in the rocky mountain smiths. have not yet had or made time to contact the praire blacksmiths in nebraska. i am a nebraska kid and am glad to be back here. i have a couple of great prodjects coming up. one is my own shop is finally getting started in an old ware house down town. the other is a new/old blacksmith shop i am helping build at the trails and rails museum in kearney. it is going to be a 50 x 25 foot shop part of it will be based off of an original shop from kearney and the rest will be an educational shop with multipal forges set up for classes on basic smithing. we will be taring down an old barn for most of the material for the shop. it will be two fun prodjects i will keep postings and pictures when the prodjects get started. as for my own shop i am having a hard time with where to put my power hammer, how far to keep it from the wall and forge. right now i have two forges on the north wall of the shop with a post vise for each and an anvil at a 45 degree in front to keep my triangle work area. the power hammer is on the east wall with one of the forges about 6 to 8 feet away. on the south wall there will be a welding table and other basic shop tools. the door is on the west wall with a window next to it, there is a small 5 foot rollup door in the northwest corner next to the main forge. does this sound like a good start for my personal shop setup?

matto