its512eric

looking at the pic, do both ends line up? so it was made a bit high in the center?

Welcome to IFI, If you are interested in buying one or more hardies you can check out these sites http://www.piehtoolco.com/index.html, http://www.blacksmithsupply.com/home.aspx?Merchant=blacksmith_supply, https://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/page.php?theLocation=/Resources/Site_Pages&PHPSESSID=93bd103575837049fc22be4cd9870302 as well as others. You can also buy from ebay in "blacksmith -> collectibles" but don't spend more on a piece than you can buy it new. Also you can get yourself a copy of "Plain and Ornimental Forging" by Schwarzkopf and/or a copy of "The Complete Modern Blacksmith" by Weygers. Both of these books will help you along the way, as will so many others. Personally, I think every begining blacksmith should should read Waygers. Keep posting your questions, someone will give you their thoughts. Eric

Found this image on the site, RR plate is definetly hard enough.

Dan, It was many months of serious looking b4 I found an anvil that wasn't severly damaged or over priced. In the mean time, unless you are doing small work only b4 monkeying with building out an I-beam check if there is a heavy equipment salvage yard in your area as there are many pieces to be salvaged and used as an anvil for free, cheap or scrap rate. The key is heavy and hard. If you find heavy and soft, just harden the face - blacksmith. There are some simple to follow directions in Weygers' "The Complete Modern BLacksmith" and if you are newer at smithing than I am, you should own a copy anyways. Good Hunting

That Dan, is a good idea!

english pattern ruffly 78lb (not the 80's soft steel) and now have a 7/8" hardy hole instead of 3/4"

plop it down in front of the TV, get a file and pick two corners that are the most square and bring the other to meet them. sunday when the game is on would be a good time, as you can rewind if you miss something exciting it took me about an hour a corner to square up my kohlswa

If you are just looking to bring your wheel back to a usable shape, rembering that it will not look like a modern cut circle, a piece of quartz covered stone will work. The quartz is hard enough to wear down the grindstone (or rough in your rounded over cold chisle) and if it is a thin covering on sandstone the quartz will chip away should you become too aggressive without any major grindstone damage. Just get two blocks of wood and (using two bolts) make a clamp/handle. Is slow but works great.

Since the bridge was made in 1890, I would wager that the pipe is iron (notice the cracking in the picture). With that, the pipe could be cast and not wrought. I am a little too far to get a close look. As for the beams, without any metal deterioration, I would lean toward iron too. steel that has been laying imbeaded on a muddy exposed hillside would show signs of corrosion and metal fatigue and the images that you sent have none (very little). That is a lot of metal to store, better think of where you are going to put it.

One or both of the farmers that own the land on either side can patition to have YOU remove it in their stead. The county's/state's rights to it DO expire, I just don't know how long Illinois' are; and without a maintained road, usually sooner than you think. As soon as you put them in a position to start having to send money/resources the state/county will be glad to see it go for free. Good Hunting

Havng worked on an Arm & Hammer, a Mousehole, a Vulcan... I own a Kohlswa. It does ring, and i mean ring. A magnet under the anvil help the neighbors. I have grown more than partial to the solid steel anvils: Soderfors, Kohlswa, and of course Hay Budden. If you find one and can afford it - get it, you wont be disappointed.

Don't worry about making too many mistakes, that is when you learn. Powers references "I like "The Complete Modern Blacksmith" as Weygers shows you how to scrounge and build *everything*!" I have two copies, one for the library and one for the shop. As A relatively new smith too, I'll tell you what you NEED. A good forge, a small one will do, some homemade ones are good enough to be considerd good. A couple of peen hammers of differning weights, flea market ball peen will work fine too and something hard to bang on. If you buy one pair of tongs, new or used, you will have an example in hand as you make the others you need. Lastly a hardy to cut steel to length. If you don't have an actual anvil a hot cutter and a cutting plat will sub fine (With a good hold down). The rest will come as projects demand and you can always make them. As a non-professional smith-I like making tools. Have fun and be patient, you will not be a master smith before summer.

i live in central tx. (brownwood) and have been looking for an anvil for quite some time. if anyone has one for sale around 200lbs. Try this link I found on craigs. I was interested in a forge he had, was too slow. Eric sale-jxhtb-2104842474@craigslist.org

Ebay definetly makes the prices artificially high(er), but part of the problem is the difficulty in locating an anvil at a reasonable price, if you can locate one that is not ready for the scrap yard. If you have one, you can wait for a price that makes sense, but anyone that is new or starting over can find themselves hard pressed. I purchaced a Kohlswa in good used condition on ebay for what worked out to $3.17/lb to include shipping. I bet I tried 200 times (ebay and local) before I found something. I stayed on the lower end, I know because I would always loose, based on articles from this site and anvilfire. Eventually you can find something, but you have to be able to be patient.

Look what I found in MD... for $10 or even $50. It is in mostly good shape and they are not going to be this cheap again. Usually they go for $2, $3 to as much as $8/lb.. Just saying. Two piece anvils are unique. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120640539698&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT And for your fuel question... coal is poisonous, gas explodes. You choose. You can always get another and oposite forge later.

Jenn, Glad you joined. Most important is to get something to heat your metal, something to hit it with and something to hit it on. As a reletivly new smith, I found a book: "The Complete Modern Blacksmith" by Weygers - The Best $20 I sent. Be sure to get the modern reprint with all three titles enclosed; Available on Amozon, and Barns and Nobles, ect. The book also gives you ideas about alternative anvils and forges, something that may help you along in the begining. Tools are harder to find, there are a few sites: Blacksmith Depot, Centar Forge and others but it aint cheep. Luckily they do hold most of their value. Ebay has many, many items too - tread carfully. Personnally I have seen some good and some realy bad come from the various sellers. I suggest, once you have one of all the bacis - make your own tools. It is rewarding to know that your work is feeding your creativity. Don't forget your touchmark. I know that there are ABA groups for North Texas and for Oklahoma. Smithing is like a rock rolling down hill - you start slowly and build exponentionally. See you around, Eric from Pflugerville Texas