VaughnT

I'd hold. Being in the northeast, there are always anvils popping up around you on ebay and craigslist. I use searchtempest.com to search the region

It should be well under $100, in my opinion. Though Vulcans are generally fairly good anvils (bottom of the barrel compared to Fisher, Wright or Trenton), that one has seen better days. I'd go $75 at the max, and even then it had better not be too long of a drive to pick it up. Of course, you're in big sky country and what constitutes a "short" drive for you folks is generally what we down here consider a week's vacation.

It looks very servicable to me. A lot depends on how much flat area there actually is on the anvil's top. Photos can be deceptive. I would clean up all of the edges so you have a variety of radii to bend stock around, and then get to work. Any time you feel like you need the pritchel hole, figure a way around it. Personally, I can't remember the last time I used the pritchel on any of my anvils except to punch out a small hole...... and I usually just drill the holes instead. Also, don't be afraid to have an anvil shipped. Might seem expensive, but you can shop around to get a really good price. From Mass to SC, I had a 300# anvil shipped to my door for less than a buck a pound. And that means the total cost of the anvil to me was just under $3/lb, which is a good deal (not great) for an anvil in that condition. Keep your eyes open for anvils one or two states over and open an account on uship.com or get to know local smiths in the area. Lots of great folks here that don't mind lending a hand.

Well, there's plenty of information out there on making knives, damascus or otherwise. The biggest problem you might run into is biting of more than you can chew as making damascus isn't exactly a beginner project. As for anvils, Pendinghaus is certainly a good brand, but do is Trenton, Fisher, Wright, and Paragon. Vulcan anvils are alright, though considered the least of the top names. If you work in the business, look for something to make a post anvil out of. Knife making doesn't require a traditional london-pattern anvil and a lot of the very best knife-makers use a simple block of steel. A piece of 4140, for example, that's 4x4x18, turned vertical and set in a stand, will give you a very heavy anvil with all of the mass directly under the hammer's blow. You just don't get better than that! I've been looking for a post anvil for some time, now, just to add it to the stable.

Now, that's a good deal, Cleetis! I wasn't trying to impune you contractor's character. Going out the wall is considered by some to be a better option that going straight up. I don't understand exactly why, but folks rave about side-draft hoods so there must be something to it. Hurry up and post pictures!

I was afraid that was the answer. I have plenty of air for the fire, but this was something neat that I hadn't seen before. Would have been nice to have....

One flue per pot, or the hood will be too big if you have only one pot burning at a time. You can solve this by putting a barrier between the two pots so that the heat from the working pot creates a vacuum and draws the just enough air out of the working chimney. Brian Brazeale has a 12" pipe hanging just inches over his fire. No hood at all. Maybe 18" over the hot zone. And it draws like a champ. If you can't go straight up through the roof, try going out the wall and then up. A side-sucker hofi-style chimney gets rave reviews from folks that have tried it. Your forge looks fantastic. I'm very jealous of your fabbing skills!!

Sounds like your contractor doesn't want to work on the actual roof. That's respectable because a steep pitch makes things difficult. Going out the wall isn't a problem (see: super sucker hood), and installing a blower to induce draft will preclude the need for blocking off half of the hood (between the pots). CFM depends on the diameter of the pipe.

I'm oddly attracted to this blower because I've never seen the like before. http://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-BLACKSMITH-BUFFALO-FORGE-PATD-1877-NEW-YORK-CAST-IRON-INDUSTRIAL-/160977859557?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257b0733e5 But, as the description shows, one of the big gears is broken. What would it cost me to get this gear replaced? I like the lines, but I'm not a founder. Could this gear be recast for under a hundred bucks?

The firepot needs to have thick walls. I wouldn't use anything less than 3/8" thick, and most of the commercially available ones are a minimum of 1/2" thick. That doesn't mean you can't make one out of 1/4" plate, though. It will take the heat/fire a loooong time to eat through 1/4" steel, especially if you're only forging a bit here and there during the week. Of course, I subscribe to the "buy once, cry once" school of thought and would use the heaviest material you can lay hands on. For the table that the firepot sits in, sheet metal is good enough. The carcass of a washing machine or dishwasher would be plenty. Some folks use the body of a push mower. If you have some scrap lumber, you can build the legs and surround out of it and find a piece of sheet for the actual table top. Don't forget to put a few crossbars underneath so it doesn't sag. As to dimensions, I like my table top to be rectangular rather than square, with the pot set off of center towards the left side as facing. Having about 10" around the pot is great for building a mound of fuel, and having some extra room to one side is great for extra fuel and whatever tools you might be using on the project. Think 24" x 40".

There are all kinds of anvils available on ebay if you're willing to have them shipped. I had my 300#+ anvil shipped from Massachusetts to SC for less than a dollar a pound using uship.com, and I thoroughly recommend you keep them in mind if you run into a good deal that's a state or three away from you. And don't think that it has to be an traditional-looking anvil. There's a guy on ebay that sells hunks of cut steel for a good price, and he currently has a nice size bit of 4140 that would make a great post anvil. http://www.ebay.com/itm/HUGE-Chrome-Moly-150-lbs-4140-9-5-OD-7-5-L-ROUND-BAR-BLACKSMITH-ANVIL-INV-9699-/400411526755?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d3a630663 He's one of my favorite sellers, and I'm sooooooo glad I don't live near him! The stuff on his 'store' is amazing, and I'm sure I could find a use for half of it if I had the money.

The anvil is great. I'd gladly pay up to $3/lb for it if I needed another one. It's a great size for general work, and moving around when it's in the way. The condition is really nice, so it's almost like buying a new one. That's a win/win situation, imo. The forge isn't very impressive. The overall shape is rather square and I prefer rectangular, but the bricks and actual fire pot are the important part. Figure that you could build a body out of scrap lumber and sheet metal for next to nothing, and you might have to end up rebuilding that forge depending on how it's put together. If the blower is running smoothly, I'd be glad to pay as much as $100 for the forge.

Looking forward to seeing the final product, Tube. I still haven't screwed up my courage to try and weld up my Wilkinson so I need all the inspiration I can get.

The stump has three legs touching the ground so take three small sections of 2x4 and screw them into the bottom of the feet. This will raise your anvil without any real trouble, but it also gives you that ever-so-nice sacrificial bit that's going to rot out the soonest because it's in contact with the ground. Or, you could use a pressure-treated 2x4 lumber so that the shoes last a good long time. You definitely don't want to be leaning over as your working. As a fellow member of the bad back club, I can testify as to just how unpleasant the experience quickly becomes! Putting 2x4 risers under the stump will also allow you to get your feet under it regardless of where you're positioned at the anvil. As for coating the stump, I prefer to used boiled linseed oil that has been thinned down with acetone or mineral spirits. As has been mentioned earlier, uncut BLO is too thick to get into the pores of the wood and just sits on top. But if you thin it down 3:1 or 4:1, it's as runny as water and can get into the wood. Acetone evaporates a lot faster than mineral spirits. My favorite technique for a large chunk of wood like that is to set it into one of those cheap tin dishes they use at potluck dinners (formed tinfoil is all they are). Set the wood in that, raised a bit off the floor, then add a bunch of BLO. Then add a bunch of thinner. The end grain of the stump really sucks up the moisture if it's dry, but having that dish under it allows you to paint the BLO over the entire stump without messing up the floor. Anything that runs down just gets caught in the reservoir to be used again. Great looking anvil and stump. You've certainly proven yourself to be a handy fellow.

You'd certainly be a good friend to have!!! Excellent work.

Are you cleaning and reinstalling? It's got to be a job of work, to be sure. Just remember to start at the top and work your way down. Doing it the other way is a chore!

Love the setup! The only thing I can see needed is a hood/chimney to give you a bit of shade to see colors and get that smoke above your head. Looks like you're in south GA, and that sun can be mighty bright in them parts. Shade is nice to have!

Wow, is that a forge!!! Mint condition, two coke pots and tuyeres, and a beautiful hood..... all for pennies on the dollar. Gobsmacked is I! Looks like the hood has rings at the top for suspending it with chains. I'd certainly consider that route so you can adjust it to find that sweet spot that draws the smoke away while still leaving your room to work under it. My biggest worry is that you won't get a good draw without both pots lit.

Very nicely built! A support for longer stock is mighty handy, as has been mentioned, and a chimney to get the smoke up above you is always nice. But, any other modifications needed will come to you as you work with it. Love the idea of using that umbrella stand as a base. I would never have thought of that!

I'm jealous, to say the least! What a wonderful collection of anvils. Those big ones with the "hardy" stems are something I've never seen before. I wonder why they did that when their weight would have been more than enough to hold them to a stump. Maybe there were part of a larger hammer assembly? Makes me wish I wasn't broke as a joke!

Fantastic! I'm genuinely impressed with your work and can't wait to see you using it. Like others have said, consider making a tripod stand out of metal or build a "stump" out of pressure-treated lumber. Cutting a stump level can be a pain, and then you have to worry about rot and insects. And, imagine the satisfaction of not only having made the anvil, but also the stand that it sits on!!! Tell us more about that burner? What brand is it? Looks like it would give off a nice even heat in a small forge, kinda like a ribbon burner.

That's a beautiful anvil! At just over 5" across, you have plenty of working surface and only need to grind the end flat and smooth. Personally, I would recommend that you simply bury one end in a bucket of cement and call it done. The extra mass of the cement will only make the anvil work better, and the roundness of it will make it easy to roll out of the way when needed.

Chief, that home-made forge isn't worth much, but still worth looking at. That blower could be a Buffalo brand. Depends on what it says. When it comes to blowers, size does matter. The OP has a blower that measures 14" across the fan housing, and that makes it very very rare. You can find 9" and 12" blowers all day long, but a 14" blower is a whole different animal. Refinished, that blower will easily fetch a few bills more than a smaller blower in similar condition.

"For some reason the third pic makes it look like it is one of those super detailed scaled miniatures." I was thinking the exact same thing! It's amazing what a skilled shooter can do with a camera! Looks great, U. Don't forget to clay the pay so that cast iron doesn't crack!