VaughnT

Slavery has been with us since the beginning, and exists to this day. We are fortunate that our hearts feel bad seeing instruments like this, knowing their purpose. Your craftsmanship is superb and I wouldn't think twice about what happened 200 years ago. You do good work.

Bad luck, but a lesson learned. Never trust in the good manners of others. As a wise man once said... Trust me to know and to do what is best, And I will take care of the rest. But trust is the color of a dark seed growing. Trust is the color of a heart’s blood flowing. Trust is the color of a soul’s last breath. Trust is the color of death. Give me your trust, said the queen on her throne, for I must bear the burden all alone. Trust me to lead and to judge and to rule, and no man will think you a fool. But trust is the sound of the grave-dog’s bark. Trust is the sound of betrayal in the dark. Trust is the sound of a soul’s last breath. Trust is the sound of death. Give me your trust, said the king on high... Give me your trust, said the lady and lord... Give me your trust, said the love of your life... Trust is the taste of death.

That "OO" clearly has weld bead used to build it up. I'm all for the "grinder marks" on the horn, but the lack of thickness in the heel and the bead used to make the 00 gives me concern. Maybe I'll wait until the next Mini Fisher comes along....

Well, that's definitely a very early anvil, often called Colonial. The lack of a pritchel hole puts it as pre-1850, iirc. Value depends on location. $1 per pound is great, but less than $2 a pound is good, too. The face looks flat and the edges look decent, so I wouldn't feel too bad at offering even as much as $3 per pound if I was in need of an anvil. As old as that anvil is, I'm surprised that it's in such good shape. And don't let the size turn you off. An anvil between 60 and 120 is very handy for traveling with or moving round the shop.

Very nice. I've been looking for one like that for awhile without any luck. The wheels are almost certainly an aftermarket mod, but very nice to have if you don't have a dedicated work space.

Wow. That's fantastic work, chief!

That's awesome. You should turn that last shot into sepiatone or black/white with iphoto or photoshop. That will make it look like something out of the 1800's!

When I was a young child, my parents got me interested in reading. By the time I was ten, I had read a lot of the classics, including La Morte d' Aurthor. It was inspirational, to say the least. Then, when I was about fifteen years of age, my Aunt introduced me to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, including Tolkein's other works. It was then that I was entranced by the idea of forging iron into useable things. I had always been interested in history and where mankind came from, but it took the fantastical to really fire up my curiosity. Then, just after graduating from high school, I met Charlie Dingler. He was doing a demonstration at a festival and I got to talk with him a bit. Long story short, I visited his shop entirely too much and got bit by the bug. Charlie didn't do big jobs, but he inspired me to stretch my wings and I've been interested ever since. Blacksmithing isn't for everyone, but for me it is the chosen trade. The smell of coal burning. The sound of the anvil's ring. The feel of iron under the hammer. Something tells me that this is what I'm supposed to do with my life.

Beautiful work! I've always been impressed with flint strikers and the myriad of forms they've come in over the years. I think they are great projects for beginning smiths, and are a great way to start the forging session. I think I'll even start a new folder on my computer with nothing but pictures of the strikers, these included, so that I can remember to try my hand at new styles. Here are two of my favorites from other smiths. I would never have thought to try these techniques if I hadn't seen them on the net first! http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?showtopic=25558 http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?showtopic=23131&hl=%2Bflint+%2Bstriker#entry217525

"...supported on a makeshift stock..." Sounds like the next project..... ;) Your work looks very good. The corners are sharp and the lines are straight, and that's a sign of someone that knows how to pay attention to detail. You're on the right track and will be doing really fine work in the near future if you keep that up. Upsetting? Don't get caught up in that idea too much. Most hardy tools don't need to be sitting fully on the perimeter of the hardy hole. If you take that rail clip and draw one end out a good bit, you can fold it back on itself so that the stem fills the hardy hole and the two shoulders sit on the anvil face. No welding or upsetting needed. This is especially true of hot cuts and fullers. Also, watch ebay and the tool rental places for broken jackhammer bits. These have a collar built in and you can harden them. Great for making anvil tools because most of the hard work has already been done for you.

Neat. I'm currently looking for a shop to "stabilize" the stacked leather handle on a knife I'm making. I'll let you know if I find one.

A 5/8" pritchel is good for jamming a bent hold-down made from 1/2" round stock. 3/8" is good for supporting the surrounding metal when punching a smaller hole. Were I you, I'd strongly consider a series of holes in increments up to an inch, if you can. They'll come in handy some time.....

Easiest way to make a fire pot in that forge is to line it with clay of some kind. Preserves the steel body for a bit longer, too. Always wanted to put really big wagon wheels on a forge. Haven't found a forge to do it with, but it's definitely on my list of things to do!!

If your pan is cast iron, claying it will prevent cracking due to differential heating of the cast iron. Lining the pan with clay will also allow you to form a bowl depression around the grate to concentrate your coals a bit. Very handy thing to do, imo. One thing I would do at the outset, though, is to mount some lawnmower wheels on the thing so you can move it more readily. With a tong rack, clay lining and smoke stack, it's going to be a bit cumbersome to move otherwise. Certainly looks like good kit, though. Can't wait to see what you do with it.

Nut, if you can get a giant of an anvil, go for it. Just don't take the guy's word for what it weighs! My Fisher is between 300# and 350#, and measures 29" OAL x 5.25" W x 14" T. Fishers are notorious for their thick waists and heels, but most any anvil will have reasonably similar dimensions for that weight class. I would strongly encourage you to carry a wire brush and chalk with you so you can highlight any markings on the anvil. You might be able to read the weight on the side. Whatever the case, though, buy any anvil that you can afford! Big or small, old anvils aren't being made any more and will only become more desired as time goes on. You won't make a killing by flipping them, but you'll be able to help someone starting out... and that's a good thing.

First of all, don't ever trust someone's opinion of weight. Humans are, by nature, horrible at judging length, width and weight. If someone says the anvil's 600lbs, consider it less than 300lbs! Still, you should definitely drive awhile and take a gander at it. Without any more details, I can tell you that my Fisher anvil is approximately 30" OAL (a 2.5' spread) and 14" tall, with a 5.25" face. It weighs somewhere between 300# and 350#. Two horns indicates a square horn on the heal and a round/conical horn on the other end. Not a bad deal at all. If you can get the anvil for less than $2/lb, you're doing great. If the edges are in great condition, almost new, $3/lb is certainly good. Over $4/lb is stretching it, but it's certainly not out of the ballpark. All depends on how bad you need a big anvil, and how much you have to spend.

I would dearly love to see blacksmithing guild like the knife-maker's have wherein a smith is judged upon his ability. A journeyman smith is a far different thing than a master, and I think there are countless minions that call themselves blacksmiths simply because they hammer on hot iron. Can you weld two pieces in the fire? Can you build a gate or fence like we see built in the Victorian era? Can you make a rose? What is it that makes you a "blacksmith"? What skills do you possess?

Sounds like you got a good deal, Chief. At 100lbs, you've got a great all-around performer that's not too big to move or too small to do larger projects with. And she'll be right quiet under the hammer's blow!

Spectacular, John! The whole thing has a wonderful ambiance, and I truly envy the organization. Are those pieces of pipe on the wall used for turning circles? Did you put a motor on your old hand-crank blower? Very jealous, wish you were closer by.

Somebody needs to hunt him down and do a longer video. Might be the only chance we have to secure some of his knowledge for future use!

There's no reason you can't use mild steel for 99% of your tools used for hot work.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but while that pot will last for a long time, that grate you have isn't going to last five minutes after you get some heat on it. That looks like some very thin sheet, and it will melt very quickly. Expect your fire to drop down the pipe as soon as that happens. A grate can be made from some 1/2" rebar laid across the opening, or a steel end cap with a hole drilled in the middle of it.

There's absolutely no reason you can't mount an electric blower on the side of the brick to use the same piping that the hand-cranked blower uses. Would the height of the table be suitable to you if you moved the fire pot closer to that edge? The width is only a problem depending on if the fire pot is centered in a wide table. Moving it closer to the main working edge by even six inches would change the viewing angle dramatically and leave you more room on the off side for tools, fuel and/or quenching tanks. The look of the forge is very nice. I would open up the access channel to make sweeping easier, but that's about it. Of course, that's if moving the fire pot made the difference for you.

Awesome job! I really like the look of the rope bail. The spring on mine is 18lbs, and it really puts a bite on the stock. I think this is because so little of the hold-down is actually in contact with the stock being held. Love that big honkin' chain keeping your anvil from running off!

A dozen swages rattling around the truck and getting misplaced, or a few cuts in an anvil that's not at all rare? Chopping into a mint anvil that is no longer being produced... yea, I'd get miffed at that. A farrier's anvil, though, is still being produced and don't fetch that much money on the used market. The modifications made seem to fit a farrier's needs (of which I know nothing) so I'm sure another farrier will see the value. Go for it, Tex.