VaughnT

Thank you, Phil. I might do some more welding to it in the future, after working with it for awhile. I can see a tool tray or hammer loop coming into play, and maybe a hot-cut holder. Who knows?! Right now, I'm just glad it's done and together!

Yep, if there is any tool steel left on that baby, it's less than an eighth of an inch! But, it's still far better than a section of rail road track and I wouldn't hesitate to use it and learn on it. The chipping around the edges isn't a problem, though it might appear so. Think of each one of those dips as a swage of a different size and use them as such. You can make all sorts of good stuff on that anvil!

Never realized that I hadn't contributed, so here's mine! She started life as a pile of 1"x1" solid bar that my dad got from his work. There wasn't a straight piece in the whole lot and most of it had deep gouges from the machine it came from. Nasty stuff that worked like rebar, but it was free and available!! I wanted to do something different to hold the anvil in place. The anvil weighs over 300# so I'm not too concerned with it bouncing or walking - a couple of big bolts should suffice. Plus, the bolt under the hardy makes for a convenient place to hook a spring-loaded hold-down.

The face doesn't show any sway, which I prefer, but I'm a bit worried about the fact that there's no appreciable elevation difference between the cutting step just behind the horn and the top of the anvil. That would seem to imply that the anvil has had the face milled down over the years to keep it flat. That means it's probably been milled to the point that there is no hard tool-steel faceplate left. How's the rebound?

I think the important thing to remember is that we all gather stuff that others will think we don't need. That "stockpile" of stuff outside the shop, some of it rusting away for years. That hundred and one hammers and tongs that are neatly organized but never used. It goes on and on. The overwhelming majority of us don't "need" to blacksmith. We don't live by the trade. It doesn't pay our bills. We just enjoy it and spend our money on it. Mr. Moore is no different. The "clash" comes because he's collecting stuff we want! Don't hear anyone lamenting over someone with a million stamps or a thousand fishing lures..... but let them collect one anvil that they aren't going to use, and it's game on! I applaud anyone exercising the freedom that this great nation affords them. Stockpile those beautiful anvils and tools. Give them a good home. Hopefully, one day, I'll be able to swing on in and buy something from this good fellow.

That's actually a pretty easy job. You have to establish your outside parameters of overall height and overall width. Then you have to determine the radius you want at the feet. Bending the feet is very easy if you have a torch. I often use the curvature of a socket for bends like this. I piece of .5" round stock held in the vise will hold a socket that uses a .5" drive. Then all you need to do is pick a socket that has the curve you're looking for. Might not be in the arsenal, but any round stock will work. Have a section of 2" pipe? What I would do is lay it out on a concrete floor with the OAL and OAH marked and connected with a centerline. From there, I would measure to the halfway point for the cross member and get to bending. Cut the two cross-beams to length and then cut and bend the uprights. Everything about the uprights will depend on the OAL and OAH and the amount of angle you want. Does that make sense? Really not difficult.

Well, buy all accounts, no smith should have more than two anvils. One main shop anvil and one smaller anvil to travel with. And, if you don't do demonstrations, you don't need that lighter anvil. There are folks out there that really need an anvil and you're hoarding them! Or, why not take that line of thinking to include smithing tools? We've all seen rack upon rack upon rack of hammers, tongs and such. And we all know that the large majority of those tools will never be used. Hoarding them only drives the price up and starves new smiths out of the market. Right? If an American wants to spend his money on collecting metal-working tools, fine. He has no "obligation" to use them or make something with them. They are his to do with as he pleases. Freedom is a wonderful thing. And one day those tools will make their way back onto the market and be in great condition because of the care he showed them. Can't find an anvil? Hogwash. What people really mean when they say that is that they can't find a london-pattern anvil that's in mint condition, being sold for fifty cents, and is only a quarter of a block down the road from them! I bought a very nice 300# Fisher anvil on ebay and had it shipped from Mass to SC. Shipping was only $200. Every day I go on ebay and use "blacksmithing" as my key word. Every day I see anvils up for auction and a lot of them are in really great condition.

I love searching the internet for videos. There is so much out there to see, and I love it when I run across something that's particularly interesting. This video has so many entertaining facets that it's hard to pinpoint any one thing as that key that makes it a good 15 minutes of your time. The narrator in the beginning has a very sexy voice and reminds me of an elf in LOTR. I don't know if that's Russian or what, but I definitely found myself paying attention. The old world live-by-the-horse culture is fascinating. Looks like something right out of Central Casting. The clothing, horses, tack, wagons, plows... it's just wonderful. A window in time. The finale at 14:10 is just awesome. The striker certainly shows his skills throughout the video, but that last piece is particularly fun. Can't say I've ever seen anyone rock a church window like that!

I'd definitely go with the bandsaw...... but I do like buying new tools and a pipe cutter would be nice to have. When I last had to cut some vertical 2" pipe, I made two V-blocks out of scrap lumber and hinged one side together. The V cut in the blocks wasn't large enough to fully enclose the pipe so I had to use a squeeze clamp to pinch the two jaws shut. Basically, I made a clamp-on shelf for the bandsaw's miniscule table to ride on. Measure up as high as you need, minus the difference for the offset of the blade/table/clamp, and cut. Took all the weight off my arms and made for a very clean, very square cut that didn't need anything more than a touch with a file to remove any burr.

A stacked-brick gas forge works very well for heating odd shapes because it's modular.

Very nice work. Are you going to mount it on a piece of flat stock, or is it done? I like the textured flat stock back piece to give them a bit more visual appeal.

I was thinking about making a heavy-duty stool out of it, but I like the lazy susan idea too.

Absolutely gorgeous. Do you plan on refurbishing it or simply using it as is?

Steve, you can buy an adapter that allows you to use a hose and large propane tank instead of the small bottles. http://www.flameengineering.com/Mini_Dragon.html

My 300# Fisher doesn't have any nubs. Wonder why they would have been cast in like that?

Very nice work, monomoit.

Well, the oil and sand goes a long way to helping quiet the whole thing, and it helps to prevent the legs from rusting from the inside out. A heavier stand certainly isn't a bad thing and will only help with the performance of the anvil. Putting a pair of removable wheels on the back legs, like on a hand-truck, would make moving even the heaviest stand a whole lot easier.

Wheels can be attached so that they are quick to remove and get out of the way. Think about how the wheels on a hand-truck don't actually touch the ground until you tip the unit back a few degrees.... and duplicate that on the two back legs. Then, all you need is a socket on the front leg that you can plug a handle into. Did that make sense?

You already have a burner. The weed wand gas torch should put out plenty of BTU's, you just have to play with the back-pressure issues and make sure you don't build a forge so large that the burner can't heat it all. I'm getting ready to build a forge similar to what you describe and will be using my weed-burner to heat it because I have it on hand. Here's a photo of Tai Goo's weed burner forge. Not very complicated, is it? weedburner.jpg

Beautiful, and certainly durable!

Beautifully done. Those welds look great, and I love the beefy legs. Did you backfill the legs with sand and oil?

Looks very old. Never seen similar, but European anvils came in all sizes and shapes. What does it weigh? Any measurements?

Looks real to me. The sidewalk is wide enough to drive down, and there aren't any bollards until you get to the door area. So the truck is driving down the s/w at a fast clip, probably evading police, and turns to get out on to the roadway. Unfortunately, the turn is a bit short and the truck impacts the bollard. The impact is enough to cause the truck to skip the tailend a bit sideways, putting the tailgate under the canopy.

Excellent work, hoss. Your forging looks very good, with a even taper and minimal hammer marks. You'll go far if you keep that quality up!

Frosty, if the ring of that Sodorfers bothers you, bed it in silicone caulk and put a magnet under the heel. It will sound like pounding on an oak plank after that! Furnace1, can't have too many Fisher anvils in the shop! That's a fine model you have there, and in great condition. Enjoy her!!