VaughnT

Unfortunately, the only way to get around the "Peak" issue is to eliminate the people. The root cause of all the environmental issues we face, according to the alarmists, is the human population that demands these things. Remove the people and the earth can return to a more "natural" state. And while I will agree that the reliance on wood as a material resource for heating or making things simply because it grows too slowly for our needs, I strongly disagree with the "peak oil" hypothesis.

Very nice work, Sam.

In Israel? Call Hofi!

Beautiful work.

Beautiful anvil, but I gotta say that's probably the worst anvil stand design I've ever seen! ;)

That is awesome!! What an incredible treasure. I just dismantled six windows and every sash weigh was one of those stereotypical cast iron weights! Now I'm sad. :(

I thought you guys would get a kick out of it! Hopefully, the typo on the type will keep some anvil collectors from looking to close at it and one of you can get it for a good price.

I know a few members have commented on the relative scarcity of good anvils on the left coast, so I thought I'd post this one that just popped up on the 'bay. Looks to be in very good condition and the flatter/hot cut would add another $50 to the value. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Vulcan-Anvil-100-lb-NOT-SHIPPING-Free-Pick-Up-/160901990007?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2576818677

"You would be better off using a sledge hammer head set in concrete in a bucket." Truer words have never been spoken. A heavy sledge, half buried, requires almost no work to become a working anvil. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0gynuxJnH0

For the plug, I would simply use some of that koawool you have coming. Cut it, coat it with ITC100, and stick it in there. Doesn't need to be a super-tight fight. To help with the door, I would finish what you've started, but pin the hinge so the entire door can be removed. Then, when you needed a smaller chamber, you can simply remove the door and use stacked fire bricks to cover the opening.

Looks very well-built. It will certainly take a lickin' and keep on tickin'! I wouldn't worry too much about a third burner at this point. Having the first burner so far back from the front won't present a problem for 90% of the forging you're going to do, but I would advise that you built a plug that you can slide in to the chamber to shut off a portion that you're not using. Being 2' long, you'll be heating a very large portion of that forge for no good reason even if you're making a long blade. For bringing a long blade to temp for the heat-treat portion, sure. But for general forging, you can only work 4" or so at a time. A plug in between the two burners would save you a ton of fuel....

Where'd you get the fire pots? I've heard about these Lorance pots, but this is the first I've ever seen them. What makes them better than the competition? Do you have a POC that I might direct an inquiry to?

I thought about bidding on it, but knew it would go higher than I could afford. If I hadn't just bought a 350# Fisher, I might have stuck with it.....

Indigo, you can silence that deafening ring by bedding the anvil in silicone caulk. It will go from "church bell" to "wood plank" just as soon as the caulk dries. Magnets under the horn and heel also do a great job. Solid scores, either way. I would love to have a two-bick anvil in the shop....

I think I could do it..... but living in the Dakota's?

Beautiful work.

We do that at work. Multiple wraps can work as well as multiple colors, too. Three wraps of red on both ends. Or, one red, one yellow on both ends. As long as the combos are the same, you'll always know which line goes where even if the line is long enough that you can't see the other end (works great in houses).

Looks like it will be a winner! I'd love to have a stand-alone smithy like that and will be sure to watch your progress. The inside walls can be lined with tin or cement board/drywall to prevent fires. Fireproof insulation between the inside and outside wouldn't hurt, either. The only thing I see that I don't like is the 4' of porch roof. Four feet isn't worth doing, in my opinion. It won't keep out much sun in the summer, and wind/rain will not be hindered in the least so you can't reasonably store materials under the shelter or work under it during inclement periods unless you're on the lee side of the building. I'd go with at least 6' of overhang on one side, if not both. More is better up to a point. Maybe have 10' of roof extension off of the front, over the doors, that continues the lines of the roof so you'd have an outside "picnic" area for the family to bbq out of the sun's rays.... and, conveniently, a place where you could do some work in the worst of weather.

I can see that this isn't going to be a quick learning experience, that's for sure! I burned through the 6013 rods pretty quickly because they seemed to be working better than the other rods I had. Welding solid 1" stock was "easy" if you don't mind burning through like you were using a cutting torch. The welds seem rather solid, but only time will tell. I did find some 7018 rods that I had bought for that anvil repair project that's on the list (obviously well down the list now that I see just how tricksome this welding thing is!!) and they did beautifully on the solid stock. I didn't change my settings on the welder, just chucked one in and gave it a whirl. Very crispy, bacon frying sound and I had to move a bit faster it seemed, but the beads actually looked like beads. They do not seem to like dirty steel (rust/paint/oil), and they leave the weirdest glossy-black, very shiny scale on the bead. Never seen anything like that and don't know what it's trying to tell me. Does the quality of the steel make a difference? This stuff came off of a machine where my dad used to work (some kind of packaging machine) and it acts almost like rebar. Pops said the stuff was designed to erode quickly so it needed to be replaced before other parts of the machine got worn, and the 90-grit belts on my KMG-clone eat it up like there's no tomorrow. It definitely feels softer than standard A36. Anyhow, that's where things stand as of now. I have just a little bit more to do to the stand and I'll be ready to set the anvil on her. I'm going to use the 7018 rods to work over some of the uglier beads, getting in a bit more practice. Then I have to find a good tutorial/book that teaches about the different rods and why there are so frickin' many of them!

Awesome job. Did you use a Flatter to smooth it out, or just hammer control? Definitely some fine work!

I am genuinely honored that you thought to include my idea for controlling the wayward bits. Excellent bit of work there!

I've never seen the like. Love that scroll on the spring and will be sure to duplicate it if I ever need to replace mine!

The one blessing in my constant searching on the 'bay is finding that occasional oddity. Never thought I'd come across a Brand New forge and blower still in the original crate! Beautiful paint job, and if I would have this lady in the back of my truck in a skinny minute if I could. http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-Blacksmiths-hand-cranked-Champion-Forge-Blower-/190735457141?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c68b81b75

Fantastic! Congratulations and good fortune. I hope your powder stays dry for generations to come.

Ionselat, you can minimize the ring of an anvil considerably by placing a magnet under the heel, and another one on the horn. These gather scale to some degree, but they also absorb the vibrations passing through the thin parts of the anvil (which is causing the ring). You can also bed the anvil in a bit of silicone caulk. I did this to my Wilkinson 120lb anvil and it went from a church-bell ring to something more akin to banking on an oak plank. No magnets needed. The difference was literally night and day! Here's a vid I shot to demonstrate how the magnets work. http://s70.photobucket.com/albums/i115/VaughnT/?action=view&current=MVI_0344.mp4