VaughnT

Beautiful! And you're photo skills are fantastic!

Good point, MO. Best to reshape the jaws so they just clear a 32oz ball-peen.

Wagon tyre riveter. The handle cams the two jaws together with some serious force and the tooth prevents the tire from popping out as the rivets are upset. Hard to say with such a grainy picture, though the last is certainly better than the first.

Good to hear, Richard. I'm glad it went to someone that will appreciate it. God knows, I was trying to figure out how I could get it, but it just wasn't meant to be. Now, if I could find someone to go in with me on those three in Lawton OK.......

Do you think the weak angle of the jaws contributed to the poor hold? I can see allowing the tips to sink deeper into the eye, but I can't help but wonder if the leverage applied to the piece might be increased if you brought the work piece in closer to the pivot point by sharpening the angle departure where the jaw leaves the bolster area. Just a thought.....

His hand got mighty close to that spike, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt because he looks to have spent years working at an anvil. That was a very interesting few minutes and I learned a lot. His motions were smooth and well-timed. His forge cart is spectacular and something I would really like to build for myself one of these days. That anvil was pristine and had some of the sexiest lines I've ever seen on an anvil. I definitely wouldn't mind having one of those in my shop. What I particularly liked, however, is that leather apron he's sporting. I've been in the hunt for a leather apron since deciding to get back into smithing, but I'm really turned off by the quality and features of the ones I see for sale on fleabay and the like. This guy has the mother of all aprons.... and I need one! Love the video.

I'm trying to find a trucker heading this way. It would figure that this pops up the same week my brother, who lives in TX, gives up driving a flatbed over the road!!!

Saw this in the tailgate section and had a kiniption fit! Thought I'd put it here for wider viewing. $500 for a "metal shear" is a sweeeeeet deal. Even if it needed a grand in parts and labor, it would still be a good deal. If I was closer, or had the money for shipping, I'd put this baby on my credit card and be very happy. Sadly, I'm not closer and my credit card is too close to the max. Somebody needs to jump on it, though! http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/grd/3266103559.html

You really need to stop being such a tease and share your technique with the rest of the class!

Note that the seller says they can't move it themselves.... and the nails in the last pic are painted. This indicates the seller is female and is corroborated by the lack of details and admission that the seller can't move the anvil by themselves. It doesn't mean the anvil is big, just that the seller is small. The average American female foot (nail polish on the toes) is approximately 4.5" wide at the ball. The clover and spurge growing around the base is going to average approximately .75" wide in the leaves. I would estimate that anvil in the 100-150lb range.

Good-looking forge. Coating the bricks with Plistix or ITC100 will go a long way towards making the forge burn hotter with less fuel. I love how you suspended the burner!

No welding, period? Did you use some kind of epoxy? Did you have to weld a bit to level out the body and then epoxy the leaf spring in place? I can see that working.

WOW! If I had seen that in my search, I would have gladly expressed the money as soon as I could drive to a Western Union! Even with shipping costs it would have been a great price. To be able to pick it up locally for less than a buck a pound? That's just pure good luck!!

While I don't know if there's historical precedent for it, I think it's ingenious none the less. I particularly like how compact it is. I could see something similar being done with more modern materials.

Or thread the end and screw on a large nut. If that's not enough mass, then fold it over and weld it into a bigger blob. Once you have the mass, it's "easy" to use punches, chisels and files to remove everything that doesn't look like a head.

Perrin, the biggest problem you face is your own mindset. You say that you're limited in materials, and you're mom wants a fire pit. You don't want to go with a basic neolithic forge and you don't want to go with a complex modern forge. You have all kinds of excuses for your behavior, but you have patently ignored the advise of people that have traveled this road before you. In all of my posts, I have shown you clear examples of people working with the most basic equipment. Early Europeans built some of the greatest weapons with what might be called the most primitive equipment.... and that's not good enough for you. A simple ring of stones with fuel and an air source will work as well for you as it did for them, and they made pattern-welded swords that still awe bladesmiths to this day. Stop asking questions. You have all the answers you could ask for on this site if you just use the search function. We apparently don't know what we're talking about, so travel your own path and re-invent the wheel.

I'm just learning to stick weld with my kit and I'm having a hard time understanding how you choose your amps and volts and stick choice. I just built an anvil stand out of 1" square stock and I used 6013 sticks. Try as I might, I couldn't get the mix right so I didn't burn through the corners of the stock or leave a puddle at the end of my bead. What am I doing wrong?

The whole forge looks like it could out of some fantastical movie. That hammer, though, is something else! A bit big for my workspace.....

Wow, is she a beauty. It looks like she was minted yesterday... and I love how you can see the line between tool steel and body on the sides of the horn. I'll not comment on anything Fisher-related for fear of starting an internet rumor, but I can say that you're a lucky fellow to have found such a great anvil in such great shape.

Screws might eventually work their way loose because you're screwing into end grain which gives a notoriously weak long-term hold. Of course, the larger the screw the better the bite. Lag bolts are your friend!

KYBOY, I've been doing the same thing, and noted the repeats. I definitely think the economy is playing a role when it comes time for working smiths to spend money. While I would love to have those Yater swage blocks, there's just no way in the world I'm coming off with anything close to the 'reserve' price. I would also posit that a lot of the 'new' is worn off blacksmithing equipment. While folks like Matchless might be able to cater to the high-end collectors market with top-shelf equipment, that doesn't mean that Joe Schmukatelli can get a similar price for his rusted stuff just because he's seen crazy high prices on fleabay. I keep seeing this guy in TX trying to sell a nicely rusted fire pot and tuyere, and he keeps getting no bids. One week his starting bid was $244, the next it was down to $180. Can't wait to see what he comes down to next week! Heck, if he puts down a 'buy now' option for a decent price, I might just jump on it. As is, the price plus cost of shipping just isn't worth the hassle for a lot of people.

Sounds good to me, Sam! :D If you do go with the bolt idea, try to find a bolt that fits your truck's tire iron so you don't get to the demo and realize you left your socket set at the shop! Very embarrassing.....

At a millimeter deep, I would sand the face evenly with a 120-grit flap wheel and then use the anvil for serious forging. The scale produced with forging is an abrasive and will soon have that face looking really nice. I really don't believe that dings so shallow will imprint on your work.

Don't do anything to it until you've forged on it for a few months. A ding that a mil deep is trivial and will probably be completely removed with you take a flap disc to the top. Welding isn't recommended unless there is some serious damage that's having a negative impact on the work you're doing.

That's some good-looking work, Sam. I particularly like the near-vertical angle to the legs (idea officially stolen for the stand I'm making!). For securing the anvil, I'm opting for a threaded coupling nut (or regular nut) welded to the base and a beefy bolt that I've ground a shallow point on. The bolt bites into the base as it pushes the anvil back against a stop welded to the base. With a 2' breaker-bar, I can put some serious torque on that bolt!!