VaughnT

Way to make friends and influence people! Wow!! I can't believe you scored that doll for such a pittance! Tell ya what I'll do, though. You being a beginner and not knowing anvils too well, I'll give you $30 cash money, and pay shipping, to take that thing off your hands! Just think about how much you can do with a 300% return on your investment!?!

A good propane forge can be built very simply, and they are often called knifesmith's forges. There are a billion variations on the internet. The hardest part, and the reason I don't have one, is dealing with the propane hoses and all that. It just scares the snot out of me! Beautiful vise you've got there. I saw one the other day on ebay and thought to bid on it just because of the unique mounting situation.

Very nice catch. At that diameter, I can see a lot of hammers, hawks, drifts, punches and whatnots being made.

Good job!

The metal strip is there to distribute the pressure that the nails apply, and prevent the nail heads from tearing the tube material. Thin would will work, as will thin plastic, but the wood will require pre-drilling the holes so you don't split the wood. I would also recommend increasing the number of nails used, tightening their spacing, should you go with the wood option. Or, use a section of garden hose cut to length..... Lots of options.....

Well, that forge looks like it's never been used. At least, it's never been seriously used. The holes in the grate look way to small, and the whole thing stands too high unless you're going to build up the bottom with bricks and such. And there's no ash dump on the bottom. What's the diameter on that piping? Not a bad piece of work, though, as it won't take much to get her running good. The body and legs appear in good shape and are sized decently.

The trash can storage is brilliant, too! I'm stealing that.

That's right. Drop a ball bearing from 10" and measure how high back up it bounces. Being a cast steel anvil, it should ring like a bell when you tap on it with a hammer. And, yea, that's in really really really good shape. Stop typing on the computer and go get it!

That's really neat. I've never seen so many welds on an anvil, or an anvil with such a tall waist.

Double-up.

Yea, you really need to jump on that anvil. That's a cast steel anvil from a reputable maker, and it's in As-New condition. Even if the price is a bit high by some standards, it's not ridiculous for an anvil of that size and quality. Figure also, that the stump it's on would set you back time and money to reproduce. It's a perfect size for a working anvil, not too big to become a pain to move and not too small to limit what you can forge on it. You could easily work on that anvil for the next hundred years and never feel yourself shorted. That's not to say you won't buy a bigger anvil in the future, but that there's always a need for a small anvil in a blacksmith's shop! Go get it before he changes his mind!

That's a rather ingenious design! I can see it with brass tacks and maybe brass nailing strips for that Steampunk look. The holes you have cut should be as neat as possible. You want to have the edges smooth, and don't worry about making the holes too big. The one key problem I see is that the design you showed has one long strip of rubber to cover all three of the holes. This is a recipe for disaster because the flap can get twisted and you have no way to fix it without taking the bellows apart. I would strongly suggest you use a separate flap for each hole so the rubber tubing is reasonably stiff and can't get twisted up. Also, it will help if you hold all of your sheets of plywood together and form them at the same time as one big piece. Trying to get four individual pieces shaped and matching one another is a lot of trouble if you don't have the best equipment for the job. Holding the four or five sheets together with some clamps will help a lot.

Well, a Soderfors is a very good brand of anvil, so don't fret that you'll be getting a pig in a poke! Smaller anvils go for a better price because they are easier to move. As a beginner, you would be well-served by a hundred-pound anvil. Secured to a heavy/stable stand, that little lady will do anything and everything you could reasonably want. If you have cash in hand, you might be able to talk him down to $2/lb, but if the condition of the anvil is like new (not bugger'd edges or repairs to the working parts) his near $3/lb price isn't bad.

WD40 isn't bad, but it's certainly not great. It breaks down fairly quickly and gets gummy. Used motor oil, Marvel's Mystery Oil, 3-in-1 oil, Tranny fluid, even PB Blaster is a better option.

That's a stone-mason's hammer. The weight is a bit hefty and it's all directed onto a minimal amount of surface area (the points of the teeth). This is just one of several types of hammers that were used to smooth the rough surface of quarried stone. If you grind the teeth off, you can make a nice straight-peen hammer. I have a different model of stone hammer that I've done similarly with, and it works rather nicely.

Oldtimer, paint your blower if you like, or give it a wipedown with an oily rag every now and then if it's outside. The gears turn slowly and don't need a lot of lube. I use automatic transmission fluid, but any thin oil will suffice. Just enough oil in the pan for the lower gear to grab and distribute to the rest of the gears. And enjoy!

Azur, that pipe bellows you show is exactly what I was looking for, except that the piston HAS to have a hole in it so that when you draw the piston back it will allow air through and preventing the hot air/sparks from the forge from being drawn into the bellows. About halfway down the page on this link, you'll see a poorly drawn example of a box bellows and how it works. You absolutely must have the air holes and leather/canvas flaps so that you are guiding the air in the right direction. http://www.greenstone.org/greenstone3/nzdl;jsessionid=88973B8925E9B2A847CFA24BBA35AA32?a=d&d=HASHa2dbbba21520ca6c67f334.9.np&c=hdl&sib=1&dt=&ec=&et=&p.a=b&p.s=ClassifierBrowse&p.sa= The diagram you provided would work if you modify it with a hole and flap valve in the right positions. The gasket around the piston head can be nothing more than a scrap of carpet stapled into place, and it doesn't need to be a super tight fit. If wood-working isn't something that you're very good at, definitely consider using a section of water pipe or sewer pipe that you can cut to length.

That is, I think, the first time I've ever seen someone make a track anvil that I actually liked! Wonderful application of the hammer. I can see me using this idea if I ever run into a small section of rail. Thanks.

Did you drop if from a plane? Looks to me like you have too many gaps. A section of sewer/water pipe makes a great chamber for a bellows. Just because it's called a box bellows doesn't mean it has to be made from a box. Take a length of pipe that's about 6" in diameter. A cap for each end. The plunger passes through one end, and the air pipe to your forge originates at the other end. The working end of the plunger can be a simple disc of wood that's fairly tight to the inside. And be sure that the pipe leading to the forge is of sufficient diameter so the air flows easily.

Well, if the money isn't an issue, I would grab her up. If we ponder the worst-case scenario and you're reports of the blower being a bit anemic are correct, you can always replace the blower with an electric source for actually working at the forge. Put the period blower to the side in safe keeping.

For the sake of curiosity, what do you guys think it would cost to bring this hammer up to snuff? Are we looking at a $100 fix, or is it in the thousands?

Looks very nice. Is it me, or is the mounting bracket missing the wedge and/or gib key? Either way, that's a very easy project for a beginning blacksmith to make.....

Just had a guy suggest using a saws-all to cut through the upper shaft. Says that shafts are commonly available and it would grant access to the lower region. Sounds like it would work........

Found this one today. Looks rough, but.... I like the concept of a trunk forge and might have to try building something similar with an old army container. http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110937589015&item=&lgeo=1&vectorid=229466#ht_608wt_1006 $T2eC16dHJH8E9qSEW8mZBQL503ImVw~~60_3.JPG

Not a tenon cutter, I think. The spools aren't adjustable enough, judging by the wholes in the aluminum, to hold much, and they don't face towards any type of cutting apparatus. Additionally, in the first picture we can see a guide of some kind that has a thumbscrew to fix it in position on the rail. While this guide faces the spiral cutter/gear, what would it be guiding?