VaughnT

I don't have any problem with him trying to sell his wares. But, offering something for sale without offering pictures of the goods is absolutely ridiculous. This is the perfect example of an idiot.

I've heard of them. Cheap cast iron made with slave labor. Women have died during childbirth because of those pieces of garbage. You should send it to me. PM me with your address before your corrupted by it!!

The impeler blades can be easily replaced with thin sheet cut with snips. The gears? Wow, that doesn't look good. I'm sure there's a good way to get shed of that rust. Maybe an initial attack with Naval Jelly to remove the heavier deposits and then on to something ATF/Acetone or diesel to get into those nooks and crannies?

That's a very fair price for a working 400. Congrats.

I'll second ebay! I bought my hammer for $20, though it needs a new haft. Still, that's very cheap for a 6lb straight-peen sledge. The rectilinear face really focuses the impact of the hammer blow and allows you to get into a tight corner. I don't know what these hammers were originally designed for, but they work great for pounding the devil's bone!

I recently bought a straight-peen that I found locally after seeing it on ebay. They didn't know what make/use the hammer was for, though it is thought to be a stone-cutters hammer. Here's one on ebay..... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Blacksmith-Stone-Masons-Hand-Sledge-Carving-Cutting-Hammer-Tool-/150849635198?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item231f56c37e#ht_908wt_1006 Great sledge in the 6lb range. I really like how the face is so narrow (probably about 1"x4") because it really focuses the blow. You can get into a tight shoulder with ease and I think I'd like to make a lighter version for more routine work. Definitely worth a look, in my opinion.

Worst case scenario, I'd remove the crank handle and mount an electric blower with a dimmer/rheostat. For $65 you got a great blower and fire pan to build with!

I'm in the same boat with a Buffalo Climax blower I picked up. I thought it would be an easy thing to free the gears, but a soap/water soak didn't do anything. A soak in new motor oil didn't do anything. A soak in vinegar didn't do anything. I'm thinking it's time for the sledge-hammer of doom!!! Best of luck getting yours spinning!

I'll hold out hope that they are cast steel.... but I have my doubts. While the price is mighty low, I could see it realistically happening when you consider tariffs and trade agreements, and compound that with foreign labor and manufacturing costs. Heck, China could make us some really nice anvils and ship them over here for cheaper than US makers can cast them just because of the taxes they don't have to pay!

Anders, no attitude meant, hoss. I just wanted to clarify a point. That's sweet shop in the video!

Oddly enough, there's a guy up the road that has one of these. I ran into him accidentally when I saw him in the yard cranking on a forge blower and making a ton of smoke. I thought I'd found a blacksmith in the neighborhood... but he was grilling steaks! The nerve of the guy!! Works like a charm for forging bovine products, though he didn't invite me to join.

Beautiful job! I like that cart idea and might just have to purloin it! One thing I did see in another thread that I thought was rather thoughtful was a gate to close the notch on the far side of the forge. The reasoning was that rarely did you have to pass through the notch to heat the middle of a bar.... but you were always dropping coal through the notch as you're working. Using the cut out bit and hinging it allow you to pass through when you want, but keep it otherwise closed for 75% of the work you do. I thought that was rather smart.

Wow, are you a very lucky fellow! I can only hope that one day someone likes me enough to give me such wonderful treasures. That blower is premo. Here's a good thread showing what they look like when broken apart.

Definitely go to a good trade school and get certified in what looks good. Blacksmithing is fun, but it is very difficult to make a living at it..... and most of the big shops do a lot more welding and machining than they do traditional fire-n-hammer stuff. If you want to make a good living and be in need in the community, look into machining, welding, electrical and/or HVAC. Any of those gigs can net you a very comfortable living and they will always be in need. Getting a bachelor's in whatever means spending four years in school and then coming out with a ton of debt. Getting certified as a welder or machinist means spending less than two years in school and coming out with significantly less debt and a job that pays 35k/yr or better. And don't be afraid to move. Living in Florida might be nice, but working in the oilfields in the dakotas can double your income, for example, and that sets you up for the long-term. Try to live on cash, not credit, and sock away as much as you can while the boom is there. Go back to school and get more certifications so you stay current on new machines and technology. Or you can do like I did and screw it all up.....

Just because some old guy told you to stick a newspaper under your arm doesn't mean he was right! Think about it like this..... You have muscle groups all over your body. The fine flexors in the forearm. The bicep and tricep in the upper arm. And the Deltoids in the shoulder (specifically, the anterior, medial and posterior). By trying to hold the newspaper under your arm, you are isolating the deltoid from the task. Why? What did you gain from removing a large muscle group from job? The anterior and medial deltoid are designed to help raise the arm up and down. Hiltsbilt, that's a mighty fine operation you've got set up there! I really like the firepot and box bellows. Good work!

Do you need a fire pot? No. All the fire pot does is concentrate the fuel and heat, but you can do that by mounding up your coal on a flat table forge and watering the perimeter. Either way works and has been used for generations. Personally, I like the fire pot forge more than the table style, though I've never used a side blast forge and can't comment on them. What type thickness? Really, it doesn't need to be more than an old cookie sheet! The problem you might run into is it rusting out quickly, but modern steel sheet is a whole heap better than cast iron in terms of durability at that thickness. One fella here posted pics of his cookie sheet forge not too long ago. He used a brake drum as a fire pot and the rest of the sheet served as a table for tools and fuel. The whole thing stood on an old aquarium stand. You don't need to weld the table to the legs. As long as it is screwed in one or two places, it will be perfectly fine and be able to expand and contract without warping everything.

$65? Grab it and use it for a barbeque grill if nothing else!

Most smiths I know recommend lining even rivet forges because it helps to funnel the fuel and gives you a good bed of coals between the metal and the air coming in. This neutral zone minimizes the amount of scale, and that's a good thing. If you laid in a good bed of cement and sand, you could raise up the floor and form a fire pot. Would this get you high enough that you didn't need to cut slots in the sides for longer pieces? Looking at the pictures, I'm thinking that you could form the cement/clay mix so it would leave a 5" deep pot shape, with sloping sides, over the tuyere. This would leave you a nice bit of table around the fire pot and maybe and inch or so of rim to prevent coal from just dropping off the edge and onto the ground.

What a shop!!! I couldn't imagine having someone in the area with an operation like that. I would never go home!

Chain drive? Brilliant! Sprockets and chain are pretty cheap, even for top-of-the-line stuff. Maybe make it a 10-speed blower so you could shift gears depending on whether your working with coal or charcoal.... or plain jane forging versus welding... mild steel versus old wrought iron.... That could be fun to tinker with! Pete, I think I might have screwed up my Buffalo "climax" blower so some new gears could be needed in the near future!

Yea, stop talking and run on down there to grab it up! If it's in any kind of decent condition it will make for one heck of a good anvil. The only reason you really need a small anvil is for portability. Otherwise, go as big as you can find!

I don't know how you could have done a better job! Looks great and I'll bet it flattens metal wonderfully. Wouldn't imagine a hard face will really be necessary. Great work.

The face and horn look great and I wouldn't hesitate to grab it up if the price was right.

Love the smoothness of your tapering. I do everything with just me as a helper so getting smooth lines is still something of a chore!

Wonder what the pritchel hole is plugged with?! I'd try to chisel or drill it out. A pritchel isn't absolutely needed, especially on so light an anvil, but it would be nice to have. Great FIsher, all around. I'm still searching for mine.....