VaughnT

Well, you've got 90% of a Tim Lively trough forge, and those use a pipe along the bottom with the air coming in from the side. So, I guess it's a side/bottom blast design. ;) The hole in the bottom should be easily covered by the sheet metal you have, and the fire cement over that should be all you need. Personally, I don't like a long trough unless you are trying to bring a long piece up to temperature for heat treating. That's not that common a practice, though, for 99% of what you're going to be doing as you learn to work steel with a hammer. So, I'd recommend a small fire pot that concentrates the heat better. Your hammer can only work a short area at any give time, so don't try to heat up 8" of stock.... right? Looks like you're doing good.

Well, if it's blade work you're looking to do, a london-pattern anvil is just about useless for the majority of the work. Yea, a hardy or pritchel comes in handy every now and then, but a vise does the job and a whole lot better, too. Look around the scrap yards for anything that's big and use that for a stump anvil. Heavy equipment (bulldozer, grader, crane, train) all have very large chunks of steel in their makeup that will do wonders for an anvil, and most of them are better than a london-pattern because they concentrate the weight under the hammer's face. Buddy of mine works for Caterpillar and sells big equipment for the forest industry. He's trying to get me a "stump" from one of their harvesters. It's a 300lb hunk of steel that the giant sawblade bolts to at the end of the arm! That will make me the greatest bladesmithing anvil of all time!!! :D

Awesome photo! Congratulations on the new smith.

Way to rub it it! Thanks, guys! :(

Loving it so far. That long hood is going to be really nice to sketch on and provide shade for your work. I would put hashmarks every half-inch along the edge of the hood so I could measure work on the fly! Can't wait to see her up and running.

Very nice! What's the temperature rating on that cement?

I've got a year to get ready? I think I can make it in time!!

Very nice anvil. I've always been curious about those double-horn designs, but have never had an opportunity to work on one. To quiet my anvil, I bedded it in a bit of caulk and chained it in place. A magnet placed on the horn will stop it's resonance, but the caulk did 99% of the quieting. Instead of a church bell, it sounds like I'm hitting an oak plank!

The price was way too high for an anvil of that size and condition. $3/lb would have been reasonable considering the lack of anvils in the region, but $4/lb is silly. That double-horn anvil from TFS does look good, but I've never worked with them. At 100lb, it's a good size and brand new..... What type of work are you looking to do with it? Can you make do with a stump anvil or post anvil for the time being? I would think Austin would be ripe with old oilfield parts like drill rod that might be turned into an very stout anvil...

Don't feel too bad, hoss. If anvils are scarce you have to do what you have to do. I don't like farrier anvils for a lot of different reasons and would spend $3/lb for a Fisher in a skinny minute if it was the only thing available. The anvil pictured is in very good condition, and it's a very good brand of anvil. It's also a great size anvil for 99% of the general tinkering you'll probably do. Nice thing about the Fisher when compared to those farrier anvils is that the Fisher won't ring like a church bell. They are very quiet anvils because they utilize a cast iron base. Talk to the seller and see if he won't come down a bit. Make up a sad story, high gas prices... whatever. And realize that as soon as you buy that Fisher you'll run across a bigger better one for cheaper. Seems to happen like that all the time! :D

Looks great! Like Rich said, you can't break it any further and if your welds don't hold up you'll just end up right back where you started. Nothing lost but time... Rich, when you say you're peining the beads, what are you doing? Do you mean? What does it accomplish?

Wouldn't touch it for that price. The edges aren't great, not by any means, and the anvil's a bit light for my tastes. Those two factors mean it isn't valued at $3/lb. That's a rather high price in my book and it's reserved for anvils that really match my wants and needs. That usually means either larger than 150# or in pristine condition, or both. I'd try to talk him down to less than $2/lb because of the size and condition, or walk away. While the face looks nice and flat, and you could do a lot of general work on an anvil of that size, the price is just too much for me.

It took three grown men to lift 178#?

The measurements you give are pretty close to my anvil and it weighs just over a hundred pounds. This is a great size for general tinkering, and it's easy to move out of the way when you need to. If the edges are clean and not badly chipped, I wouldn't have a problem bidding a dollar a pound for it. That it's been in a trades shop is a good sign because those kinds of people aren't likely to have garbage tools in the workplace. As long as you don't see "china" stamped on it, I say to bid. Without more information on the make, model and condition, I would caution you to not bid more than two dollars a pound for it.

Wow, what a fantastic resource! Those Amish know a lot about the old skills, or usually know someone that does. Haggling over old wrought iron parts and pieces is sure to be fun!

Congrats. That's a fantastic deal and the anvil looks dang near perfect! Red, stay away from my Fishers. I've been hunting one that size and condition for awhile now!!

Even in the shade, the abundance of light can make the steel look cooler than it really is. You're on the right track, though!

Run, don't walk, that's a very good deal! Realize that you're getting a top-quality anvil that is in As-New condition and a very good, very stout stand. The stand looks to be solidly built, with good welds, and would cost you over $100 to have similar built for you. Fisher anvils are first rate anvils. To find one that looks like it just came off the showroom floor, with the edges still pristine, doesn't happen often. Coming in at 110# might seem a bit light, but it's all the anvil you will ever need for 99% of what you might want to do; and it's still small enough to move with relative ease. That's a really big plus! Because the anvil is bolted firmly to the stand, the weight of the stand will contribute to the performance of the anvil. Expect that 110# anvil to perform like a 150-pounder, or better. Fisher anvils are notorious for being very quiet, not having the church bell ring common to most anvils. This will keep your ears happy, as well as the neighbor's ears. And if all that wasn't enough, I just saw another Fisher anvil go for $500... and it was worn, rusty and didn't have a stand! Or, you could tell me where it is so I can go get it!

Good deal? No. That's a great deal!! I don't see any issues through the rust and crud, and that price just can't be beat. You've snagged an anvil that's plenty large enough for the biggest projects you're ever likely to work on, and you'll be able to pass it down to your grandkids. I'm very happy for you.

Cookie sheet? That's brilliant x 10!! What's the hammer on your hip? I'm a CZ man, personally, when I'm not a 1911 guy.

Very nice job! Did the electrolysis get the rust out of the inside of the tube? That handle looks great. If you hadn't said you weren't a woodwright, I wouldn't have known by the looks of your product! Very nice all around.

No way to tell unless you can ID the maker and lot number, and they keep track of what alloy they're using at any given time....

Looks to me like a fishmouth caused by working the metal at too low a temperature. When the hammer hits, the blow effects that outside surface more than the core because the force diminishes the deeper it travels. So, you actually move the outside more than the middle and you can get this to happen. It's a handy way to make eye punches, too. My recommendation would be to work the metal at a yellow heat and stop working if it goes below orange. A good, solid hammer blow (as mentioned) will make sure there's enough umph getting to the center of that tootsie pop!

Thought about this thread when I saw matchless antiques had a Fisher-Norris sawyer's anvil with a bail like a bucket! Never seen one of those before...

Looks like you have the beginnings of a very nice shop! I'll admit to being jealous, even incredibly so. What are the dimensions on your forge table? I'm looking building one in the near future, but I can't make up my mind about how big I want to go. Yours is looking about like what I had in mind. That large mason's bucket would make a very nice slack tub. For oil quenching tanks, I kinda like large ammunition containers from the Army Surplus Store. Depending on what your town has, you can find ammo containers made from fiberglass or heavy plastic, and metal, that have nice-fitting lids. A lid on the water tub is nice because it stops evaporation and bugs, but on the oil it's really nice for stopping fires if you have a flare up.