VaughnT

Awesome! I actually dream about finding something like that....

Great setup. The forge definitely looks like it's missing its clay/cement lining. A layer of fire bricks and/or cement will prevent the cast iron from cracking due to differential heating. And you got a steal of a deal. That anvil should easily fetch a dollar a pound, and the blower could get $200. Heck, just the forge by itself is worth what you paid for the whole kit!

Great deal. A mint condition, as-new blower is hard to find and I'm sure she'll provide you with years of great service. Love that home-made forge, too. If I can find a coal supplier in the area, I'd like to go that route, too. There's nothing like the smell of coal burning...

That's a very good quality of anvil, and it's in mint condition. The question, though, is do you need it? Are you just starting out? Are you planning on doing any moving in the near future? Will you be doing demonstrations at fairs? At $3/lb, it's a reasonable purchase. Not a great price, but the quality of the anvil is as good as you can get and I'd be hard-pressed to pass it up.

Glad you came out good! Nothing like a bit of a scare to reignite the passion for safety in a shop!! I always triple check my muzzie for a load with the ramrod, but a few times I wasn't certain and couldn't get to the WD40 fast enough. A few squirts of oil in the touch hole and you're relatively safe. Or, leave the barrel standing in a bucket of water for a few days....

Or switch over to a propane forge....

Greens, I wouldn't even try to mount a post vise on that stand. You don't want your anvil in such close proximity to another tool or you'll always be fighting with it. From the forge, you should be able to turn and take a step to reach the anvil. Or, turn and take a step to reach the vise. But having the vice and anvil actually sharing the same stand would be a disaster because one will always be in the way of the other. You can do a ton of work on an anvil and never need use the post vise.

Great find. I almost bought a "350#" anvil on ebay. Went to see it and saw that there was no way it weighed that much! For the price he was asking, I was doing good if it weighed 350, but not if it weighed less than 300. I told him that and he got back to me later to let me know that it actually weighed 260! Still, you got a great pot for a planter, too. That offsets the overage on the anvil because those old pots don't come cheap! Can't wait to see how you repair it!

Brilliant, in my opinion. I don't see the need for a welded stand as that metal pipe and flange are very strong. The bolts holding the flange to the wood aren't going anywhere, either. I've been wanting to make a stand for my Porter Cable for a while and this looks like something I could actually reproduce. Thanks for the idea!

It definitely looks like someone has given that thing a thorough rebuild. You would think gears that shiny would have to have been in use to keep the oil moving and the gears from corroding, though my newest blower sat in an unfinished basement for 10 years without having the handle cranked and the top of the gears are just as shiny as ever. The outer casing is rusted completely with no signs of ever being painted, but the interior is nearly new in appearance. The other blower I bought at the same time looks the same on the outside, but the gears were completely covered in rust and frozen solid. No telling what happened different from the other one, but something happened. You're truly blessed to have been given such a fine blower. She'll last you for the rest of your days, and look good doing it!

Excellently done. That's a hellforstout forge that should last quite a while, no doubt. Love the clinker breaker you built. What are the dimensions for your pot?

Another option a member here came up with was to rig a handle onto his ash gate handle so it could be locked in the open position. This gave the air somewhere else to go besides the coals. Beautiful forge, mate. Very stout, too, and sure to last for the next thousand years!

Incredible! Put her to good use.

Sweet setup. Did you forge that axle to shape and then machine it round, or just turn it on a lathe? Why the key? I like that idea, but it's definitely the first I've seen it used on an anvil tool. I'm definitely going to rethink my anvil's stand...

Randy, love that scraped hide by the forge!!

Gorgeous anvil, MO. And that stand looks like it will take a beating!! I've never understood what that shelf on the side is supposed to be for. Is is something for horseshoeing?

Or, you could try actually making a real, regular knife instead of posting awkward sketches of comic-book designs that you think look cool. Not to be harsh, but you keep posting drawings and asking for critiques, and everyone tells you to go ahead and get your hands dirty. And then you post another sketch. Grab an old file and grind an edge on it. Then stick that blade into a chunk of old barn siding. You'll end up with a better tool, and a better weapon, than anything you've sketched out so far.... and you can say that's actually accomplished something.

Too bad the cast iron broke like that, but it's really hard to see faults in old rusty metal! Cementing the pan will go a long way towards stabilizing it and preventing further cracking due to differential heating.

I wouldn't touch it with a welder unless you're really good. And even then you have to wonder if it would just be easier/cheaper to fab up a new firepot or buy one from Centaur Forge. Bolting straps across the crack and then covering those straps with fire cement would be the easiest, cheapest method, and would have a good chance of working.

You have to post/upload the picture to an online repository like photobucket.com and then post a link to it on that site. Can't just post it from your computer.

Best videos I've ever seen. Like Caleb mentioned, you can see a stark difference between these videos and the ones online that are done as "instructional" videos. The Neeman vids are clean and well done, and any blacksmith watching can tell what's happening without a narrative getting in the way. A potential customer might not understand what the smith is doing, but they don't need to. All they need is to be impressed with the video and audio, creating a universe in their mind that they want to be a part of. Whoever is doing the production on this videos is very good at what they do. The cuts are in just the right places and the soundtrack is very complimentary. The only "negative" I can think of, and it's truly a pittance, is that somebody needs to support their anvil better. The wobble you see at the beginning is amazing and must really suck the impact out of the hammer. Of course, I say that all the while looking at the top-shelf quality work coming out of that shop. Maybe I should get my anvil to wobble......

That's a great little forge. Looks very robust! The air system is definitely an add-on, as is the handle, but that's okay. Heck, it all works together and that's all that matters. I'd line her with fire cement (1 part portland cement to 3 parts clean, dry sand) and create a fire pot. This will help to contain the fire and insulate the cast iron so it doesn't crack. For air, watch/use searchtempest.com to look for hand-cranked blowers. If you were closer, we could talk trade on the spare I have.... Tongs can be made very easily using the twist technique: Looks like you're on the right path. Best to ya!

I'm just now getting into the market for some coal/coke. It's been a long time since I forged, but my smithy is slowly coming back into shape. There used to be a coal supplier in Greenville, SC. On Markley St? But I'm wondering if anyone has tried "L" Brand forge coke? They really brag on what their product does, and they deliver. But I don't have a clue as to the pricing or shipping costs. Anyone have first-hand experience with this stuff?

Oil and sand? That's brilliant. I was planning on a metal stand for my next anvil, and was going to add sand to the legs. Oil's going in with the sand, now. Thanks for the enlightenment!!

It wouldn't be hard to put a bit of rope around the blower's crank handle. Tie that rope to a foot tredle and you can work the blower like an old sewing machine.