VaughnT

Taker, the dovetails in the top accept all manner of different tools just like the dovetails on a power hammer. Depending on what you're doing, you could set it up so you never have to move an inch because everything's right there in hammer range.

Absolutely gorgeous! I would love to have something like that. Can't even imagine how useful it could be once you get it set up for a specific task.

No info on it, but I'd love to have it. Never used a quick-action vise like that, and it would go perfectly with my Fisher anvil!

I'm not generally a fan of the twine-wrapped handles, but that's a really nice looking piece. I think adding the middle bit of iron in the handle to accentuate the curve makes the whole thing pop. Excellent work.

A good wood stump, natural or assembled from lumber, is great. Of course, if you can't get the thing to sit level, it makes the whole assembly a waste of time and material. If you can bury one end in the ground, great. If not, you need to make sure the bottom is wide enough that you don't run the risk of tipping the anvil over when working at it. A tripod stand fab'd from steel tubing and the like is a lot more stable if you don't have a flat floor to work on. Some say that they also allow you to stand closer to the anvil, but I've never had a problem standing close to any anvil. As big as my belly is, there's only so close I can get! For silencing the anvil's ring, nothing beats a good layer of silicone caulk between the anvil and the stand. I used masonry adhesive because that's what I had on hand, but silicone caulk is just as good.

While others have given you good advice, I would heartily recommend that you simply mail the anvil to me so you don't have to worry about it any more.

As long as that seam between the face plate and body isn't an indication of delamination between the two pieces, I'd feel good about the price asked. Anvils don't wear out easily and don't have any associated annual maintenance costs, so you could turn around in a year or two and sell it for most of what you have in it. Think of it like a long-term rental, if you will. 200lbs is a great size and the face/edges look to be in very workable condition. If they'll take less than four bills, great. Doesn't hurt to try bargaining down any.

Not a problem I'll have to face any time soon! Bad welding comes naturally to me, so this wasn't too much of a stretch. I did everything wrong that I could think of, from shaky hands to holding the rod too far off so I could paint the area with the arc. Sometimes it wouldn't look right and I'd grind the offending area down, but it's a great way of using those little odd bits of metal to build on top of. So far, I haven't been found the right recipe to make it look like the crown portion of an antler, but there's still hope. Or, I'll find someone with a MIG welder to do the popcorn texture for me. J.W.S. -- if you do, post pics. I'd love to see how you apply my "technique"!

I've been trying to come up with a popcorn texture to replicate the base of a deer antler, but haven't had any luck with my stick machine and old 7018 rods. Being more of a good grinder than a good welder, it's nice to find something that bad welds are actually good for. When life gives you lemons.... That's not porosity in the weld... that's the holes for blood vessels to pass through!

Good job, hoss. Looks like she'll make chips, and look good doing it!

Gorgeous anvil! I've been wanting one in that style for ages, but never have the money. There's something about those lines that just make it look like an anvil should look.

We need more pictures of that wonderful ore bucket. How big is it? Still solid? Did you want to mail it to me????

Very nice work. I like the clean, simple lines. Fullering the bend point is a brilliant idea and really makes the whole thing look upscale. How did you figure the length you needed for the curve? Did you mark the holes for the rivets after forming and drilling the curved portion? Excellent stuff.

That winch would be a dreamy to have! I would find uses for it, even if I had to make them up.

Trust me, gentlemen. If I could afford those andirons, they'd be on their way to me right now. You're right, Ausfire, that delicate is a poor word to describe them. Powerful, yes. A wonderful display of industrial masculinity, sure. But delicate only in the sense that they have scrolls and scrolls are generally accepted as being an element used to soften a piece. In this case, they soften the look much like the curling horns of a giant mountain ram softens its demeanor.

Ugly? Bunch of uncouth heathens around here! Those irons are as fine as you could hope to have. Maybe a bit on the large side for the tiny fireplaces most homes use, but still mighty easy on the eyes. The delicate scrolls soften the harshness of the iron, giving it a more feminine appearance while maintaining the strong pose reminiscent of a ram's head. Definitely something I'd be proud to have even though I don't have a big enough fireplace for them!

I'm definitely tired of using soapstone, but I haven't found a local supply of other pencils. Someone told me that he silver/white pencils that artists use will work very well on hot metal, but I haven't been by the Hobby Lobby to see about getting some.

Beautiful work, as always, hoss. I've been meaning to make a set of calipers like that and just plain keep forgetting. Maybe that's what I'll do in the shop next time I light up the fire!

Not hot-cuts, imo. Too small, as noted, but also too uniform between them. Looks to me like they are replaceable teeth for some kind of gadgetry. That saw is absolutely beautiful! I'd love to make sawdust with something like that just so I could say I'd done it!

I put a magnet on the end of the heel and not only did it absorb all the vibrations (resonance), but it made for a handy catcher for punches and chisels that I was using.

Excellent, as always. You're a credit to the trade, hoss.

Jim, those sickle tines would probably work great, but I started with 1"x1/2" mild steel and forged it to shape. The trick to making these look right is to use two angles of taper on the tooth. The tooth tapers a little bit until the mid point where you think the curve is really going to start, then the angle changes to taper to the point. If you do a straight taper from front to back, it will look off even if you can't consciously point to why. I've had a few requests for more and will be playing around with different sizes and root types. You just never know what it is that will grab a customer's interest!

Excellent eye, Frosty. Already got that in the works......

Thanks, Spanky. The enamel portion is about 6" long and the root adds another 3". You can see that the tooth is scratched pretty deeply from all the armor-clad knights this dragon munched on in its day. Kind of sad that so many knights had to die before they deigned to call a blacksmith in to wallop the beastie with a hammer.

I get bored with run-of-the-mill projects and have to do something a bit different every now and then. This time, I was motivated by a buddy's birthday celebration and had the idea to make him something pretty different because he likes dragons and fights in the SCA. His birthday party was done up in a knights/fighting theme with all of his SCA buddies showing up for beer, brats and bashing each other on the field of glory. Contrary to popular lore, knights in shining armor were actually pretty bad at killing dragons. Of course, they were also the wealthy upper-crust and could manipulate the histories to suit their tastes much like you see today with all the PR spin going on. Blacksmiths, on the other hand, have long been used to dealing with heat, flames and such. And generally being a grumpy bunch of men, well, I'm sure it comes as no surprise that the local blacksmith might be called upon to dispatch an uppity wyrm.