VaughnT

I just made a hot-cut from a railroad clip and it's working splendidly. A spike would work, too, but you might have to sharpen it frequently. Any mild steel will work (like angle iron) because it's still harder than hot steel is.

So have you worked hot iron in her yet? How'd she do? I was just watching your video again and really have a hankering to start cobbling something together!

Nice bit of work. The only thing I'd recommend is that you put a pair of big wheels on the thing. I hate seeing forges like that with a cheap set of lawnmower wheels on them. Not only don't they roll well on uneven ground, but they just look wrong. Keep your eyes open for some old cast-iron or steel wheels from some old farm equipment. 18"-24" in diameter. They pop up all the time at flea markets and look "right".

Beautiful forge! I'm in the same boat and can't use a coal burner right now, but I dearly love them. I don't know what I'd do if I ran across a doozie like that one, though.

I wish they would have called me before scrapping all those nails. I'd have paid twice the scrap rate and started selling them on ebay!

For the first ring, I'd definitely go with a clock for the shop. It would need to have some large, beefy hands but you can get cheap clock movements at just about any hobby shop. Then it's just a matter of printing out a nice picture for the face. Add some brass bolts to the holes and you'd have a doozy of a steampunk wall clock. The second ring looks like it's ready made for turning into a glass-topped table. Attach the legs to the stand-offs and make the glass large enough that it covers the teeth. Nothing worse than running a shin into one of those sprockets!

That's a beauty! I don't think you can get a better anvil repair than that. Masterful job!

I always get a kick out of folks saying they can't find an anvil. We had one guy say that on one of the forums so I took a look around him using searchtempest.com. Lo and behold, there were three anvils within 250 miles, including one that was professionally refaced by the local blacksmithing group. How in the world is anyone going to be able to use an anvil when they aren't even smart enough to find one that's publicly listed? More often than not, when folks say they can't find an anvil, what they really mean is that they can't find anyone that will sell them a mint 300lb anvil for $5 and deliver it to their house free of charge.

Told ya so! :D

I like it. I agree that hardwood would, obviously, be a better frame simply because it's got more weight and strength, but you've to to work with what's at hand. I've seen a few wood-n-iron hammers on the internet and I think they look awesome. I love combining the two and am planning on just that when I get a chance to build one. My only real concern is having the motor right below the anvil. It might be a TEFC motor, but it's still going to get covered in metal dust and scale. That's just asking for a short circuit! I'd definitely build a sheet metal shield to cover her. Other than that, I'm looking forward to a long-term appraisal so I can see what bugs you might work out.

Excellent idea, hoss. I'll definitely have to keep that in mind.

Very nice work, especially considering his smithing experience! I see coat racks like that all the time on etsy and ebay; they're always priced over $100 and I don't doubt that they sell. Tell him to keep up the good work.

I don't think the stamping is anything other than modern. If the anvil has been so heavily used that you needed to mill down the face (note the edges of the tooling slot), that angled face would be equally used and any original stamping would be ruined. The stamping is pristine and doesn't match the rest of the anvil. Thin letters and numbers would be easily collapsed by an errant hammer blow, and there's absolutely nothing. Also, of all the ID marks I've seen on militaria, I've never seen such a large and complete identifier. Coded alpha-numeric systems that abbreviate but still positively identify... sure. A huge billboard that gives you everything, including a non-sensical date??? Great anvil, though. I love the big hollow.

You want to see something really fun, give one of those twisted belts to a kid and ask them to straighten it! Half the time is spent trying to untangle himself from the belt. :)

That's an excellent step-by-step demonstration. I will need to make a few new punches, but this is definitely getting moved to the top of the list of things to try!

Expanded metal sheet comes in a variety of patterns and can look really cool when you stretch it even more. Too bad you can't just use feather-pattern damascus. That would absolutely rock if made into bird sculpture. Probably really pricey, though.

Personally, I'd get the forge up and running and then draw that sucker out into a hot cut. The hot cut is one of those tools that you can use on just about every project, especially in the neophyte phase of blacksmithing. A bottom fuller is nice, but hardly necessary. With an operating forge, it would take all of ten minutes to draw that mangled edge back into shape. I just did the same basic thing yesterday and have a very nice hot-cut to show for it.

That's so cool! I would love to have a hunt like that, especially if it's a biggun. When I was a utilities locator, I always kept a sharp eye out for any tell-tale signs. I had to walk down a lot of old roads with tons of run-down and abandoned buildings nearby. Only ever found one small rivet forge in a tiny little building, and it wasn't worth the hassle of trying to find the owner. A 500lb anvil, though, that I would hunt long and hard for!!

Donnie, I think that's great. We get so caught up in what we think we need that we are blinded to the possibilities all around us. Every time I see some third-world smith making great knives on a sledge hammer anvil, it reminds me of just how spoiled we are. You need to post some pictures of your setup so others can see just how "complicated" a shop you really need.

I love old antlers. If the outside layer is chalky, sand it down til you reach the harder part. Here's a knife I made earlier. The antler handle was in horrible condition from the looks of it, but I just sanded down below the funky exterior and got this beautiful coloration. It's as hard as any new antler I've ever used even though the pith was almost completely rotted out and the outer bark was powdery. I filled the center with epoxy and this made it way too handle-heavy. Should have put some styrofoam packing peanuts in there first! It kind of reminds me of some of the fossilized bone/tusk that I've seen.

I don't use acid as much as I should. I do like to use acid with a penny stuck in it. The way the copper coats the steel is neat, especially if you use a funky wrought iron.

Looks like a great forge. The water trough comes in very handy, but I'd give it a good coat of some kind of paint to kill further rusting if you decide to fill it with water. It just makes it last that much longer. It doesn't look to be a heavy-duty forge, but plenty good enough for 99% of the smithing you're likely to do as a hobbyist. The gear ratio on the blower will determine how much volume you're getting. I've always wanted to try a side-blast forge. Is it worth $300? Yea, if you have a good supply of coal or coke. It would be too shallow for a charcoal fire, imo. If you can talk him down a few dollars, that wouldn't be a bad thing!

Very nice! It has some steampunk to it that's very attractive!

Very slick idea. It took me a minute to figure out what you were talking about with the whole "trestle" thing. Then I realized you had made some sawhorses. Just goes to prove folks sure do talk funny on that side of the pond! :D

Anvil tooling only has a measurable value as determined by two factors. 1 - How badly do you need it? Do you have a project in the pipeline that requires that tool? Can you make do with something you already have? Can you adapt the design so you don't need that tool? 2 - How close is the asking price to a 'buy new' price? A lot of people think old rusty tongs are worth $40, but I can buy brand new tongs for that same price. Why would I give them the business when I can buy exactly the right size/shape of tong, brand new, for the same price? If you can't use the tool right away, it's value is a lot less than something you need to use a lot.