VaughnT

They really need to re-do that listing. While it's obviously an innocent error and not fraudulent, there are going to be a lot of folks put out and they could get some complaints against them for false advertising. I saw a lot of things I'd definitely like to have. Those hit-n-miss engines would be nice to rebuild and that Beaver garden tractor is just too cute to not want.

For the key piece, I'd use some half-inch square stock and draw out the ears that are going to wrap around the wedges. The ears are welded back to the center of the cross piece, hidden from view by the forged iron all around them. This would give you the strength you need in the middle of the joint, but eliminates all the mess of punching and drifting and getting it wrong a dozen times.

Frog, that's definitely a Fisher Blacker anvil. I've never seen another anvil that had the casting line on the horn like a Fisher does. Awesome clean-up process. The look is worth all that work you put into it.

I should be so lucky to forge such an "imperfect" hammer as that. I actually think I liked it better before you hammered in the fullers towards the end of the video. That classic bow-tie shape was seriously sexy. Oh, and you'd better not end the thread. I get a kick out of seeing how you build your tools.

I understand your pain, hoss. Someone absconded with my 3lb cross peen hammer and I haven't been happy since. I'm learning how to make do with a 4lb sledge, but it's one of those ones with the too-thin plastic handle and I really miss the peen.

Nice work, Simon. You do realize that a proper function test means you have to apply it to a large variety of manufacturers to make sure it covers the spectrum, right? Opening six bottles from the same maker isn't a valid statistical sample to prove you have a good opener. Just trying to help. :D

The majority of the face looks good and flat. I wouldn't do anything to it for the first year, learning how to smith and how the anvil works with you. You might find that just radiusing the chipped areas is good enough for 99% of what you do, and making an edge block is the best solution. Personally, I'd use it as-is and not worry one jot about the edges. She's got a lot of life left in her.

Sweet! Did you heat-treat it? I've got some mystery metal I keep saying I'm gonna turn into some hammers, but never do. I thought about just making one and see how it stood up to hammering even if it's not hardened and tempered.

If your hardy doesn't go all the way through, something's blocking it or you got a factory defect of some kind. Drill it out. I've seen those tools on ebay, but don't know about their quality. I might buy one of them just to see, but......

Buy all of them. They all look like very good anvils in very good shape, so buy every last one! I'm partial to the 300# anvil, but the first one looks nice too. I like a thick waist. Always buy as big as you can. Smaller anvils are nice when you need to move them, though. If you're going to do a lot of moving, get the lightest one. They are all great, just depends on your personal needs. If you buy them all, you won't have to worry about having bought the wrong one!

That's it, Ausfire. Small and portable, they were used for all sorts of construction back in the day and farmers loved them because they were plenty good enough for everyday chores around the station.

Awesome deal. I've been wanting a big industrial type coal forge for awhile, but they're scarce down here. When you do find them, they are mighty pricey and usually cracked or have parts missing. Were I you, I'd run out and buy a couple lottery tickets..

Cool. What's plasticine?

No. Sounds like you're describing a star drill. It might have a high-carbon cutting edge welded into it, but it wouldn't have been quenched in water because that's too fast a quenchant and would shatter the carbon steel. Tempering the hardened steel does rely on color to guide you, but that's it.

Swage blocks are great to have when you need one, but how often that will happen in your career depends on what type of work you do. The large through-holes can come in handy for bending wide stock. If one matches your hardy hole, it makes a great striking anvil for actually making hardy tooling. That's about it. The smaller swage blocks actually come in handy more often simply because they tend to have dishing shapes that help you make bowls, ladles and spoons. I used a buddy's to make a pocket-sized ladle for pouring lead balls for my flintlock. I would buy one of the big ones only if the price was fantastic. Anything over 100# is a hoss that you really need to think about because moving them can be a bear even if you have a stand for it. Buy them to save them from the scrappers.

Upsetting plate for the floor.

How does the question of intellectual theft translate over to small groups? For example, if I made a rounding hammer like Brian's and debuted it here, would I be laughed at for calling it a "Vaughn Style" hammer? How do you deal with small venues like etsy and ebay where there aren't a lot of smiths? Can you make a railroad spike bottle opener just like someone else and honestly say you're not trying to capitalize on the market share? There are only so many ways you can make a bottle opener out of a spike without getting crazy.... but could the other smith accuse you of uncool behavior because they were there first? In both instances, the venue is small and everybody knows everybody. Are you trying to steal their thunder? Robbing them of their intellectual property? Riding on their coattails? A unique product is one thing, but what about those simple things?

Dave, it's still up for auction and I don't have any plans to bid on it. It's listed by "theantiquefarmer" as: Blacksmith hand cranked trip hammer. Current bid is less than ten bucks and there's no reserve mentioned. I'd go for it.

Caught this on ebay and thought it was neat. It appears to be something you'd mount to the anvil, but the integral anvil looks to have dovetails cut in it. No telling how it was mounted or modified over the years. It'd certainly pack a whallop with that coil spring firing it down on the anvil, but I don't see it being practical for anything more than maybe setting rivets. Way too slow for hot work, but a neat example of ingenuity. Something you don't see every day.

Assembling a boiler would definitely be high on the list of things to do with a forge like that. If you can't bring the work to the forge, ya gotta bring the forge to the work! I can't imagine how hard it would be to spend the week installing and setting all those rivets!

Well, you can tell her that they are both head and shoulders better than my attempts at the cross! Very nice work.

Looks like a Wagner portable sprayer for painting and possibly stucco application. You pour your mix down the funnel on the top and it gets shot out the end of a hose.

The arm used to hold a wooden arm that you pumped up and down to spin the gears of the under-mounted blower that was attached to the forge. Quite common on those small, portable forges. Often called a riveter's forge because they were used to heat rivets while building skyscrapers.

You were right, Ausfire. You just couldn't duplicate that look, no matter how hard you tried. Excellent openers!

FP, great piece of kit. You've designed and built almost the exact same hammer I've been designing in my head for the last year or so! Best part about using the anvil for the anvil is that you can make lower dies that swap out easy as pie because you've got the hardy hole right there. I bet she'll be a dream to work on.