VaughnT

Removing the temper from the ends, spreading out the softening so there isn't a sharp delineation between the two zones, could be feasible if I use two coils. That would still leave plenty of spring for the wiggle. Might just be best to do it the hard way and weld some clamps to the plates, though. Better safe than sorry.

I've got a project in mind that will allow me to practice my welding again, and one of the key components is going to be a section of car coil spring. Maybe a full coil, or a coil and a half, welded between two plates to give you a bit of wiggle between said plates. This is a non-structural project and the worse that could happen is that I get embarrassed if someone sees it fall to pieces. But, I'm wondering about the heat of the weld making the coil spring brittle. With all the talk about heat-treating of knives and how the wrong temps can cause large grain and snapping blades, I can't help but wonder if the same thing would happen to a coil spring if you welded an inch-long bead to the end. Would it be prone to snapping right behind the bead?

$600 for the two of them is a very good price considering what you got! A new firepot and tuyere would have set you back $250 plus shipping, if you bought it from a retail outfit like Centaur. The metal for the forge table, plus your time and consumables.... at least another hundred, and then you have to wonder if you could build to the same quality. The vise could probably be found for a c-note, maybe a bit less, but how much time and fuel would you have to burn up to find one that size and in that good a condition? You certainly don't need a vise that big as a beginner smith, and you might find that you'll want a smaller one as time goes on. But, you can bet that you won't wear that vise out, and it will sell for a hundred dollars just as soon as you list it. So, yea, I'm guessing that you did alright on the price. Of course, if you have my luck, you'll find the exact same combo in better condition a week later when you're dead broke...

Welcome aboard, Renee!

Excellent price! I don't think I've ever seen a vise that size go for less than $50. I'd cut that mount off and build a "proper" mount for it. It needs a new spring, anyhow. Might as well cover all your bases while you're tinkering.

And with the hardy hole still on that anvil, there are lots of options for tooling to help with various movements. Never get tired of looking at that beauty!

Looks like you've got a good plan. I like to see folks willing to write it all down. The fire pot can be made from 3/8" stock, and many folks use 1/4" stock. The frequency of your forging will determine how quickly the forge wears out, and that includes the best store-bought fire pots. If you're just learning and tinkering a few hours a month, a 3/8" thick pot will last you several decades. Your table looks nice, but I wonder if it isn't over-built. How are you assembling it? Welder? Bolts? I say over-built because I noted that angle-iron surround you have around the pot. Unless the top is made from some very thin sheet, there's no need for that much reinforcement. If you are using thin sheet, like recycling the body of a clothes dryer, a rail across from side to side would be more than enough to keep it from sagging. With thin sheet you're more likely to rust through the table than have it bow under the weight of the pot. If you visit the local re-sale store like Salvation Army, you can usually get bed frames for really cheap. This is a great source for really strong angle-iron, the consensus being that it's some kind of high-carbon alloy to be so strong yet so thin and light.

Gorgeous anvil, Woody! Love the styling on that old lady.

A magnet placed on the horn and heel will kill a great percentage of the ring by absorbing the vibrations. I shot a video to demonstrate just that. However, setting the anvil on a bed of caulk, no chain/magnet/whatever, really kills the ring and you don't have anything interfering with your work. I didn't believe it until I saw it, but it works better than anything I've ever seen before.

"My tools are as limited as my skill." What you really mean to say is that you're imagination is as limited as your patience. Right now, there are countless smiths in nasty third-world countries producing very good work with shops that make your place look like a NASA research station. The world is dotted with the remains of ancient civilizations that built great works using tools made form copper, bronze and stone. But you can't produce a knife that's halfway decent? The Nazca Lines. The Pyramids of Giza. Stonehenge. Whenever I see someone that produces a shoddy knife, I see someone that tried to take all kinds of shortcuts so they could have the finished product in hand and then use excuses like, "Not bad for a first try." or, "Hey, I'm new at this so it shouldn't look great." as a way of justifying their rush.

Excellent topic for discussion, and one I've been pondering for awhile. My goal, lately, has been to produce to the best quality possible, and I take this to mean a 'store-bought' finish. I was looking at some chisels I made years ago and noted that, while they work, they look like someone hammered a coil spring straight and put an edge on it. Granted, I was knew to smithing at the time, but... Another goal is to start trying to do "artsy" stuff. I am not an artsy type of person and this has been my biggest hurdle. Third goal? Complete Aspery's first book from beginning to end. Honestly, I think this will allow me to accomplish all of my recent goals as I can finish the individual parts to top quality and learn to be more 'artsy'.

"this is what happened with my KMG I finally bit the bullet and made one Now it is like my right hand and a dream to work with as well as a blessing" Amen, Samcro! I don't have a clue how I did any work before building a KMG clone. Tim, makes a good point. You are in business to make money, not to make ironwork, and anything that you can positively identify as helping to reach that goal is something you need to seriously consider. I would counsel you to take a few minutes and consider making forms for the various rings and chain you need rather than buying a cone. While it's true you can make most any size ring on a cone, do you need any size ring or are you realistically only making a handful of different sizes that could be reproduced with simple forms? Also, is this need possibly indicative of you offering the customer too much option? It might sound odd, but a lot of companies learned the hard way that options cost money because it means they have to be prepared for a lot of eventualities. All that said, I recommend buying a cone simply because I've always wanted a cone and this way I can live vicariously through you.

I've dipped a lot of stuff in motor oil when it was at a black heat, but I never noticed it being a decades-long protection against corrosion. If the piece is small enough, I like to use liquid floor wax as a coating. Apply, let dry, buff...

Sure cleaned up nice! Looks like she's never been used at all. Love the swastika on the side. I bet the history of that piece would amaze. How's the rebound? Ring much? Any maker's mark?

Having a spring around the screw won't "hurt" anything, but it will make it harder for you to close the vise. A lot of shops would put a protector around the exposed screw so newbies didn't use the screw as a stock support and end up damaging the threads. That leaf spring pushing against the bottom of the leg is all you need, but it might have lost it's spring after all these years and the guys just through in a convenient coil spring because it was a fast/easy fix. Easy enough to re-bend the leaf spring, though. No matter how you cut it, you got one hoss of a vise and forge!

That's awesome. I love how they used a wishbone to go around the upright instead of putting it on top like most hammers did. And using that old wheel is just classic. If I had a wheel like that, I'd build a hammer with it, too.

Sweet hammer. I'd certainly be proud to have it at hand.

Mac, I think a lot of it can be chalked up to the arrogance of youth with a strong dose of "artist" in the mix.

I like the modular concept, and I can appreciate the artsy design. But I get the impression that the designer didn't spend a lot of time talking with experienced smiths.

I've often thought that there'd be a market for a large post anvil that has a horn and heel for a hardy. Bogdan Popov, from bladesmithsforum.com, came up with a great design that's only missing a hardy hole of some kind. post-33451-0-79689500-1363343791.jpg His work certainly seems to indicate that a hardy hole isn't necessary for some great work, but I've seen hundreds of posts on IFI where the guy pines for a square hole on his post anvil.

That jaw looks perfect as-is. The crosshatching is almost new, so why try to remove it?

Looks like the leaf spring is still there, but someone put a coil spring around the screw, too. Could be some kind of protector sleeve, though. Hard to say. Still, one really stout vise!

Wonderful forge. You should send it to me for proper testing, just to make sure it's safe. I love that tubing from the blower to the pot. Too many folks use that flexible stuff today and it lacks any kind of character.

Either the numbers on the side are wrong, or your scale's broken. The numbers are the old style stone weight, and those you claim put the anvil at just over 200#. Still, a great anvil for the price. Lots of life left in her!

My anvil's in an unheated shop and will rust in a skinny minute if I'm not actively working on it. So, I apply a little bit of boiled linseed oil that I've thinned down 4 to 1 with mineral spirits or similar. I paint the whole thing with that concoction and it preserves the patina on the sides while stopping pitting on the face. After a forge session, a quick wipe down before leaving means she'll be ready to go at the next visit. And boiled linseed oil doesn't smell nearly as bad as paint when hot iron hits it.