Joe C B

I wish that I could clean it up and use it, unfortunatly the anvil is the property of a historic preservation site and will only be viewed by visitors. Since the site is a farm stead that has origins way back into the American colonial period It's very possible that the anvil came over the pond from England. Thanks for the responses, Joe B

We encountered this hornless anvil at a historic farm site in Pennsylvania. The folks there had no information on it's origin or history. From what little that I know about this subject it appears to be quite old, predating the London pattern. Any idea as to just how old? No marking that could be seen. Joe B

nh, thanks for that link... very informative and detailed, but unfortunatly pertains to the Champion blower. from what I read is entirelly different construction from the Midway that I'm dealing with. For you guys with Champion blowers , be sure to bookmark that link for future reference Joe B

Hello all, I have this nice old blower gear box that's all bound up with rust. I have been soaking and heating but so far to no avail. This is a one piece cast iron box, I don't know how the thing was assembled. I guess that the shafts had to have been pressed in thru the sides and keyed to the gear hubs. The other thing are those bushings or what ever they are that suround the shafts, do these pull out or are they threaded into the gear box? I sure would like to know how the thing comes apart before I start doing something rash. Any expierence with a gear box like this? Much appreciate any help Joe B

ran across this...think you will like it. Perhaps some ideas here as well !!! http://www.spaco.org/Blacksmithing/Pictures/CozumelIronWork/CozumelIronWork.htm Joe B

gking, The blow pipe from 1/2 " sq tubing is a regular project that the Scouts do at our camp smithy. A useful addition to any camp fire kit. 1. 4 ft length of 1/2" square tubing... plug one end with wet paper or mud ( blocks chimney effect) 2. flair the mouth piece end by working the tube end over the point of the anvil horn, go slow and keep an even heat 3. normally we don't flair enough to roll the edge, but with care this can be done ( sometimes the tube splits at the weld joint) 4. shift the plug to the other end... heat and taper the nozzle end down to a 1/8 SQUARE opening, keeping the taper square. 5. do a reverse bend about 5 " up from the nozzle (use hardy bending fork)... keeps the nozzle horizontal with the tube up at convienient "kneeling" height and the reverse bend can be used to hook a log or lift a pot. 6. for "fancy" ... a twist can be added to the shaft, be sure to keep the heat spread and uniform or you can collaps the tube. Hope this helps, Joe B

Hydro -call.... what's this stuff? I looked it up and it's "Gypsum Cement" So how is this different than Plaster of Paris? Joe B

the "cut and weld" method will work... use stick welder /w nickle rod. I fixed the feed arm on the post drill at our Scout Camp smithy... the cam follower part of the arm was broken and missing. Welded on a chunk of steel... not pretty but has held up OK Joe B

Not intending to side rail the thread... just add this weekends "coal" expierence. I had the forge, (Centar w/ small hand blower) going all day Saturday and Sunday at the Maker Faire here in Dearborn MI. Not doing anything heavy, mostly making nails to hand out to the kids, along with the story of how the little ones would have been the "nail smiths" back in the 1700's ... "no nails = no dinner". Anyhow... I was surprised that I only burned one 5 gal bucket of coal all weekend, and from that I had, I'm guessing no more that 2 handfulls of ash. Good coal and/ or good fire control, I guess! Joe B

SaskMark, thanks for the date info, much appreciated. My apologies to Madworks, I guess I kinda' side tracked his thread. Joe B

Hi Madworks... that looks just like just like mine. Scroll down a few threads to "Anvil Identification - please" and take a look at my pix. The guys tentitively ID'ed mine as an early Trenton weighs 156# , the demensions are same as yours. The number on the front of the foot is "3156" . I would like to learn the age of mine too. Joe B

Boker , I don't know anything about them. I did do a little lookin' on the web and saw that Boker marked some with "SOLID WROUGHT" , what I'm seeing on mine that looks like "SRT.IO" could be the word "SOLID" . There is no indication of the big diamond and Trenton" though. Joe B

Thomas, yep' good call. I missed it... "3156" on the right side and a what looks like a caddywampus "A" on the left side. But the "A" appears to be more like some owner attempted to strike his initial with a cold chisel that a properly stamped "A"... it shows in the 3rd pic. Joe B

Hello all, Can you help ID this anvil? I bought it at a roadside barn sale a few years ago while driving across Michigan's UP on route 2. It has seen much use by me and the Scouts at our camp smithy. The only identifiable markings are "156" in 5/8 high figures (weight), and maybe ... barely decernable what looks to be "SRT.10" in 3/6 figures. But the latter is highly questionable. The dimensions are 24 1/2 long X 10 1/2 High. the top plate is 4 X 15 1/2 and is 1/2 thick. This anvil is definatly a forged steel body with a welded top plate. Here are some pix. Any help will be appreciated. Joe B

Burning the cabin story... true or not, who knows? Sometimes , espically with youngsters the "story" only is a vehicle for conveying the message. In this case that back in the day items that we take for granted as "throwaways" were scarce and held dear. One such story, from grade school that stuck with me was "The neighborhood needle". Remember that one? One sewing needle passed around to support the entire pioneer community. As for nails being dear, I swear that grandpa never bought a new nail in his life, had all us kids straighting bent-up salvaged nails. Joe B

Demo for youngsters... nails were well received, along with the story of how valuable iron was on the frontier, you can even tell the "story" about the burned cabin. As previously mentioned, little peoples eyes are near at anvil height. I made up a protective screen. Used an old aluminum framed metal wire window screen about 3 ft sq. painted flat black and hung on a couple of rods in the ground. Better and cheaper than plexiglas. Joe B

Thanks for the ideas, I tried a few different chemicals, and yes nickle seems pretty much impervious to any of them, at least in the short term. So I'll go with the faux patina idea, I tried some Minwax wood stain and it leaves a translucent coloration that does kill the "new car" shine. Joe

Hello guys, This may be a bit off topic but I know that there is a wealth of knowledge here, so please allow. I fabricated several reproduction parts for antique outboard motors, these were originaly nickle plated. Got my parts nickle plated , no polishing, just plain nickle plate on the mill finish steel. The question... how best to age the "new shine" appearance so that these parts look like they have been around for 60 years. I supposed that I could bury them in the garden for a few weeks, but looking for something quicker and more controled. Joe B

The wife and I visited Mt Vernon last summer. Very much to see on Ole' George's estate, however I commented on the lack of a smithy among the various outbuildings on the property. The only blacksmith artifacts that were evident were tucked away in the "salting house", where meat was preserved. I took a pix, evident are a swage block, nice old style anvil and if you look in the background a nice great bellows. Hopfully when funds and time permit they will get to reconstructing George's smithy. Joe B

I have no first hand expierence for forging AR grade steels, but I have to believe that this would be tough going. Might make some dandy hammer heads? Joe B

Wow, Blacksmith philosophers. I read thru them all and I don't think that I saw this one... lifted from an others byline. I love it... "Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity" Joe B

Grader blades and the like are made of Abrasion Resistant steel....AR series steels. These are hign Manganese alloy. Typically .25% carbon and 1.5% manganese. Very tough stuff to work with conventional cutting tools. The Ar steels wear harden with abrasion... if your drill bit slides, your done! Joe B

OK guys , what's with this blue lens on flea -bay. I was crusing thru the site and ran across this , looks like a ordinary glass lens for a welding helmit except for the color ... 5 guys bidding and it's up to $329.00. Is this thing magic , like the old x-ray glasses advertised in the back of the comic books. http://cgi.ebay.com/American-Optical-Cool-Blue-Welding-Lens-/320666165339?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa931605b Joe B

could cast a few nice lead hammers or cast a flat plate to use as a soft "anvil" for straighting work without damaging the face... OR cast into 1 lb ingots and sell to a muzzel loading shooter for bullet casting. That pipe is likly pure soft lead. Joe B

Most all the old industrial plants around Detroit had end grain wood block floors. I know that Cadillac plant built in 1921 had these, I worked there for 31 years. These were 4 X 4 and about the same length (height) they were soft wood, cedar or white pine treated with creasote. They were set in hot pitch on a concrete base. Easy on the feet, slimy when soaked with 50 years of cutting oil. Two big problems ... 1. If you had a water leak that soaked the floor they swelled up into huge mounds often 2 to 3 feet high then collapsed into a jumble. 2 , in later years they were deemed to be an envirmental hazard because of the creasote and accumulated oils. Joe B