stuartthesmith2

the original rheostats on buffalo and champion forges are extremely hard to come by. I have an extra rheostat for my large champion forge, but I dare not sell it for fear that the one I am currently using might fail on me. If you want, I acquire numerous blacksmith tools, which I restore as a sideline to my tool forging business, and can find you a rheostat for your forge if I beat the bushes hard enough. As far as the cowl is concerned, I made an humongous error when my last cowl burned out from decades of use. I tossed the old cowl, without cutting a piece of cardboard as a pattern to make a new one. Big mistake! I went to my local junkyard, and cut my hands to shreds while trial-and-erroring a new cowl out of sheet metal and a pair of tinsnips, along with a pop riveter. I had to do this, after talking to that guy on ebay who sells cowls, when he told me that there is no easy way to ship a large cowl. I actually cut my hands so badly making my new cowl, that I had cuts on the BACKS of both hands! When this new one that I made eventually burns out in about a decade, trust me, I will save the pieces, to use them as a pattern for the next cowl! Let me let you in on a little secret I discovered. It is an old chinese trick to make your cowl draw ALL the smoke out of your shop. Conventional cowls, attached to a smokestack, sometimes do not draw all the smoke. After going to a chinese restaurant, and seeing their vent hoods, I had an epiphany. They afix a turbine to the top of the ventpipes. When the wind blows, these turbines catch the wind like a sail on a ship, creating a vortex in your stovepipe, which sucks the smoke right out!. In my shop, with two giant forges, one cannnot sniff ONE IOTA of smoke in my shop. With turbines afixxed atop both vent pipes, both of my forges draw like a vaccuum cleaner, keeping my shop smoke free!

because I manufacture tools, I have a manufacturer's rep who I pay a percentage to, while he markets the tools that I make. This saves a lot of time and energy marketing my business.

decent boston craigslist anvil My link

fair to middling anvil for sale on craigslist joplin missouri at a reasonable price My link

there is a live auction this week in lexington, ohio, run by gebhardt auction service which has a 157 pound NICE hay budden

york pennsylvania craigslist excellent looking deal My link

interesting anvil ad on del rio texas craigslist My link

beautiful looking what appears to be a peter wright in wausau, wisconsen on craigslist My link

nice looking craigslist triphammer in rochester new york My link

nice looking craigslist hay budden in atlanta My link

I recently thinned my "herd", as a favor to another member of IFI. I had a similar decision to make. Because I prefer hay buddens to peter wrights, I ended up vending a very nice peter wright to someone who needed it. Decisions, decisions!

I "test drove" an iron kiss at a PABA forge-in, nice hammer!

nice looking bargain anvil in roanoke, va on craigslist My link

this is on atlanta craigslist, it looks like a hay budden, not perfect but a bargainMy link

Nice anvils, my friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


A 1899 110 pound Trenton with the name stamped upside down:




A 1925 Soderfors weighing 135 pounds.

Just thought you might like to hear my Peter Wright story. I found a 514lb Peter Wright on craigs list a few weeks ago for $725 and $189 for freight.I think I got a great deal!! But I called the person right away and secured getting the anvil ,When you find a large one like this you had better jump on it right away because they are not plentiful and will more than likely go quick. I am very thankfull for the anvil.This makes my tenth anvil my other largest one is a JHM Competitor 260lbs I liked it alot but wanted a antique larger one and now I have one .I really like your Peter Wright it looks like it has been taken care of and not abused as mine is. I think Peter Wrights are one of the best anvils that were made and that one can own Thanks,Shawn

some guy named steve in taunton, massachusetts has on craigslist a 300 lb peter wright in fair to middling condition for the cheap price of 300 dollars...My link

albany, new york craiglist....nice looking anvil at a bargain priceMy link

some guy on craigslist has three anvils for sale......in saint louis... My link

this is an EMERGENCY..............some guy in cleveland has a nice looking 118 pound anvil on ebay for fifty bucks............he has to get rid of it by monday, because he is moving..............this is on cleveland craigslist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there is a lil giant trip hammer for sale today, a fifty pounder, in des moines, iowa for 2K. this is a craigslist listing

For the western contingent of smiths, there is an excellent Fairbanks 200 lb hammer for sale on craigslist in salt lake city,utah. It is listed under "powerhammers". For one thousand dollars, it is an excellent deal. I used a fairbanks for five years while serving my apprenticeship, it is a tough, hard hitting hammer!

I test drove one of his iron kiss hammers at a meeting of PABA(pennsylvania artist blacksmith) meeting. That hammer is EXCELLENT!

that anvil wouldn't even make a good boat anchor, it would scare away the catfish!

yes, that one................I defy anyone to find an uglier anvil!