Jamie Bacon

I'm told by the owner/seller that it is a cast anvil with a steel plate. He hasn't been able to determine the maker. I'm in southern Maryland, about 45 miles south of Washington, DC.

Hi. Looking at a picture of what I'm told is a 150# anvil, London Pattern. The only marking I can see from the picture is a raised U on the front foot directly under the horn. Very nice, sleek shape, but I don't believe as narrow as what I think a farrier's anvil to be. One small pritchel hole. Looks like about a 1" hardy. Didn't know if the raised capital U was enough to identify the maker or if this was a fairly generic mark. Thanks, Jamie Bacon

Anyone know how much it is if all I wanted to do is check out the parking lot tailgating sales? Thanks.

Thanks for posting the great info on what you used to make your different items Ohio Rusty. I also would like to make a hot cut hardie for scoring the nail rod. I'd love to see pictures of the tools youve made and of your upcoming nail making weekend. Sounds like lots of fun!!! I haven't done a search yet to see if anyone has posted anything like this yet, but I would love to get info on what different automotive parts are good for what type things. I have a great scrap metal yard close by that has no problem with me walking the yard and browsing. I'd like to stumble across a post that says leaf springs are good for this, coil springs good for this, lawn mower blades good for this, such and such auto part is great for hot punches, etc. I'll have to do some searching and see if there's something like that out there.

That's probably what I'll do; just in a size that will be of more use to me.

Hi ausfire. Not sure how to post a picture, but I will tell you about the nail header. First off, I obviously should've asked questions and got details before placing my bid. HaHa. This thing is massive. More a spike header than a nail header. The only measurements listed were 12 1/" long and 3 lbs. That should have been enough to tip me off, but I guess i was blinded by my want of an vintage nail header. Anyway, it's dog bone shaped, with a circular section on each end about 1/8" taller than the rest of the body of the tool. On one end, the top square hole is about 1/2" on top, 9/16" on bottom. On the other end, it's 9/16" on top and 5/8" on bottom. The ends where the square holes are punched are about 2" across and 3/4" thick. It's a nice header I suppose. Heavy duty for sure. More than I need though, so back on eBay it will go I suppose. Lesson learned.

Thanks everyone. Lots of great tips on this site! The header is supposed to be here tomorrow, so I'll obviously know more when I can actually get my hands on it.

I just ordered a nail header and want to give it a go forging some nails. What is the preferred steel for this? Thanks.

All the convincing I need! Thanks a lot for the input everyone. I'll design accordingly.

I have a friend that is willing to fix me up a plate steel table to drop a rotor/forge pot in. I'm hoping for about 30" deep by 60" long with the fire pot on the left. I was considering him having him cut a hole in the right side for a quench tub. Would it be ok to use a galvanized bucket to drop in there or would there be enough heat that it would put off fumes? Any other ideas? Or is it just a bad idea to eat up valuable table space with a built in quench tub? Thanks for any help. Jamie Bacon

Yes, you did answer that question on the other forum. I liked your answer just fine and appreciate it. I always like to gather as much information as possible when researching a subject though, so I figured I'd see if anyone on this forum had any additional information. Again, thanks for your helpful response. The BGOP site is really good. Jamie Bacon

Hello all. New to the forum here and new to blacksmithing. As a matter of fact, haven't even started yet; but I want to. I've talked to several demonstrating blacksmiths at some historic craft fairs and they suggested a good way to get started was to join a guild. I live in southern Maryland, about an hour south of Washington DC and from what I've found on the net, looks like the closest to me are the Blacksmith Guild of Central Maryland, about 2 hours away; the Chesapeake Forge Blacksmith Guild, about an hour and fifteen minutes away; and the Blacksmith Guild of the Potomac, about an hour and a half away. Anyone have experience with any of these guilds and have suggestions on which would be my best bet? I'd like to choose one that is active and has regular meetings and classes. I am interested more in traditional blacksmithing, as was done in the 18th century. Thanks for any help and suggestions. Great site here by the way. Spent a lot of time last night checking out the pictures of everyone's forges. Thanks again, Jamie Bacon