macbruce

I did a successful repair on a similar type of crack using pins. The holes were drilled and the pins were turned to the exact same size + - .001. Its best to leave the pins a few inches long and cut them off later. A few drops of loctite and drive em in (No stopping) I didn't do it but freezing the pins would be a good idea. I had the advantage of being able to use a mag drill on a flat surface once the sow block had been removed. The holes in the LG will need hand drilling I expect. Kinda tricky. Anyway the crack never spread after that.............mb

Being ''aware of what you're doing'' is a simpler solution........... Quote; Frank Turley

I like em', You sure you want one of those that close to your dinner ?

The euro 165 is atop a 20x20'' cube of steel filled with concrete. 2 1/2'' of wood between the anvil and concrete with a 3x3 angle iron skirt underneath, it don't walk around. probly 400#. It was too much work but I used what I had at the time............ The PW 125 base is a much later design I like allot. 10x10'' tube welded to a beefy 2'' plate, then filled with concrete,around 300#. I used conveyor belting between anvil and concrete. The chain hold down is sound, and it don't walk around either, cept' when I want it to mb

Zinc stove hood w/ iron trim.............60 hrs.

A work of art! It just goes to show ''necessity is the mother of invention''.........mb

Another variable is; Lining up the anvil to the frame is a critical part of the fabricating, and if it's not spot on the dies are out of wack. Been there done that. I discovered that a digital level is a real + when fabing these critical line ups. You can zero them on the base (even if it's not level) and forget about levels and squares so much. They are within 1/10 of one degree, they're not cheap but if they prevent one mistake, they are priceless. I have to admit my first hammer took way longer than was feasible,a good learning experience though. I could actually call it fun, except for the 6, 1'' bolt holes I had to tap. One cool thing about building your own hammer, you get what you want......Hopefully........mb

If you can weld a rod to the fat end of the wedge you can fab a simple ''slide hammer'' to tap the wedge in reverse,thus eliminating the need to bugger the small end of the wedge. Careful you don't pinch your fingers in it, they can really do a number on em'...................Soak,soak,soak

I hear you there Clint, the last one I built I drove 100's of miles and spent days scrounging for ''cheap'' steel. My quicker,cheaper hammer project wasn't so much. In a number of key components (anvil in particular) I would have been better off biting the bullet and paying retail ;)

You've done it now, guess you've been away too long and forgotten, ''springtime in the Rockys''.......If I happen to get over Greeley way I'll check on (it). I embellished my post a little when I said there was a pile of em', never done THAT before. Your Caravan will be relieved to hear ..........mb

Do you live in Colorado?.........You probly know what an axle weighs better than me, all I know for sure about that is I don't want one on my foot. If you ain't too far I could haul it, a Caravan sounds a bit dodgy to me (pun intended):rolleyes:

You're thinking of ''Johnson's Corner'', one of America's greatest destinations, second only to ''wall Drug'' in SD, (after driving across SD anyplace is a great destination). Oh, and the cinnamon rolls are way overrated too. About 15 min from here.......... The axle(s) are in Greeley at Andersons Salvage, I'd be happy to show you right to em...........mb

I have heard that RR axle is full of manganese, making it a bugger to weld, any truth to that ?

I have heard that RR axle is full of manganese, making it a bugger to weld, any truth to that ?

Not unlike us, anvils shrink with age...................:rolleyes:

I saw a country home that had anvils used as markers placed every 10' or so on both sides of the driveway, about 200' long! I didn't bother to ask..................

Looks like a seam bisecting the base, my Columbian anvil had a similar one...........

Awesome score! That stand is cool, don't seperate the two. If you can find old conveyor belt material that's good tough stuff for a dampener under the anvil.....mb

Listen m8, If there's only an outside chance that some twit will put that noble anvil in his ******* garden, then it's your DUTY to save it from such a fate!.........mb.......;)

I crashed into a horn with my thigh once, it resulted in a deep bruise that had me limping for weeks. Pointy or not It's going to hurt like hell ! A friend of mine, had a Kolswa with a fairly fine tip. We were at a blacksmithing school were it was customary to ''blow the anvil'' when a student graduated. They preferred the Kolswa cause of the cavity under the base would hold more powder. They touched it off, it went up 100+ feet and came down horn first on the anvil below!! Jim's anvil wasn't as pointy after that, and NOT available for ceremonies anymore This undoubtably explains the reason so many anvils are blunted ......mb

400 hrs! If your time is worth a paltry $20 an hr, It would be worth $8,000, plus matieral .......I don't see the incentive...........mb