the iron dwarf

you could try a 1/4, 3/16, 1/8, 1/16 to see how for you can go, I would guess down to at least 1/8"

im in Northants, I use a plater in coventry. there should be places close to you. you could also try copper sulphate, a glass of water, a piece of copper pipe or wire and a low voltage DC supply

what you need will depend on what you are going to make, if the price is right get what you can because you can trade it later

some plating is not too difficult depending on the items. copper is prob one of the easier ones where in the UK are you,I have some dealings with platers

have a power hammer that I made, hydraulic press ( but need a faster one ), 2 ironworkers, several anvils. want an induction heater

forecast tonite is 1 degree C, tomorrow up to 7 degrees C maybe and maybe no rain :)

nice work, they are now useful things again

maybe someone can translate the metal types

endoscopes / borescopes can be bought for about $15 on ebay from at least 1 seller in china, they plug into a USB port on your laptop, will need a hole of at least 3/8"

in answer to the title: no he does not and we like it that way

I have thought about phosphoric acid: anyone know what concentration to use or if it is likely to cause hydrogen embrittlement?

lamp black will help though it will still be on the surface, a little russeting may help

there is a thread here by Thomas Powers about acquiring anvils, you should read it

there are many types, yours sounds like our BS 50 O ( weight is about 50 lbs a yard ) bull head is heavier UIC 54 is heavier ( 54kg per meter ) london underground is much heavier ( maybe 50 lbs per foot ) I stock all theses types and more but am on another continent

have one too, about 1 cwt

welcome to the madhouse most things you will want to know are posted on the forums so spend a little time searching and if you cant find the answer just ask

have lots of odd of this, largest is nearly as big as a brick, have 60mm round 30mm round, rectangular blocks, might have to see if I can find a use for it someday

old school is a block of metal, london pattern is only 200 years old

an anvil does not have to be a london pattern anvil, look for threads on home made or stump or rail anvils, it needs mass and it needs a face at least as big as the face of your hammer. what works best for you will depend on what you are going to make

I blame Wiley Coyote for a lot of it, the few times I have been to an event and several people have wanted to use an anvil I have just started using something different to show it can be done

here my nearest supplier is 1 mile my most used supplier is 10 miles and specialist stuff is 20 miles

I use a section of fork lift tine for the table, about 4" by 2" and maybe 8" long on the smaller ones, then look for a tooth from an excavator or other hard wearing part for the horn

a picture may help people here to help you have you looked at some of the home made anvil threads on here to get ideas? ideally the weld should be across the entire area of a face, a way to do that is to clamp the face on to the body with a small spacer in between like a piece of 1/4" square down the middle leaving you a deep slot to fill in from both sides. like the filling in a sandwich though that is probably more work than you need unless what you are putting on is hardenable and will be heat treated

I use a firelighter first, then add charcoal then turn the air on slow, add the coke a few pieces at a time till it starts going and gradually turn up the air, 10 mins and I have a good fire

places I have dealt with in the past that make bearings ( I have ball bearings up to about 4" diameter ) make them from many materials. in the past I have had bronze and brass, stainless, high and medium carbon steels and some tool steels, also ceramics magnetic indicates a steel spark test may help case hardened or through hardened may help. I have used the inner and outer parts of ball races in the past and some of them are even quite hard when hot and still ring when hit at yellow.