GunsmithnMaker

Well, it didn't take long for that vise to find a new home. That seems to be the problem with anything like that in New England. I know of one at an indoor flea market that the seller is asking $139.00 for, but I'm not sure it's worth it. There's two problems here. The first is finding a decent vise, and the second is paying too much because vises are hard to find. I have bench vises, but I can see the advantages of leg and post vises.

Here is an anvil top listed on Rhode Island (Providence) Craig's List. Top of Anvil

I guess that's as close as you could get to a flash-light in the past. :D

I found this 4 inch vise on Craig's List for New Hampshire. Am I right in that there should be a spring that is missing? It looks like a good deal otherwise. What should I know about this vise. I'm not going to buy it because it's out of my area, so if it suits your needs maybe you will see one in Vermont that you can alert me to in the future. Here's the listing: http://nh.craigslist.org/tls/2164118130.html I want to know what I'm looking at as far as what would need to be done to it.

I'm thinking along the lines of a simple tube made from Wire Damascus made into a sheet and formed into the tube. If that's possible. I think possible or not it would look fantastic and the combination of a straight pole and actual wire makes an elegant statement. Maybe brass accents would bring it all together. Maybe finding out what your friend's father's interests were will help you find some ways to bring those elements into the whole creation. I've always hated the typical coffee urn type. Just a pot to place a loved one in doesn't say much no matter how well made.

Notice the horn of a second anvil to the right in his picture.

Continue with what you have or check Craig's List for a real anvil. Don't waste your money on an ASO. I looked for many years with no luck until I found my Hay Budden last Fall and I paid what most people here would say was an excellent price. You might not do as well as I did, but you may do better, and if you have a metal detector you might want to go detecting in an area where a barn or forge used to be. A couple of people on the forum have found anvils that were disgarded. Oh yeah, don't forget to call the junkers, metal scrappers, and trash collectors in your area. They might have one or know of one for sale. Don't pass up the broken ones as someone may help you rebuild it for a project you can learn on. Just be sure they know what they're doing by asking the pros around here. (Not me)

I suppose some people may be biased against the source, but here are three factual statements from the article. Statement of the EPA: ""The agency took this action because this proposed mine would use destructive and unsustainable mining practices that jeopardize the health of Appalachian communities and clean water on which they depend,” read the agency’s statement." Statement of author Doug McKelway: "The environmental concerns over surface mining were well-known when the EPA first issued the permit in 2007. Since that time, Arch Coal has made millions of dollars in infrastructure investments in the mine, perhaps the largest ever in the region --investments which are now threatened by the EPA permit revocation." "It's just the arrogance of the EPA,” said Bill Raney of the West Virginia Coal Association. “The people in Logan County want the permit. It's important to the company. It's critically important to Logan County." If what Southshoresmith says about the content being light on facts is true, then I suppose that there is no environmental impact (EPA) and that no one will lose their jobs in this or any other coal mining operation. (Bill Raney) Please read the full article for yourself. If you don't like that article maybe you will like this one that mentions the oppositions view point....ah...well, you decide. McClatchy.com article

I really don't like introductions, but I will try to give you a small idea of who I am. I'm 46, married with 3 children and expecting a 4th in May/June. I'm a Veteran who spent 7 years in the U.S. Air Force working in electronics on B 52s, KC 135s, and the F/EF 111s. I've lived in Northern Michigan, Colorado for a short time, and Southern Idaho before returning to Vermont where I was born. Since I returned to Vermont I've worked as a Gunsmith, salesman, electronics technician, radio station engineer, dispatcher for a home security firm, and a night guard/auditor for an Inne. I am a collector, but not a very good seller, and I have steel and gunpowder in my veins. I like to hunt and I have rifle, bow and arrow, and knife if need be to take what I'm after. I shoot handgun for fun and self defense and like working steel to make or tune just about anything that shoots or once did. I'm mostly interested in forging knives, but if I can learn to make obsolete gun parts I will be headed in the right direction. Everything else I can learn to make will hopefully pay my way to bigger and better days. I'm also very involved with politics although when you think about it we all are. I think that governments should stay out of the way and people should do what's best for them, hopefully with God's guidance and recognizing their ability to take responsibility for the good and bad we pass on to others. As I said, I'm 46 and my wife is 45 and expecting a son. I believe in miracles. I will admit that life is hard, if you can find a friend here or in your area don't pass up the chance to learn more about them and share some of your experiences with them. At the very least, when the day is done you can sit down and share a glass of wine, or a bottle of your favorite brew and shoot the breeze knowing someone knows you're there. See you all at the forge. P.S. I've scratched the surface so let me know what else you'd like to know.

BIGGUNDOCTOR, I know what you're talking about. I have the family and that doesn't necessarily make the blues go away, but don't let that stop you from following your heart. Just like the coal feeds the flame you need something to fuel your life on a daily basis. Maybe finding someone to mentor in smithing to be your "family" is just what you need. Getting rid of excess baggage is always a good idea for everyone. Don't let things build up either, if you see a wrong try to right it. I'm in the middle of something right now that is going to cost me dearly in money, but the fact that it's based on an injustice that has to be changed will have to be good enough. ironstone smith, the fire hasn't gone out, so go stoke it up and let that hammer sing you out of the blues. Now, I'm going to have to go try to take my own medicine. ;)

Here is a story that everyone here that considers themselves a blacksmith or wannabe should read. It may be the end of an era if you don't make your opinion known. Fox News story on Coal Permits I had originally considered using a gas forge for my blacksmithing, but as I have had to collect pieces here and there to build my own gas forge I found it much less expensive to use coal. I will probably build my gas forge eventually, but I know some here would rather stick to coal. What effect will the necessary rise in coal prices have on your costs and what you'll need to charge if this does go industry wide?

I'm just going to put this out. Why not contact Matchlessantiques from ebay? If he buys from Europe he may be interested in the whole kit at a decent price for the sellers. Worth a try for one of his customers here to contact them?

Hillbillyblacksmith, do you have any pictures of the brake drum? I started out with an idea to do something that sounds similar and I was advised to get a brake rotor to use as the fire pot instead. See my thread on the Brake Rotor forge kit in this section to see what I've come up with. I've seen other forges made of small brake drums and at least one made similar to what I was going to do with the large brake drum, but they have a point about getting the iron into the heat with a deep pot. Let these guys help you with your ideas and you will have a product you can be proud of.

Well, I made a little progress on my forge today. I picked up a 55 gal. barrel top from a source of scrap and decided I'd use it to surround the rotor fire pot. I have two stands/bases that I picked up a long time ago and I'm thinking of using one of those for the base of the forge. Here's a couple of pictures. Comments about how you think this will work out are appreciated. Note: I just noticed that I didn't post a picture originally that might make a little more sense of the pipe situation.

Now you have to make the other side and mount them to a head. I can see the skeletonized version of a head mount that would probably bring you one heck of a payday. Very cool.

Sam, You're just like the rest of us. When you scrimp and save you're taking the time to get what you want. Some people would whip out the credit card and buy the first thing they saw and worry about paying for it out of their salary. Those people wouldn't care about their tools being quality and they wouldn't care about what happened to them. They are the real Hobbiest. I don't exactly have that luxury. I make some money to help pay the bills and hopefully buy a few things to point me in the right direction for my real career. I haven't really said it here before, but I am recovering from a heart condition that I have had problems with for 20 + years and haven't had a "real" job in over 8 years. I drive "chauffeur" for a local organization making trips to the VA Hospital 100 miles away with another Veteran. I had an operation in July 2009 to repair my faulty heart and yesterday I saw my surgeon who says as far as he's concerned I'm cured. I'm too independent to last long in a job where I work for someone else, so I have to do something to make it on my own. That means scrimping and possibly working for a while for other people to buy what I need or make what I can. Both options have their drawbacks because I have very little space right now and it's hard to make my own equipment, but I do what I can. Believe me, I'll gladly accept anything given, and I appreciate the fact that we owe it to others when the time comes to lend a hand and contribute to their education and collection. When it comes to the time used in making something for yourself, you can put that under the column for education and experience, and if you're really lucky the column for invention. Nothing is wasted. The spirit of individualism and creation is what we all share. Some of us just know how to put it to use better than others.

You certainly didn't waste any time on getting that forge built. Looks Great! Now we hope you'll show us what you've made with it.

Makes me wish I was still living in Colorado. It's been 20 plus years since I could enjoy a Coors right off the line. I hope you find a good home for all of it.

Whether you want to admit it or not we are all conservative. You have to weigh each purchase against your expected use and budget. What if you can find that nice anvil for $75.00 in a couple years at a small auction or a yard sale? Was it worth using that piece of rail for an anvil for that long? How much more can you expect to charge for your work if you buy a brand new $1000.00 anvil? If you find other wannabe smiths cheap you have to ask yourself what would you have liked to have paid in their position? If you find your fellow experienced blacksmiths cheap maybe it's because you belong to their fraternity and not many people can say that, so they figure you can cut them a break. I suppose your view of generosity or helpfulness may not be the same as everyone else when it comes to helping others, but you wouldn't be here if you didn't think you had something to add to the craft. Prices are what they are, and I never expected to find an anvil for the price I paid for mine in my area at any point. I feel lucky, and maybe the former owner does too, it's not taking up space at his place anymore. Am I cheap? Depends on the point of view of others I guess. I'll try to save every bit of my resources for as long as I can if I can find things or get them for free or at a huge "savings" over what might be considered a normal price. That's called conserving your capital. I'm proud to be called a cheapskate if you feel it necessary, but I'd say frugal and definitely conservative fit better. If it came down to it I'd probably give you the shirt off my back if you needed it. I hope others in our fraternity would do the same.

Good Luck David, and enjoy your project.

I don't want to run contrary to the Master, but I may not understand the purpose in this particular application. I would use a light grease on bearing surfaces where there may not be a way to apply oil frequently. If there is a requirement to use oil than I don't suggest going against the manufacturer's prescribed maintenance procedures. Would you use oil in your wheel bearings? Then again, I doubt anyone could turn a blower to those rpms so heat isn't a huge consideration. Being a former electronics technician by career I have seen plenty of dirty oil that turned to varnish in motor applications stopping a fan motor until it could be torn apart and thoroughly cleaned with due effort. I persoanally have not had the pleasure of tearing apart a hand cranked blower so I don't know what conditions are present inside the case. Maybe the OP should try a modern light grease and give us his opinion.

I'll tell you how I got to where I am because I don't consider myself a blacksmith at this point. I suppose it started when I found out that metal gets soft when it's hot. I would pound nails that I found in our shop stove and took out to hit with whatever hammer that was at hand on the back of a large vise. I would flatten them or bend them and sometimes I would find a piece of metal and try to shape it into something else. I made a handy poker that way, but didn't think of being serious. In the 90s I bought an ASO from Harbor Freight and heated files and other pieces of metal in a better shop stove, but no matter how hot I got them by just placing them in the fire they weren't very maliable and with the soft surface of the ASO I found I was making an impression of the file in the "anvil". So, I tried making knives by removing material from the metal, files mostly, and was not very happy with the results. I have since moved to a house with no gararge let alone a shop, so I have been waiting until I could find a portable means of making knives. Well, I started out by collecting things to make a gas forge, and have a lot of them waiting for the day I can get organized and put them together. One "can forge" and one large oxygen cylinder forge. Then I had my ASO stollen a couple of years ago. Throughout this lifelong adventure I have had children born, and a heart condition that caused other problems to evolve, and now that I have had an operation to fix my heart I'm ready to get to work. When I finally thought life was pretty much settled I bought my Hay Budden anvil and the news came. Now, we're expecting our forth child. So with money going everywhere but my pocket I'm still trying to do it on the cheap. You can follow my current projects in the solid fuel forge section and other places here that are appropriate. I may be a blacksmith/gunsmith one day because my first love will always be guns, but I want to know how to take it from beginning to end and create a one of a kind gun. Making parts and knives as well as whatever will bring in money is all part of the whole picture. So will I be a blacksmith, or just a gunsmith that loves to have fun?

I noticed that anvil as well. It's not the same ASO I bought from Harbor Freight back in the early 90s. This one actually looks like an anvil should. And quick60 congrats on the forge, it's a beauty.

Grease is more appropriate for long term use. Oil needs to have a resevoir or circulation system to be really effective. That's my 2 cents.

I have my anvil, some hammers, and lots of stuff that's been hanging around, but I want to try to do something ASAP. I haven't been able to get the cash for the small forge I'm going to buy from the person who sold me my anvil, so I figured a quick and dirty small brake drum forge or, in this case, a brake rotor forge. I went to the gararge where I have all of my car work done and asked if they had a brake drum or rotor and one followed me home. (FREE!) I found the oversized washer at a Fastenal store, and the iron pipe at an ACE Hardware store. I found the blower at a dump if I remember correctly, and the piece of flexible metal hose I found at the stove manufacturer in my area. The cost so far of the iron pipe and washer is $41.27. I know I still need bolts, washers, nuts, welding, (I can manage that)and some other bits that I may have to make up. I intend to cut the 2" x 24" pipe into two pieces to make a cleanout and blower intake from the one piece. I may not use the blower shown as I have others I have scrounged over the years, and one of those might be ready made for this project. The small nipple (Short pipe piece) in the picture is 5" long, is there any rule of thumb about the length from the flange to the Tee in these forges? If not I'll just put the pieces together as I imagined them from the pictures I've seen of everyone elses forges.