Old N Rusty

same opinion on the poor old cast iron parts, turn it upside down, smash, bash, and free the base. proceed to fab a steel plate forge using those legs and frame you can cut the plate to accomodate firepot, insulate the plate, and build up the sides of your forge with sand/cement mix. 3 parts sand - 1 part cement (portland cement, not concrete mix) mix moist and mold to shape. pax

many years ago (14) i heard Frank Turley recommend a sand/ cement mix 3 parts sand -one part cement .(portland cement not concrete) mix it moist and it will mold well it has worked in my demo forge . that works. i dont know anything about fireclay, pax

Why don't you bring it to Baton Rouge and see what i will give you for it?

"stupid is as stupid does" Forest Gump

i heard Frank Turley recommend a sand /cement mix 3 parts sand - 1 part cement (portland) not concrete mix. has held up for about 14 years in my lil grate fire forge i use for demo. pax

i know the 2b i am gonna try to rescue has a "floating" anvil as he called it i guess thats the two part you speak of, a lot of stuff that little giant didnt hit me with . this hammer takes a two part foundation ideally with the massive block the anvil sits on isolated from the building foundation.

buy a victor torch kit and a "crackerbox" a/c stick rod machine then have some money left over for an anvil use the e-6011 white rods and have fun!

Its a movement! never have i seen so much interest in smithing before! Welcome to IFI! we just love to teach what we know, and for me its been a long lonely road of self taught mistakes. that this site will spare you the trouble.

Sir a warning! research can lead to the obsession that has got us all here, I have seen it before, just curious folks became smith folks.

Local scrap yards here same story no one allowed in yard, might be a liability issue, i think they dont want anyone seeing all the stolen stuff. every piece of ANYTHING goes into a big shear and is chopped up into small pieces. wasted! look for the GENERATORS of scrap, is there a heat exchanger shop nearby? big FAT steel skeletons from the cut table lie about wainting to be turned into anvils for homemade powerhammers, and as mentioned structural steel shops are a source of beams and stuff, search all old industrial shop locations and local river banks.

We will see if the conversion from an anvil collector to a smith takes hold, it wont be as easy to haul and set it up as he thinks it will be, there is a high bridge between where he is and baton rouge. many trucks can cross only in "granny" and i dont think it would fit in a pickup, I use an old style little giant 100 and it suits me, this hammer, the nazel ,looks like it will be a job to break one nut and there are MANY. and GREASE! and my nail polish! oh! its alarming! He said it ran when they got it they had it setting on a concrete floor and likely were bottoming out the ram each stroke. some fools when they get a fortune have to waste it, FAST! these are a family of OIL money. and the old guy was interested in smith tools so his sons set out to buy it all. they dont care to use any of it just collect it, i am being nice to the fool, just get it to MY shop, and it will stay, i installed a big tool magnet in my concrete floor, haha!

wanna sell it?

y'all might answer a lil question i got about cannoneers "What are the lil wires they sport as trophys on their hats " from shoots i hear their primer wires he save and show off OK how does a wire primer work on a lanyard?

sorry i mentoned wire edm to me its just a fancy hacksaw, of course some traditionalist back then got upset about them

by chance i saw the collector in lowes he said we gotta get that hammer to your shop and run it.fat chance ,that hammer got a lot of repair/cleaning to be done before it runs, and he say when i ask about his PILE of anvils" Thats personal" i will not sweep a spot just yet for that nazel 2b

wire EDM will cut the tinest detail you fancy at all angles

if you can find a steel fabricator secure a bucket of punch droppings as a medium for tumbling

i think Otto Schmirler had a three legged c.h. in his book " Der Kuntsmied " (sp?)

i got a Reed machinist vise with 5" jaws opens to 12" plus used it and abused it severely till i got a post vise that is very large 5" jaws and heavy duty. trouble is it wont open as much as the Reed, them old big machinist vises are usefull as a holdfast for twisting duty and can take a lot of beating. anyone that breaks one was trying to.those littlebitty red things at harbor freight are only useful as holders for an Arkansas stone for sharpening my knife. My opinion only.

Laurel Machine and Foundry Laurel Mississippi casts swage blocks with several size spoons one side dish shapes on the other

a great big beauty, want to trade TWO smaller London patterns for that one?

A student left a can of anti- borax at my shop, i use 20 mules and have not opened the anti- borax can as a safety precaution dont want an antimatter explosion in MY shop! seriusly what is anti-borax?

I have never met the "gentleman" but in chatroom he is a 100 watt light bulb. we/I cant wait till he is back.