ThomasPowers

*all* the feet on the same stuff---don't put a twist in the system!

Since you are designing this as a welding forge how do you plan to keep the flux from damaging the kaowool? Since you are designing this as a welding forge 2" of insulation would help---but that narrows the usable space way down---1" will work but you will be using more gas over it's lifetime.

Cast iron is generally considered a good medium for clinker release. It does stick to clay and steel.

1 tool for two jobs, the driver bit is a lot less to carry if you are packing it in.

Trentons "were imported for 15-20 years before 1898" AinA

That serial number equates to 1917-1918 according to Postman That is a GREAT anvil in quite good condition. It was made by Columbus Anvil and Forging co, in Columbus Ohio, USA and you got a smoking deal on the anvil. You could also say you got a decent deal on the anvil and all the rest of the stuff was thrown in free.

Usually a medium carbon steel. How about going the other way and finding a messed up auger bit the correct size to forge into a driver? I once won a bet with a fellow on who could drive the most lag bolts in a structure fastest: me with my brace and a 1/2" drive in it (found the drive at a fleamarket) or him with a battery powered driver. I won hands down--in particular that I could torque them all the way down and his driver started whining when the going got tough. Getting screwdriver adapters is handy too.

140 is the weight in pounds. A bit high; but on the other hand you could be making money off it tomorrow! If I get a chance I'll check AinA for when the German Trentons were around. Trenton is an american brand so no Wright involved! Check the rebound and the ring and if no issues make your decision

Everyone I know of who has tried to build a forge from an semi truck drum has abandoned them as being MUCH worst than a regular car/pickup drum. Way too deep and so you have to cut large slots in the sides to get to the hot spot with a straight piece of stock and can't lay a strange shape on top of it and crank the fire up to heat it there. They do make good bases for things though.

I actually hunt for postvises missing the mounting plates as they are so simple to build, (especially the angle iron and U bolt variety), but knock a bunch off the cost. However there are people who are trying to get their set up "stock" and while that's not for me it's ok for them. If I get a chance Friday I'll stop by a junktique store on the way out of town and see if the broken postvise they have is A and iron city and B looks to have the original mounting plate. If so and they still hold to the parting out price for it I'll pick it up. The screw and screwbox are just about worth what they want and so a mounting plate would nudge it over to buy---unless someone is actively hunting a screw and screwbox? IIRC it was a 4"vise before someone broke the entire back jaw off of it.

Frank; wow, I run into that all the time too---makes me want to get a wrist brace and put it on them so they can't bend it! You tell them that the hammer should be up by their ear and they still want to plink plink plink instead of *whomp* *whomp*. Sometimes a heavier hammer that they can't use only with the wrist can help---but it's hard as I often tell folks not to use too heavy a hammer to start with to help avoid RSI. Starting out new folks I often will "suggest" they change hammers as I watch how they are hitting. Those who strike like lightening get the dead soft hammer! (strike hard but never hit the same place twice...)

Also bear in mind that when you say " I know some of them fit into other categories on the forum, but I think this is faster and less hassle" You are saying that "your time is much more important than everybody else's time and they should go through the hassle of re-posting stuff that has been posted many times before for *you*!" Luckily we generally try to help folks out when they are getting started...but some of us do have issues when folks say "I want you to do the work so I won't be bothered with it" We tend to think that perhaps smithing is not a good fit for them as it involves a lot of work and practice. I know the problem you have with 6mm; my local steel dealer claims that hot rolled 1/4" A36 isn't made and they have never seen it; while the steel dealer 50 km down the road has it but is never open when I'm in the same country...Of course the first place is trying to push their 1/4"cold rolled at about double the price per foot...

Mounting plates tend to wander. If you want a specific plate looking at the old ads and then making a reproduction is probably your best bet. There are probably a lot more vises out there than mounting plates---at least I see a lot more plateless vises at conferences than I see loose mounting plates.

"basic starting tools to make basic things" rather depends on what type of basic things you are making. Blacksmithing covers such a wide range of areas that "basic things" can differ quite a lot. My first project for students requires: a forge, an anvil, a hammer, a hardy, a postvise and a set of tongs for holding 1/4" sq stock. Two pairs of tongs can negate the need for a postvise and a chunk of wood to remove bends in twisted lengths can help too.

Well the old good hammer handles were air dried so as not as brittle as kiln dried hardwoods. Which coincidentally is how a lot of pallet wood is treated---air dried Another good source is getting broken sledge hammer handles. Usually broken near the head and discarded giving a lot of length to reshape---my favorite tools to do so are drawknife and farrier's rasp As for hardness I have a lynch collection french cross peen that is DEAD SOFT and is a favorite with my new students as they cannot ding an anvil with it! But it forges steel quite well.

Alberic does great work; I've known him for about 25 years now and he still will come up with jaw dropping amazing things when I see him! Note that that methodology was presented as a teaching aid for people who are not experts---he has the props to do mokume a bunch of different ways. I still remember the time he borrowed our campsite to make niello in one Pennsic War. (involves a lot of burning sulfur...)

quench tank for swords?

Oft times a bit of sway is a feature not a bug---especially good for straightening stuff when you get to know it On the post vise: how wide are the jaws and what condition is the screw in? Probably at at least US$75 and may be more---if the screw is ok.

"Why yes I do sometimes burn myself---especially when I'm cooking bacon and it pops!" and go on to explain that I get burned more often cooking than smithing.

Sort of depends where you are in West Texas, myself I'm so far west that I have to walk 4 houses over to be in Texas---El Paso to boot!

I have personally seen several anvils ruined as anvils by milling. 2 they clamped the base to the table and milled the face flat and parallel. Unfortunately these were forged free hand under steamhammers and their faces were never parallel to start! So they milled through the hard steel face at one end leaving it dead soft wrought iron---and folks *paid* them to ruin their anvils! Another they just milled down the face until it was too thin to work on---but very flat and sharp edged! (took 5+ hours using professional welding equipment by a professional weldor to get it back to usable...) Note that cast steel anvils may not have a face plate; however the depth of hardening is limited---they don't want a brittle anvil all they way through and so you still get "face" that can be milled to soft and useless under steel. If you feel that you *MUST* mill the face of your anvil: FIRST flip it face down on the mill and mill the base parallel to the face! The base is the place to get the face parallel! Then flip it right side up and just kiss the face as lightly as possible! Remember flat can get in the way when doing stuff like straightening blades; smooth is morte important than flat. AND SHARP EDGES DAMAGE WORK leaving stress concentrators and cold shuts in pieces worked over them.

Just was pinging where you were at on the learning curve. When Al Pendray demo'd at Quad-State, I made sure to volunteer as his "helper" just to get a chance to ask him a bunch of questions about wootz making...

Does it just need the bolts replaced to snug it up? If you don't want to fiddle with that I'd try furnace cement.

While it's upside down you can chisel an identifier into the bottom in case it ever roams...if it has an indent, letter stamps in it...

What are you planning to use for the flux? Green beer bottles?