ThomasPowers

My wife and kids have told me I must have a beard and my wife trims it to what she wants---hey she's the one that has to look at it! Since I don't shave I don't spend much time looking in the mirror...

I took care to marry a lady that had her own *non-intersecting*, (so (no tool contention!), hobby. She can appreciate that I might need another anvil just like I can understand why she needs another spinning wheel. None of her "junk" sits in my shop and none of mine sits in her's. Shoot last anvil I bought off of CL, she had to pick it up by herself when she was in the city! (and it was delivered by the wife of the fellow who sold it---I think they roped a passing college student in to move if from car to car...)

Yes I know and am dreading it; but: "It's only pain" (what I tell folks is the blacksmith's mantra...) What's really lucky is I get to drive the low humidity part when it's nice and cool and will shift into higher humidities during the heat of the day!

Most of the time I ship flat rate the clerk tells me the cost of shipping the same thing by regular mail. Generally 3-4 *times* as much as flat rate! They are on to me at the post office and always want to know "what is it this time" after shipping 32 RR spikes and WI round and plate---I often build a wooden box to fit inside the flat rate box after a couple of problems...And then ter as the 68# one I received---2 pieces of round stock and 80# of the original box was gone and replaced by several pounds of post office tape! (I had the pieces individually labeled as well in case the box didn't make it). They had me come behind the counter and pick it up out of a wheelbarrow for that one... Why shippers of light stuff like flat rate is that the post office provides free boxes and it's *fast*.

How "good" is that dealer. New paint on old machinery is always a warning sign to me. Could be nothing, could be a bondo'd crack hiding under it. If you got as good dealer you can take the chance knowing they will stand behind it. But I agree: I'd go with the second one and wrangle a price reduction since it hasn't been gussied up---don't mention that the faster screw is actually what you wanted in the first place...

Ringing: the "american" variation of the london pattern anvil seemed to go for the ring elongating the horn and heel and getting the "tuning fork effect". This was not as good a design for heavy forging as say the old mousehole design where most of the face was backed by metal all the way to the base of the anvil. I love my massive Fisher; so quiet and well behaved; but I will admit that for demo's a "ringing" anvil draws the people in from afar!

"Pictures?" Well we have one of that lift-off inscribed by Werner von Braun to my father: "We couldn't have done it without you"... Growing up in the '60's with your father working for NASA was *cool*!

Smoking ages your face most due to how the chemicals in the smoke work on the capillaries *and* the muscles used to hold the cigarette. Coal smoke has different chemicals. It was always funny how I could stand in a cloud of coal smoke at a demo and only trash my sinuses but if a smoker was upwind he could send me to the hospital!

There is a big difference in just touching up a properly shaped blade that's just got a touch dull and re-setting the bevel to a better angle and then sharpening the result! I consider "touching up" to be easily done with stones if the alloy/heat treat doesn't require diamond OTOH I would much prefer power if I have to waste much material to get a decent angle!

If they ask you to suggest a price *start* with a dollar a pound. It was the going price for *decades* and some folk will still sell for it. Personally if you need it I would not shy off till over $2 a pound. At $3 a pound I would hunt for a better priced anvil. Even in anvil poor NM I have recently bought a PW in excellent shape save for the tip of one foot missing for US$1.33 a pound and that's the price the seller set!

Another "trick" is to make a hardy tool that holds a piece of wood vertically so you can avoid transporting a stump but still be able to forge on the end grain. Make it so you can switch out the wood chunks easily as they do "wear". Having a dishing spot on your anvil stump also works---if you are using a stump bigger than the anvil base!

For a centrifugal blower the airgate is best on the air *intake*. Cutting down air for the blower makes the motor work less than cutting down the output that increases the pressure the blower is pushing against. BTAIM most of my blowers have had the airgate between the blower and the vertical ashgate to tuyere section where ever was most convenient. It's handy to have it where you can work it whilst working the piece in the fire at the same time---ever notice that forging, like gun fighting teaches you to use your "off hand" a lot?

Well *none* of the female blacksmiths I know or have seen in pictures going back through medieval times have had beards. BTAIM, yes I have a full beard and when it's in full flourish my wife will braid it for me for events and I will hang silver anvil earrings from the braids. It's a bit shy for Quad-State and I may only be able to fork it. And yes I have had a forge trim it for me on numerous occasions... I've been lucky in that my "day job" has never had a problem with facial hair. (It's one of the reasons I accepted my current job; when I interviewed 50% of the men I saw were sporting beards!)

What he said! Went to a lot of auctions that said "Large anvil" only to find out it was under 100#...

Quad-State---the biggest annual blacksmithing wingding! Held in Troy OH, (small town north of Dayton OH) the last full weekend of September, this year Sept 24-26. http://www.sofasounds.com/conference2010/2010index.htm I'm driving about 1500 miles (each way) to go to it in an un-airconditioned pickup without cruise control....

Added another to the pile for the new issues!

Chinese = Cast iron; the russian ones were cast steel; but a bit soft anyway.

If you spend a lot of time squinting into the fire you will of course start to look like Clint Eastwood in the face. Don't do that! With practice you will generally know how long your piece needs to be in to heat so you don't need to watch it so much.

If he up and dies tomorrow how will his family know about the deal? I prefer things in writing rather than relying on the memory of two people.

Hard on soft or soft on hard. (steel hammer---use wooden form; wood hammer use steel form) and then do the final plannishing hard on hard if you want the "hammered look" Probably need to learn how to anneal the materials and work cold for such thin stuff. Also the high density plastics make neat hammers and can be turned on a wood lathe with carbide tooling.

I had a nice little scorpion in my house last night. I took it outside and let it go in a more appropriate place. I generally heartily approve of critters that eat bugs!

A bunch of us off the net---dating back to the old KeenJunk days get together and camp/eat/BS at Quad-State every year. Lot more affordable conference for some of us. If you are there this year stop in and say "Howdy"! (I'm driving about 1500 miles each way for it.)

I really like having it set up so one leg is the middle of the side---allows you to belly up to the anvil ; or stand sideways to it and work. However; I would have not used channel foot grabbers on the bottom of the legs!

And got a receipt saying that you had bought it, paid so much down and would pick it up upon final payment!

So far Postman has run across about 250 companies in England that made anvils sometime back in the day. The broke horn one looks like it was made by one of them. (A bit hard to narrow it down save that some brands show up in America more often than others) The broke horn would be a good beginner's anvil and a hardy hole tool to replace the horn would not be that hard to make.