rasklking

I picked up a 150 pound Mousehole in amazing condition a few months ago at a farm auction. Paid 200 bucks for it. :D

I like it!

I use a mixture of boiled linseed oil, turpentine, bees wax, Johnson Paste Wax and some Japan Drier. Heat the piece to black hot and apply the mixture (which when all is combined makes a paste) and wipe off the excess. You end up with a durable rust resistant finsish that you can polish with a soft cloth when it's "cured".

I generally keep a piece of wood handy that I can put under the piece and above the collar. A lot of folks end up over-tightening the vise when they do that kind of work and end up with rounded threads on the vise screw. It's simple, but it works. :)

:huh: I need to fetch me a pair of them! I could use'em ta grab my youngins' by the head and dip'em in the pond on bath day!

NICE!

I like working wrought Iron because it's crazy easy to forge weld. In fact, you can't leave two pieces in the fire too long or they'll seek each other out and weld themselves together. OK, maybe that's a little much, but you get the picture. :D

:D My dear wife walked by while I was watching that video. She stopped to watch it for a few seconds and I pointed at the power hammer. She read my mind and said, "nope" and walked off. <_<

A hood is the way to go. I've never had my nose bleed from the smoke but those black boogers can be a bit bothersome. :unsure:

My 12 yeard old son went to a hammer-in with me last year and he made the observation, "I noticed that just about everyone here's missing a finger and they all stand real close when they talk." <_<

....you run into the devil and he remarks, "Hey, we have the same cologne!"

Nice catch!!

Holy smoke!! That's a fantastic anvil! :o

Post vises and anvils. I just can't bring myself to get rid of'em!

Jump! It rare to run into a deal like that these days!

And I will throw out another one, wasps love to build in the fan housings....

I hate it when they do that! :o

Im still a newbie and on a quest to find an anvil too. At the moment I am using a small block of mild steel, and the head of a big lump hammer as an anvil. (the lump hammer is good because it has rounded edges for drawing and starting scrolls etc, and the steel block is good for flat finishing and it has crisp edges)

My point is that while you are looking for a propper anvil just get some metal hot and find something to pound it on!

I agree with Bob. The first anvil I used 10 years ago was a die from a tool making operation. It's heavey, it has a flat surface and it's hardened. I still have it and my son's using now. I suspect that thing'll outlast most anvils on the market.

I've found a few good anvils at farm auctions and I run across one now and then at antique shops. The ones at the auctions around here can run in price from crazy cheap to out-right over-priced. Trick is, keep your eyes open:othey turn up in odd places sometimes.

My first piece was a poker for the forge. I used that for a a lot of years, then I made on new one and the old one got cleaned up and it hangs on the wall in the shop.

A few drops of W30 every now and then has kept my old Buffco cranking for years.

Woah! That's fantastic!

Larry, they look fine to me. I'm sure they'll be thrilled.

I call mine "The Stormbringer Forge" because when I first got into blacksmithing I had my "Bufco forge" set up outside and of course everytime I wanted to use it....it would rain!! I had to wait two weeks before I finally had the chance to fire it up!

I'm Bruce. I'm new to the site but not new to the craft. I live near Gettysburg, PA