MLMartin

Be carful with anvils that have been welded up with Stainless Steel rod for repairs. I have seen many repairs with Stainless that have broken away after just a few years and make even more of a mess of the anvil than it was before the repair. I dont belive the stainless matches the type of tool steel used for the anvil face, so it never seems to stay attached well. I would maybe look for another one

I normaly will forge a collar and wrap it onto the end of the bar then take a welding heat and fuse the whole mass solid and into a cube. Next heat I will forge in all four corners to make it octaginal in profile then forge in those corners and end up with a more or less ball.

Good looking hammer, I am sure he will get a fair price for it. BUT it would be nice to know what the hammer head weight was. Beond that what the whole hammer weights. Seems pretty silly not to list those numbers.

Most people are lazy and dont want to rotate the gard back and forth or need to take it off for one little thing and just never put it back on. I try and keep the gards on my grinders all the time I can. Once in a while Ill take it off so I can get in a hole somewhere. But when Im done with the one job they always go back on and stay on most of the time. I like my fingers alot and dont like the idea of snagging a grinder on something and cutting one off. What can I say many people are just lazy and dont give a hoot about safty. When I was maybe 15 or 16 I was drilling a little 1/8 hole in some steel with a electric hand drill. The bit broke and the little end that snaped off flew up so fast it hit my thumb and broke through my fingernail. That realy woke my up! I now always wair safty glass's and try and keep safty gards on my tools

I remember seeing this hammer for the lower price on Ebay to. Seems kinda crummy to offer it to the world then take it back and ask for more.

Yes I can see it becoming part of a lovely huge Bick anvil!

Should work just fine. Many folks make hammers from 4140 so it should be a good steel for a anvil. If it is alredy hard I would leave it alone. Just find some way to attach it to a stump or stand. Use something that it heavy and that the whole thing is very stiff and dose not wiggle at all when you forge on it. Use the thing for a few weeks or months and if you see that it starts to dent easily then you might look into having it heat treated and asking the person to reach hardness of about 58 Rockwell.

If you want to do anything just take it to a buffing wheel. Dont try and heat the thing up. It is so small that if you try and forge it under a hammer you will probaly just destroy it. I dont belive any of the porasity would compress. Trying to remake tools that are generaly in good shape is just asking for trouble. Also as stated you do not know exastly what its made of, if you heat it up there is a real chance it will just crumble to bits

Did you weld that lovely wilton to the stand? It would be a real shame to abuse a nice tool like that. If its a 6 or 8 inch jaw like it looks like then that thing is worth easily more than 400 but welding on it will drop the price like a rock. I also belive you will find that a vice that rolls around when you use it to generaly be vary hard to use.

How about posting some good pictures from the side and front. It may be the plates out but more likely one of the legs is bent. Many folks crank on the screw to hard and one of the legs bend. This is normally easy to fix with a large fire and a striker and flatter. I have straightened 3 or 4 to true them up. I just find the bend in the leg, mark it with chalk, take the vice apart and heat the bent area in the forge and work it out with a striker and flatter over the anvil.

Your MIG 140 is a 110 volt right? If so I would be vary worried about there not being enough power to get a good weld. Also I think you will find the hard facing wire that best matches the steel anvil face vary pricy. Don't just walk into a welding shop and ask for a hard-facing wire, If you do they will most likely give you a stainless steel wear resistant rod as it is a pretty common type for equipment. If you use a SS wire it will likely break off after a few years and take some of the face with it. I have seen meany people mess up there anvils this way

Having no idea what it is I would not heat it in a forge or do any grinding on it. Some aerospace alloys have vary toxic things in them.

Never seen one with a little mouse on the side, thats just cute

I dont know if it came from a RR shop or not. But I have seen many pictures of this type of forge in high school shops from the 20s to the 50s. Called a down draft forge or hood. It is nice that it dose not block any head room if you have cranes in the shop. Cool find. I have never seen one that complete.

Save yourself some time and just send that thing back or just toss it in the trash. I have a swedish cross pein made by peddinghaus. Peddinghaus has been forging high quality tools for years. I have a vary long handle on mine, maybe 13 inch's. It take lots of practise to get good hammer control, but when you can swing it just where you want and have the hammer on a long handle there is a serious amount of force in every blow. And its only 35$. The corners come sharp just like a new anvil would. soften then slowly use the hammer some then adjust more to your liking. Mine has been going strong for 8 years now.

Just cup wheels. I would have guessed they were using electrolysis to clean the anvils.

If some one started making the Fisher vices again but used ductile iron instead of cast iron it sure would be slick! Have the pattens run out of the vices? Do you think maybe one of these folks that cast the ductile swage blocks might give it a try?

I would give that rivet a Thumbs Up!

On the odd occasion I have seen some one stick a pipe in the hole then take the whole vise to a pipe or some other part and use it like you would a vise grip.

Yes Peter Wrights are common but that size is not. If it is vary soft I would not use it. Probably could sell the thing to a smith that could fix it. Put the money to getting a working anvil. If it face if still relatively flat there is no reason to beat it all to snot when some one could re heat treat the thing and get it back into proper service.

Any tips on recognizing brass from bronze. I have forged some copper alloys. Had some forge nicely and some crumble. Any good books or websites that give a nice overview of forging brass/bronze?

I have a question about that. I know quenching will not harden brass, but is there any reason to quench it at all? Could you just heat the brass and head it hot, I know something that small would cool vary fast anyway. I guess the real question is that it is heating the brass that make it soft and if it is quenched or not it will stay in a soft state right?

talk the guy into selling you that nice brooks anvil in the back ground! they are cast steel made in England, top quality

I know that Mr Dillon (Danger Dillon) has made some fantastic parts for his motorcycles.

Vary lucky guy to have lived. But what was he thinking, a gas bottle inside a closed up car, that is just crazy. I never let any type of pressure or flammable tank inside a closed car. I have a truck for a reason, so the dangerous junk can ride in the back a little farther away from me.