Airhog

Thanks Frosty, Mikey and Irondragon for the advice. Chris the Curious I will get off here because I wasn't intending to hijack your thread. 

See this is where us newbies need further instruction. I have talked to several people who supposedly know what they are doing  and advised me that if I used straight perlite and just enough white portland to make the perlite stick together that that alone would make a good insulating band between the steel and the KOL30. I was just looking for a castable that wasn't so expensive to use as an insulating blanket instead of using the ceramic Kaowool which I really don't want to use because of health reasons. I would have fired the perlite enough to extract the water from the mixture before applying the KOL on top. 

But you are correct in the fact that I was talking to people that was making their own refractory to save the expense of using all KOL30.

I will add that those people were not on this board. 

I realize I'm a little behind on this topic but I was thinking of using a mixture of perlite and white portland about 2inches for the insulating layer on and 18 inch pipe then putting about an inch of KOL30 then a reflective coating on top of that. My biggest question is would it be feasible to put the KOL30 on top of the perlite and portland mix and it not crack? 

rsilver, that is a classy looking hawk. I have never made one but I am going to give it a whirl. Thanks for sharing.

This is what he posted on the sold page. Sure was pretty.

This ANVIL is SOLD and no longer available for purchase.

The ANVIL can be viewed, touched, photographed, & drooled on at the HISTORIC Fisher Museum in Trenton, NJ. This 700 pound Fisher completes the Collection of Museum Curator, Joshua Kavett's large collection of Fisher anvils......of ALL sizes made. To see this Spectacular site, please visit Mr. Kavett's Museum at your earliest convenience.....it is sure a site to see and should be put on ANY Anvil Enthusiast's Bucket List!!!

Thank you for viewing my auction.

I look forward to the visit. I live on Lee Creek north of Uniontown at old town Barcelona. Where was your Great grandfather's shop in Cedarville? Maybe I'll have my shop set up by then and you can give me some pointers.

You are absolutely right Mr.Powers. I wasn't thinking in the form of stone or bone, more in the line of metal. If you live in Cedarville then I probably live about 2 or 3 miles from you as the crow flies. Small world. I'm north of Uniontown.

If anyone has a vise like this and is interested, I have found out what all the stampings on the face of the jaw are.Mr. Powers pointed me in the right direction. It says

Columbian
Cleveland Ohio
Original
Trenton

55 (for 55lb.)
It was made in 1906 but I still don't know what the 2 is for on the underside. I have provided a pic of the underside.

Thank you Mr. Powers. As I indicated in the original post, I purchased the vise because of it's condition. The threads are in very good shape as well as the rest of the vise. I just like to know the history of my vintage tools just for conversation sake if not for any other. I am a novice knife maker and have been doing stock removal and I wanted to get into the original aspect of knife making, obviously forging. I a currently acquiring the tools to do just that and the only thing that I seem to be having trouble finding is an economical source of coal. I live in west central Arkansas and it was covered up with coal mines years ago, but like I said, I'm not have much luck now. Thanks for the information. Andy

I just purchased this vise and need help with the identification. It is a 5" vise and apparently a 55lb. vise hence the 55 on the front jaw. The markings above the 55 appear to be RENTON and above that it looks like the lower part of Wright and then about that it appears to be Cleveland (maybe)?? The part that attaches to the bench on the underside it has a large 2 then under that Dec. 2? 1906. Does anyone have any ideas? I went ahead and purchased it because it was in really good shape. Here are the pictures. Any help would be appreciated.

I came in after this journey was finished, but what a beautiful knife. True craftsmanship. Truly Awesome.