philip in china

Avadon, I was trying to raise a smile. The real method is: Get a piece of plate and hammer it round your anvil face. Takes about 2 minutes. Or Get a piece of channel iron the same size as your anvil face- even easier. Or Get a piece of plate, don't bend it but weld a bit of anything on the back to fit in the hardy hole. Another piece of something to fit in pritchel hole helps to keep it still. Problem with one in the HH is that you can't use a hardy tool at same time.

Plans for a cutting plate? I have 2- 1 for each 280# anvil. One is a piece of plate with a bend at each end. The distance between the 2 bends is the width of the face of the anvil. That is the better of the two. The other one is a piece of plate. On one side is welded a piece of box section which fits in the hardy hole. Now comes the really tricky bit. There is also a piece of rod which is welded such that it engages in the pritchel hole. To get this accurate you need a micrometer (obviously) although a set of dividers and a tape might be accurate enough. Measure from as many points as possible (e.g. 6). Call that figure n. Then multiply all of these together and calculate the nth root. This gives you an algebraeic average which is far more accurate than an arithmetical mean. Once you have worked out the appropriate centres cut the steel. You need to weld it at 90 degrees to the base of the plate. Let us assume that the base and the face run parallel (but you might like to check this) then use Pythagoras's theorem to get the angle exactly right. You need to do this in both plains for each piece (the box and the rod) to ensure they are exactly true. tack them using low hydrogen rods. At this stage check with a micrometer that they are running at the same distance apart throughout their length. If they aren't you need to scrap the piece and start over again. Once they are exactly true fully weld, checking all the time. Once you have done this I would paint them and then shot blast all of the paint off to stress relieve the parts, clean the down to bare metal and apply a Parkerised finish. Do this twice to ensure complete coverage.

Forgive me for asking but if the age is difficult to establish how does he know it is an antique? It looks fairly modern to me. We should all make a point of fabbing or forging a couple of such things every week and flood the market.

GNGC has taken the words out of my mouth (or off of my keyboard)! If you have a tapered hardy every time you hammer on it you are driving a wedge into the weakest point of the anvil (just like splitting a log). One cold day it will shear straight across. It might be decades coming but it will happen. Any slight crack or even a deep scratch in the steel will be impercepibly widened by each blow. Out of interest the prototypes I am currently testing are also being tested for hardy hole sizes. So I currently have 5 working anvils and, you guessed it, 5 different hardy hole sizes!

Most of my work is fixing/making farm tools or making sculptures. I have never made a knife. I would like to try. I have some about 3/8" spring steel which I could forge fairly easily. An idiots guide please to what I should do.

Tongs hold stuff. If they hold what you want them to then they are good tongs! I usually make the reins from rebar as I get it free. It works fine. Latest bits have been the jaws from scrap broken vices.

So 97 taps on the anvil. Would have been nice to have made it to 100. Let's hope he is now enjoying rest after a productive life.

Also look at the cutting shelf. That is a saddle over it. Again what is that covering?

Well photos might follow tomorrow. I have got all 3 lined up together. that big one is a pig to move! I shall be interested to get that one on the scale! They really are hard. I tried a file test on them and the file just skidded off of them.

Somewhere I posted my solution for breaking coke. I have an old fashioned cast iron radiator. This stands flat on 2 kerb stones. The coke goes on top in big pieces and I hit them with a small sledgehammer. The coke breaks against the cast iron and when small enough it fits through the radiator which acts as a screen. The resultant pieces are no bigger than a walnut, some are appreciably smaller. I set up the crushing station on a slightly sloping piece of concrete so the crushed coke runs downhill and I simply shovel it out at the lower end. A few pieces stick inside the radiator. I tap those through with a shovel. The shovel is a piece oabout 5" channel iron, flattened out and with a handle welded to the back. The handle is just round bar.

Which rather gives the lie to the postings that start "I can't find an anvil...."

As you are in UK at least you don't need to worry about shipping! Even discounted their stuff isn't cheap but of superlative quality! "Buy cheap, buy twice!"

Yes the steelwork that bolts to the door and receives the padlock.

Does anybody have any designs for padlock fastenings please? I shall need to make several at some time in the future.

Quenchcrack- see separate thread on hand cranked blowers. That is what caused me to post this item. Matt 87 if you want to buy a hand cranked blower in Europe there is always Vaughans (Hope Works) Check out their on line catalogue. The prices are scary but they will discount them fairly heavily. I just thought a quantity of blowers (electric or hand cranked) sent to USA as a shipment and then retailed by a dealer there are going to be a good deal cheaper to the end user than individual ones imported by individual purchasers.

RE pouring molten lead you can reduce the amount of heat by putting in some lead cold and then pouring in liquid lead on top. The cold will melt from the heat so you will get solid lead just the same but with less effort. If it is going into the legs of a stand aesthetics aren't a consideration so any marks where the two join don't matter.

I had one made at a shop that does leather sofas as I couldn't find one here. It loops over my head and comes to my knees. If I were having a second one made I would include a flap over the front pocket to prevent dust from getting in. I always wear it when forging.

If you do want to buy a swage block then have a look at Ironworks forged iron steel custom blacksmith blacksmithing supplies I have one of his 60# swage blocks and use it a lot. The price is pretty decent as well.

"260# Czech Double Horn , bought new from Old World Anvils in 2001 for $675 plus $125 for shipping. This is my main shop anvil and I really like it. Size, weight and the double horn configuration are just right." There really is something magical about that size isn't there? Would this thread include new anvils as well?

I hadn't mentioned this before but I also have a source of very robust squirrel cage electrically powered blowers. I can't tell you much about them. They come in sizes from about as small as an alarm clock to so big you would carry only one! They are 1 phase 220 volt. I don't know what you would call the motor but it is the sort you can slow down by using a dimmer switch. I have been using one now for 3 years without any problems at all. They are substantially made but they look a bit rough. Glenn, I am NOT advertising, just saying that if there is enough interest I can get a case of them sent to USA. They would be very reasonably priced!

I am hoping to get hold of some of the chinese made blowers. I will test these in my forge here. (For test read turn them over to the students). If they are any good I have a US importer who will take some and offer them for sale in USA. So the answer is watch this space. I shan't be able to recommend (or warn against) them until I have actually tried them obviously. The electric squirrel cage blowers here are very good. I have had a 220ac one running almost daily for 3 years and it is as good as new. They also have the type of motor that can be slowed down using a dimmer switch which makes them very useful.

"I'm hunting for something of more mass to replace my 2" piece of plate steel. Even on its end it just wouldn't be enough. Plus thats a narrow face to work on." Might I, humbly, suggest you buy an anvil?

I found a lot of pieces of bar threaded at the ends and with nuts totally siezed on. They really are totally rusted solid. I keep these in a corner of the shop. When I have finished forging I just lay a couple in the dying fire and leave them. They generally get to a good red. Once they have been heated I simply remove the nut which by that stage san often doesn't even need a wrench. Grease them and put them away for future use. I have done hundreds now and it always works.

I have now got the other two (see my earlier posting). When I get chance I have first got to get an accurate weight for each of them. From the dimensions and my judgement I think the big one is about 340# and the little one maybe 130 to 140#. I shall post my thoughts on them both when I get chance. Still got to make the rebound meter and get the magflux tester on them. I hope to get on with it all fairly soon.

Where do the very hard cast irons come into the equation? Some cast iron is so hard you need carbide tools to work it! Also what is meant by cold casting? Some old gun emplacement armour was cold cast iron (I think) although it could have been steel.