SLOB

my post vise is mark in much the same way as yours. in Anvils in America I found an anvil manufacturer named Sampson that was made in Cleveland Oh that is also marked with a diamond and vw&wh co inside the diamond...the initials stand for "Van Wagoner & Williams Hardware Co" that is about all the info I could find about the company. My post vise is stamped 1901 The Railway Purchasing Agent's ... - Google Book Search

I would buy it if you have the money and are close enough for picking it up.....the foot presses are not as powerful as a flypress but I think they could be just as handy. especially as you said for veining and other similar operations. the two holes located behind the ram are usually set up to adjust the power....closer to the ram changes the pivot point for more tonage with a loss of stroke. I have a flypress that is at a buddies shop, he also has several kick presses....he needed to make a louver tool for a job he had and set the tool up in his kick press and tried it out in my flypress for comparison. it took alot more force with the kick press to stamp out the louver but when in the flypress the force needed was barely noticable on your arm.

I dont have a power hammer (yet) but when I get the room I hope to build one of the rusty/crusty designs. I haven't seen Jerry's plans but have seen one of those style hammers in use along with looking at several diffent builds online. while speaking with Jerry at a recent ABA hammer in he explained he used bolt on spring clamps on the leafs to be able to tune the hammer......if I remember correctly he said he keeps the clamp closer to center on the front end to allow more flex while the back end is clamped closer to the connecting rod. this similar to allowing the front to fully flex with no clamp......but just another adjustment to keep in mind when tuning the hammer. Rob

I haven't been able to fire my 3 burner forge up yet.....I have used Jay's old 3 burner and did not plug the burner flare. as far as I see there were no ill effects from not plugging it up. my 3 burner with idle is already plumbed and bench tested for leaks and I know the design works well......it has a needle/ball valve arangement similar to my previous picture. I think the problem with a mechanical stop on a ball valve is that the design of the valve lends itself to on/off operation, not fine tuning flow of gas...... I think I can speak for all the blacksmiths here when I say, YES we want pictures and/or diagrams. idea's are best when shared (for the most part anyways) Rob ps, Key....check you PM. pps. /D, do you have a name? its a little friendlier and easier to remember a name over symbols/letters.

Quenchcrack, I've used a three burner forge with an idle circuit and independant valves for each burner. the valves are not mounted where they will get heated up from the chimney effect and with just one burner running achieved forge welding heat. it never suffered any ill effects from running that way. my new forge (that I've been too ill to fire up or even get pictures of yet) is set up the same way with the idle circuit (ball valve and seperate needle assembly shown similar to keykeepers picture) and seperate burner shutoff valves. I wouldnt consider owning a gas forge set up differently. this is the idle on my original mini forge. Rob

I've used the citrus (orange) based paint stripped on a couple projects. the last one being my latest anvil that had a HEAVY painted finish. (several heavy coats) it removed the paint quickly....the thicker area's needed a second application. I found spreading the gell on the surface then covering with a damp shop rag helped. it prevented the gell from drying while the citrus did its magic. I dont know how well it will work on the paint used on car springs, I have a feeling they are a powder coated paint......but I would say its worth a try.

I have a 204lb Hay-Budden. picked it up for $300 last year. I forget what the serial number is but someone told me it was made in 1912. (I think thats what they said.) I have the AIA book now but havent had the time to double check the numbers.

I just looked and fastenal.com and McMaster.com both carry tungsten carbide.

forge and burner book on google books Gas Burners for Forges, Furnaces ... - Google Book Search

I used to buy quite a bit of new steel from J Broomfield & Sons in providence RI. I didnt buy much used from them but they used to have a lot of stuff piled up. I'm not sure how far you are from providence but its easy to find (allens ave exit) Rob

"The Master Bladesmith" by Jim Hrisoulas, Mark Aspery's "Mastering the fundamentals of blacksmithing" book (santa's helpers still working on getting that one here), a couple of box set dvd's (modern marvels-engineering disasters and shockwave...both by the history channel) and...... my new forge, still working on it....a three burner clamshell forge from Jay Hayes.

the only thing I read in AIA about Fulton anvils is that it was cast with the name in relief on the side......made for Sears Roebuck and co in the 20's, producer unknown

from what I could make out and referenced from AIA (not the updated new info postman has in the mousehole book) it looks to be from 1820-1875. the middle number couldnt be a 4....so I think its a 1 with some extra marks. the 0 must be part of a twenty according to the weight on the scales (112+28+20=160)

He will be missed :(

I am good friends with Jay and email him a couple times a week.....his current email is jay@hrea.coop I think he still checks the xmas4lites email, but I am not sure how frequently he does so. I recently found a link to a burner/forge workshop he put on a couple years ago.... interesting little read. http://www.habairon.org/Sept03/ they also have an old price list that shows some of his available kits (prices outdated) it gives an idea of what he carries....but he has newer models of forges added so contact Jay for an updated list. http://www.habairon.org/Sept03/HABA-Hayes_Forge_List.pdf