SReynolds

I understand some won't agree but this project/lesson will develop serious smithing skills. It's alot like the Mr. Miyagi -Karate Kid approach. Yes it stinks. But we can't all dive directly into smithing knives from iron and 52100. I am quite a supporter of drawing 1/4 square into a long taper and this can piggyback that exercise. This is for established smiths too. Grab yous a box (dirt cheap and many uses) of #16 horse shoe nails. The head is kinda small but it's possible. They are about 3/8x1/4 head. Draw just the very tip of head into a point. Then widen out the remaining portion to resemble a flame. Heat the opposite end (nail point) and form eye with a hammer or needle nose pliers. This eye is rolled to the back side. Backside being the flat side of flame you forged. The use a small jig to roll the hook or a small bick works well. Punch a hole cold as it is quite thin. Horseshoe nail candle flame hook. A mouthful, yes. Another is a forged quarter-sized nail head with mounting hole. Try these. Not so easy unless you have precise hammer control. And yes; These little guys will frustrate you to point of wanting to throw a hammer. Sleep will be lost untill you master these exercises. I have my students (attempt) to make these. They think drawing out stock and S-Hooks are stupid. Though they can't do either draw out nor S-Hooks , these little guys are humbling cuz I make it look so easy. Besides; it's just a nail. How hard could THAT be?

Likely used as "an anvil" for a specific task or somebody found it in a scrap yard and used it as such for nothing in particular. Looks like something from an excavator or dozer.

Many punches and cutters were equipped with a handle. If it sorta looks like a hammer but you have question if it is . . . .then it isn't a hammer. Folks advertising these items on eBay describe them as hammers. You may have a flatter there. . .or possibly a set hammer?

V That is what I was trying to say. Thank you. I didnt have the literary tongue to do so. I won't find a better explanation than yours.

I love a flat face. Though many seem to desire a well worn/swayback. Though I can't imagine why. . . . . . Looks like a winner. Decent corners on the face too. It does remind me of a HB but they are real rare around here in north ohio and don't see many.

I have seen/used a few and they have the very deep/distinguished set of numbers stamped at the narrow portion of waist. Looking at side with horn on the right. I don't know what a 155 pound would be stamped with. They use the 100 weight English code.

Local fellow selling his collection for 3/pound, Here in northern ohio.I will buy them all day at that rate for a local pickup. I think I'll go take yet another look and make another of his a new home. Most bid the last few hours on eBay item. Or the last minute. There are three collectors here I know of in a three mile radius. I never understood that but I collect vises so each his own.

Report on this new tuyere design. It's like this. The last smith who was quite obviously experienced, designed the tuyere I have used for the past six full years after he left the organization. I figured this is how a forge works; crappy. No or little air. Fight to aquire heat. Frustration. Agrivation. But yet tuyere assemblies I have designed for two rivet forges works well. Tons of air. Loads of heat. Satisfaction. So I have to wonder what this other smith was smoking. 6" deep fire pot. 9" across the bottom. 18" across the top and he makes a tuyere with four 3/8 holes. This newly designed tuyere is so fantastic. .....so user friendly. ...so efficient. ....so effective I am worn out from smiling all day. I had to put my free hand in my coat pocket to keep from waving at the visitors. I used it for 7 hours today. I think I'm going to patent this application. I need a nap.

I use a couple of posts but when I get them they are in real real poor condition in terms of the jaws. One seems to always be pushed to the left or right.I doubt a solid steel post would take the abuse I give the Wilton. I need tool steel jaws to hold up to the sledging of heavy truck U-Joint steel against the vise jaw. I collect Columbian vises (Cleveland OH) and advertisements. They are advertised as the only vise made from Malleable Iron. This was 100 years ago and into the 1950's and I would imagine that others are now made of Malleable Iron. Though I would guess many are cast iron? I haven't see any post vise units with replaceable tool steel jaws.

I had one. No. This is 1/2" thick heavy truck leaf. 1/2" added? I dunno what you are looking at, but this is made from scrap steel. An assortment of pieces if you will. And the truck spring is now in pieces too. That is, after I dun took a torch to it. I was short on my 3" wide x 1/2" thick spring so I had to go get some fresh "new" stock from a complete leaf assembly. All I had was the 4" wide and I wanted this to be a smaller/general purpose fuller. Somebody dropped off a 1-ton pickup truck rear leaf set but that isn't 1/2" thick.

Made a new fuller this morning. Guillotine style, aka one man fuller. This one is 2-1/4" so a bit smaller than my 4" but will have many uses. The bits are truck leaf spring. Not from a ford ranger either, LOL

I had this fellow take a class of mine who works just to the North at Timken in Canton Ohio. he had given me all this steel making information I had forgotten about. Books and videos etc. Interesting stuff and I looked up that 52100 in one of the classification manuals.

How did you know? Yes. Very Very costly. Malleable iron. Dent's, won't crack. A can of soda next to the Wilton. And a Very stout four inch Colombian Shop Vise with a common household vise next to that.

I'm only going to say this once. If you think for one minute that a bench vice cannot take abuse of a very heavy hammer you either need to discard the Fisher Price play toy and buy a real tool or you overheard someone's Uncle say that very same thing who had used a Toy bench vise and experienced poor results. Oh......by the way, I overheard someone say in the lawn mower shop all Polan chain saws are junk and I think all Interstate Batteries are junk.

Negative on narcotics. Coffee.

why do you need the fire higher? how deep is it/how high is it? Use the term deep. Not high. I have a firepot 8" deep. It is level with the forge top. It has cut-outs I can slip the steel stock into and through the fire. So my fire isn't high. It is level with top of forge. There is a (popular?) smith on this site that has (perhaps) hundreds of youtube videos. The one for firepot design is called maintaining a coal fire. His firepot if I recall is 1.5 inches deep. I have a tough time believing that but it obviously functions. However, the fuel is piled well above and around that firepot. And....the base of the firepot looks to be (if I recall) about 4"x 6" (at the bottom) and yours is maybe 3.5" round.

From bottom pick (the side on view) looks like the top of the rotor is just a freckle above the cutouts on the forge table? red flag there as you have no firepot. Where be your firepot. It would be about 2 to 5 inches deep depending on the make/model etc.etc. These old units used about a 4-5 inch deep pot. That is filled with fuel and is burning. White hot when air is applied. The fuel (coal and coke) are surrounding the fire pot. There is coke above the fire pot for say three inches above it.......for a total of about 6-8 inches deep overall from top of fuel to bottom of fire pot......... Now.....looking at the 3rd and 4th pictures; there is no firepot. Just a hole in base of the forge table. appears the hole in base of the table (your tuyere) is a hair below the table cut-outs. Not gonna work. That is me. I didn't graduate from college in forge design, but I have several and they ain't looking like that. p.s. this may be an odd question, but; did you fill that brake rotor completely with sand/clay mix ????(!!) ????? Fire pots. Forges with fire pots. The black rivet forge; that entire thing is the fire pot! The item that looks like your grate; that is the 9" base of a 8 inch deep fire pot. The blue forge is not mine. I found it here on the site.....again.............with a fire pot that is no less than 5 inches deep.

The jack idea is nice. It's adjustable thata way! I like a higher anvil face for forging but set the guillotine fuller on that I almost need a step stool.

I have done just that. An old shop/leg vise is in the shop I operate and in poor shape. They used it and wasn't even bolted down tight. Flopping about. It tool some time but yes, I did that. I suppose open them up quite a distance and use a grinder to take off the high spot then the file? I just used a file.

looking into the forge blowers with combination shop air; the shop air blast is directed onto the fan blades and rotates the blower fan. Makes more sense than dumping shop air (High pressure/low volume ) into the base of a forge

The round rivet forges work real well; for smaller tasks.I have two of them and wouldn't want another but that thing with the Candey Otto Blower is cool, especially if the blower and forge are solid. Get the larger one to use and the smaller one to look at and impress folks.

I read it twice.

here is my "any info" You don't want to hear this but I begin my students with simple hammer techniques like draw-out. They want to make knives like everybody, but can't draw 1/4 inch square stock let alone 1/4 round stock. That is what I started with and could not make an S-Hook. when the point arrives to practice knifes you can use most anything from the start. It won't matter the composition as the knife will be experimental. Get some quality steel for an actual finished project. Some like old files.

If you can read the description, it is of interest. Below the general purpose tuyere is the horseshoe special. The cut-outs are rounded as opposed to squared off. The add says don't delay installing this so you better get to it. Package deal

Ten dollars. Says so right here.