SReynolds

I was there once with my shoes untied, the strings for my hooded sweat shirt dangling and wearing a fighter pilot's silk scarf.

LOL

I just picked up a set of newly made legs for one of my 400's The fellow has a machine shop and tubing bender. Black pipe and a tubing bender, and I'm in the candy!!

You R right, the blowers can be in nice shape, but them pipe legs rot away. I soaked the cast base w/siezed legs in Diesel fuel for a week and they came loose.

I'm going to look in my catalog again. I havn't had that bronze gear out, but remember reading all the shafts in the 400 are mounted on ball bearings.

Got another anvil and this hardie hole is 1/2"

Going to look at another this next week I can guarantee that it will be different from my others!! What fun. I'm looking at two different Blacksmithing catalogs and they only offer 1" and 3/4 inch hardie shank tools. Odd......

I'd LOVE to have a grave yard of old blowers!! I only have the three 400's and one 140 Eureka all made by Champion. From what I can remember reading in the catalog, the 400 is much different in that it is the top of the line with it's six ball bearings. The others don't use that technology and may only have a set of bearings on the high speed (fan) shaft if there are any at all. Other models use the iron friction "bearing". I find the friction bearings to be very stout and forgiving, where the ball bearings will not tolerate any dirt/rust or pitting.

I don't really understand what blowers were Landcaster Gear and which are Champion made in Ladncaster. I think they used all sorts of names within the same company sorta like Ford, GM etc.etc.

Midway
Eureka
Champion....there are many others used by Champion

Don't understand what you mean there as I didn't believe him,,,,, that old anvils are better, but I have read that in blacksmithing books, so maybe it is true. I would think modern methods combined with cast steel would be better, but perhaps not. Froged anvils are supposed to be better in some way from what I read, but I'd rather have new myself as they are not damaged.

However the lousy job of stamping is just that.I simply cannot belive only the bottom portion of the words BLACK JACK and SOLID WROUGHT and WARANTEED has worn away in use. That don't make sense. It was made/stamped that way. Something John Deere would never do, I'm sure. LOL

One of my anvil's hardie hole is 13/16 another is 1" and another is 15/16.

I really need to do something with them, but instead I have chosen to make anvil specific tools. It is a big PITA, but that is what I have done.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#steel-bearing-balls/=j14m3n

I found these ball bearings for use in rebuuilding my blacksmith forge blower. I need .248 inch dia. and they offer 1/4" and I am quite sure they will work.

I don't know what would be best for use in a old forge blower (high speed fan with little lubrication). I don't really understand the Rockwell hardness. The S2 is C55 and the 1020 carbon is C60. Also listing an E52100

although he does say he has only scratched the surface of anvils in america.

That is sorta my point.

HB was the ONLY anvil maker to stamp the waist under the horn? Doesn't that sound a little odd?? No way I'd believe that with all the anvils made over the years by "nobody knows how many manufacturers" out there. Did they have the rights to stamping anvils on the waist under the horn..............? That is funny.

Anyway,,,,,,, that is the anvil I've found. I counted all the letters and they match up. I can only see the tops of the letters between BLACK JACK and USA. I guss they didn't want to take time to stamp is properly. If I don't stamp an item
properly, I wouldn't want to sell it to the public, but perhaps I'm too particular in my work?

I visited the local anvil dealer and he gave me the low-down on anvil styles. He did mention the old anvils are better than the new ones. (Ok then.) I'll take his word for it. I guess an iron anvil (with the hard top) is somehow better than a solid steel anvil for some reason.

Thanks for the info on the Black Jack!

Is there a name brand by way of Black Jack? I can just make out the letters. The only other word I can i.d. is USA. There is a couple of lines between what apperars to be Black Jack and USA and is rather long in length, but cannot make it out. One line could be Jopplin Missouri....I have no idea really. The other line is just as long.

There is a large 5 stamped on the waist below the horn and below that,on the foot is a serial number of sorts of 121323

Have always wondered why the manufacturer does such a poor job of stamping the anvil in terms of the name brand.

I can take a picture of it, that isn't a problem. It is a London style anvil of 110 lbs and clearly has a high carbon steel plate on the top. It rings quite loudly and the hammer return (bounce) is awsome.

The owner is asking 300.00 Looks like is has some use, but is not damaged.

I am visualizing it.......... It is basically a spring fuller. I use a guillotien. I think they are far the best and the bits can be changed to different sizes.

What I **don't** understand is the use of a rounded fullering tool to make the shoulders of a nail. It was stressed to me some years ago when I was trained, that the shoulder must be sharp and defined. I also found a web site with the step-by-step and read about forging nails. All require a sharp edge to forge that shoulder. Thus the anvil top edge is very imprtant.

I can only imagine, that with your method, the nail head is quite hot and driven down into the header, allowing the header to perform the transformation from a radius to the sharp underside.

What I have been acustomed to is forming the shoulder and the use of the header as a guage. If and when one forges the nail shank (draw-out) properly, then the nail is inserted into the header. If the header hole fits tightly up against the shoulder (underside of where the nail head will be) you have the properly sized nail and next step is forging the head.

I too am talking about 3/16 square nails from 1/4" round or square stock. I do same for 1/8" nails (from 3/16" stock) Thanks for your help!

BTW we make nails as part of my "Intro to smithing" course. In general I have the students use smallest swing arm fuller of 1/8" or 3/16" to make the indents as being their first time at the forge they can't hit well enough to do it on the edge of an anvil.

I teach an into to smithing class because of so many requests for a chance to spend the day at the forge. It has been very popular and I too use the nails as one of the lessons. However, the students have a real problem making nails and especially forming the shoulder. I have been shown four methods of forming that shoulder and all employ the use of a "sharp edge" on the anvil. ThusIy I'd assume this is how it is done, though they differ slightly. I don't really understand what you mean by a "1/8 swing arm fuller". I'd be open to suggestions in this manner as the students get really tired of attempting to forge a nail and we must move on to other projects.

You are talking about forging the shoulder of the nail prior to the draw out of the nail shank, right??

This would appear to be the same as pictured in the first post at the start of this thread. THis is one of the ones I use at the historical society. I have had a number of visiting smiths and they comment on what a nice anvil this is and it is what anyone would look for in terms of overall condition. The point I'm making is that they are impressed with the sharp edges. And how so much of the work performed requires a sharp edge.

But in this thread, I see an anvil which exhibits damaged edges and is said to be "very sharp" then I'm reading supporting statedment about how it isn't damaged and that the anvil in question is what you'd generally **want**

Thusly my frustration with "what you want" and "what is good" seems to vary quite a large amount and probably much more than it should( in the opinion of a new smith), making the hobby very difficult to endure and get a "bead on". It ranks right up there with "A blacksmith would never buy tools". "You need to make them". I think sometimes advice can have a negative effect.

The pictures of the anvil I posted here obviously doesn't show the damage as in the anvil posted at the start of this thread. That was my point. One can clearly see the radius near the horn on my anvil and the "sharp edge" along the top side of both edges with very little damage.

I recently visited a NATIONAL Historic Site which contained coke ovens and iron production (blast furnace and roller mill) I read up on this site prior to my visit.

http://www.leetonia.org/cokeovens.asp

I was suprised to read that they mined hard coal and converted this to coke. It is advertised they do this in a similar manner employed by a blacksmith converting coal to coke. Upon reaching the site, it too advertises they mined hard coal and converted this to coke. It was very high quality hard coal (in Ohio!!!??) and made the most excellent quality coke at 95% purity. (As you all know, Ohio has some of the WORST quality coal)

At any rate, I asked the "guy" there at thos site about how they transformes hard coal to coke and he explained it to me.........which I already knew, then asked him "how" they get coke from HARD coal??? He just works there and insited he isn't a chemist.

They also refer to the mined coal as "ore" They dump the "ore" into the top of the ovens. Ore?

I informed him that I have used hard coal and it does not transform into coke. Also explaining that I am a blacksmith and blacksmith do not transform hard coal into coke.

What the heck give here, guys??? Can they be THAT wrong, or am I off my rocker here? This ranks right up there with John Deere (John Deere for Pete's sake) selling a hammer to the public as a commemorative blacksmith hammer to honor the company's 150th anniversary. But it wasn't a blacksmith hammer at all!!!! (you all know John Deere was a blacksmith, right?)

Anyone out there using hard coal on a regular basis and converting it to coke??

Cool.......That is helpful.

My instructor tells me that I need to have a sharp edge (on anvil) to forge a nail. The (nail) shoulder must be defined (by half on-half-off hammer blows) so the header will have a positive stop and to properly form the undeside of the hail head.

I have to use one of few sharp edges on my anvil to make the nails. I have never attempted to forge a nail (shoulder) on a rounded edge. I don't believe it would work as the shoulder would be a radius, then again, I never tried it.

Its an anvil not a precision machine tool.

I can't comment on that as I don't know what you mean there..........I didn't set the stage for " very sharp edges" in this thread.

I would guess that this picture below would demonstrate "very sharp edges" when compared to the above pictures, would it not?

It may be helpful to know that I visited with one of your own, a master blacksmith of well over thirty years, who had coached me in what to look for. Perhaps he is wrong.

Exactly. The radius I use to roll steel on which is near the horn. I don't have any problem with the anvil pictured however, I guess I don't understand it as the pictures shown, clearly demonstrate several chips aka chunks missing from the edge, not a single radius near the horn.

I have this same anvil. I wil take a picture of the dimond on the side and of the top edge. It looks similar and I would refer to mine as rather worn/damaged.

I am no anvil expert, but from what I am looking at, the top edges look badly chipped, not sharp. Not knocking you find. I just don't see any sharp edges from these pictures.

I am currently looking to purchase a used anvil. It has been very difficult to find one w/o badly chipped edges. Howevr, I'm told they are in great shape. I don't understand the anvil lingo I guess.

Sure the dealer has many new anvils in stock and I guess I'm comparing his used ones to the new ones that have sharp edges.

I have seen too may smiths in person and on youtube mess around with wadding paper, and getting it placed in the fire pot, then set chucks of coke on and around it. I was instructed that way as well. It works, but I never liked it myself.

I decided quite some time agao that I wasn't going to mess around with any of that and to jump start into forging. I have the waxed fire starters (saw dust compressed with wax) which measure about one inch x one inch and maybe 5/16" thick. Only need one. I light that off and set it in the fire pot atop a scoop of green coal. A few dried twigs and I have a small fire. The coke is shoveled into fire pot, but not enough to smother the fire. A blast of air sets things into overdrive. I place coke atop of the fire when it is buring strong and line the O.D. of the fire pot with green coal.

I am on my way and never look back. The down-side of this is that you have to buy a box of fire starters, but then again if you use the propane torch or newspaper, you'd have to buy that as well.

Really? I go through Mansfield every now and then..... Where?



I am in Mansfield. The blacksmith supply is not. It is close to the blacksmith shop I work at. That would be Mt. Eaton Ohio. I have never taken time to count all the anvils they sell,,,,new and used, and I could not say what for tools they sell. I suppose they sell every kind of tool for smithing (new and used) but I generally go there and get ideas then build/make my own. I hope they don't start charging me for THAT!! LOL

They will also trade tools for tools, forges, anvils etc. I was able to trade a Buffalo blower for a Champion. I am more of a Champion fan, fan.

I'm confused as I have never seen the word SOFA and ABANA used in the same sentence. Always aprt from one another. And there is a huge blacksmithing store near me and I would have no need to drive three plus hrs to Troy Ohio for a swap meet. The HUGE swap meet.

You are asking about the huge swap meet near dayton Ohio in Troy?

What is a SOFA?? My Grandad always called this a "davenport"

I have folks asking me about the swap meet in Troy and don't really know what that date is. Last weekend of Sept, right?

That makes sense, but I read that when this razor maker performs the task, the razor is hand forged, thrust into molten lead and then quenched in water. Thus making it harder.The method of soaking was mentioned, but that makes perfect sense to perform the tasik that way as it would be no guess-work involved. Soak the durn thing at 525°F at thirty minutes sure as heck beats polishing and slowly heating to a particular color and hope the colors don't run out/off the spectrum prior to the next step of air cooling or quenching in something to stop the colors etc.etc.

That however won't work for a chisel or horse shoe pritchel though would it ??? The entire thing would be soft, even the cutting edge. You'd have to heat that from the struck end to soften and run colors to the cutting end, eh???

I would have to buy some "known steel" and have the exact specifications in which to harden/temper, then I could say that I know what I'm doing......with THAT steel and THAT steel only. For anyone to guess how to do it properly, with an unknown steel is like saying I know how to play the piano. I know how to play a piano, but I can't really "play" a piano outside chop sticks. Know what I'm saying.

Phil had described how to harden and temper a particular spring steel he had given me. It was several weeks ago and I can't recall what to do. Before I try that, I'd have to get the specifics again. To attempt to wing it is a waste of time in my book. It don't work and the steel splits apart right after quenching it. To forge it then have it break apart is a waste.

I haven't gotten to the pint of buying any known carbon steel. Then I won't feel so badly about working with it as I'd have some idea as to what to do.

So I'm told by a knife manufacturer/seller of knife blades, that lead hardened carbon steel is "best" for a knife ??
I had never heard of that..........

Anyway, take high carbon blade and plunge it into boiling lead, then quickly quench in water. I was informed this is a very very old-school method that results in the best tempering. The edge lasts for a very very long time............

I know nothing about hardening as it don't work for me. You have to stand one one ear and only when the moon is waxing and then only on the second tuesday of month. Somebody once explaind to me how to harden spring steel and I was way lost and then when you ask another person same question, you get a totally different reply. "Water cools fastest" "Water cools slowest" "Quench after running colors" "Do NOT quench after running the colors"

Thank the Lord for low carbon steel.