Aaron J. Cergol

Interesting concept, but it would be far faster, easier, and most likely cheaper to buy a used one, or have one flame cut from solid. Go to an industrial metalworking facility, you'd be amazed at what is "scrap"for them. I was given a 4.5"X24"X12" solid hunk of steel. Aaron

Looking swell. What is your source for broom corn/straw? Aaron

Oops, guess I can't post pics from my iPad. Pics tomorrow, but the explanation pretty much says it all. I can do grinding and final polish myself.

Hi all, I'm looking for someone WITH EXPIERIENCE to do some weld repairing on a couple anvils I own. Some I'm hoping to fix to re-sell with beginners in mind, one is a 350# North German pattern that I use in my shop. The 3-4 I'm looking at having repaired are all victims of a cutting torch. I do not understand the mentality of cutting on an anvil, and probably never will. I don't mind paying for quality, as I do not wish to have a soft face, having lost its temper. I also do not want a hack job that will come loose in a month. Attached is a pic of the German one, this is the one in the worst condition, torched edges, and a good many torch blowouts on the face. Thanks, Aaron Btw, I'm in Milwaukee, WI but don't mind a few hour drive each way. It would save me freight in the long run.

I have a big German one with about a 40 holes of various shapes and sizes. Lots of very small circular holes, it's 5"X20" square, so a pretty decent sized one. I could not get away without it, I use it almost on a daily basis. Upsetting, drifting, straightening, "swaging" Of half rounds and triangles, dishing into the holes, forming tubes and cylindrical shapes, not to mention bending large diameter stock. I realize this sounds like a textbook answer of the uses for a block, but I couldnt get away without it. It becomes twice as useful when I have a striker. Aaron

Always looking forward to QS. See you all there! Anyone know if dogs are welcome? I looked over the general info and saw nuttin. Aaron

I agree with Mr.Miller. The fact that is has a box, and also the "steps" behind the jaws scream German to me. They are really wonderful vises, the box keeps everything in line and parallel, no twisting or unaligned jaws to speak of! I ended up making a cover ov sorts- two L shaped pieces that ride on top of the box to keep scale out. I grease the spring, and before the box, I would have to clean it out as it would get fairly clogged with scale. Enjoy it, they are wonderful vises. Aaron

In the past when I worked on a London or American pattern anvil, I would make an overly long hardy shank with a slit through it. Then I had a large flat wedge I could drive into said slit that would tighten it under the heel of the anvil. Now I have German anvils, and it's a bit more material to go through 4-6" of heel material plus another few inches for the wedge. Now I make the hardy to fit the anvil so I don't have to use a that extra stock. Aaron

Stan, Thank you so much for being so hospitable and opening your shop to us. It was a pleasure meeting all of you, and being picked on. I learned quite a bit, and I was quite impressed by all the fun gadgetry and tooling and jigs Stan had come up with. It's got the wheels turning for me...also that 100#er is real nice to work on, it has made me start troubleshooting my little giant to run better. Hoping to swing by again sometime soon! Thanks Stan, Aaron

GERMAN GERMAN GERMAN!!!! The Germans just did things right. For one, they have a hardened plate over the horn, and not just the face like the English did. Also, the square horn as mentioned is wonderful for fine work. The upsetting block no only adds stability, but is obviously quite useful for well...upsetting. They are far more robust that the English and American patterns too. Where an English or American pattern have maybe 1-2" of mass under the hard hole, Germans usually have at least double that, and that's a good thing to make hardies on. I will also note that Austrian anvils will fall into a similar category. I also like various other added features some of the German or Austrian anvils have. Aaron

I am tenetivley planning on going to ABANA, but am unsure if I will be able to afford gas both ways, plus the site fee. Have too much money tied up in those darn Austrian anvils overseas...heck who am I kidding, I'll be there, but might have to hitchhike to get there. :P Hope to see some of you there. Aaron

George, haha good one, I might be able to buy it back from him for more than he bought it from me. This was my main shop anvil for the past 3 years until I got a larger German one. We got an awful lot of work done on it and it will take a heck of a beating. Lots of striking on hardies; it has a nice thick heel for such tasks. The guy I bought it from thought it was a mousehole stylistically and due to the horn transition, however as Thomas mentions there were hundreds of English manufacturers and half of them look the same as a silhouette and are constructed the same. Was it Peter wright who used to work for mousehole? Look at the early wrights, they look just like mouseholes... I may be confusing the story and the Names but you take my drift (said the hammer) I hope you get some good work done on her Michael! Aaron

I once had an anvil that was nearly identical. From France most likely. the date is Hardto say, but I have seen them in art from the 1700's onward. It too had a hardy hole off on one side which would make me a bit more reluctant to form hardies in it. Not having a swage lock, and considering they are of similar sizes, using the handling hole as a bolster just makes sense. Mine was over 300lbs and had that same Transition from the horn to the body. Also, this is one of the few anvils where the church windows could actually be utilized; some of the. Later period German ones were far too deep and rough to do much good with forming in. Lastly, the curve between the heel and the of anvil had a very nice shape for forming. Large (or small) radiused shapes. Also not that just before the horn there is what looks like a large nail, or bolt protruding from the upside down hard hole...I am thinking this is to hold the anvil steady upside down.

Brian, I now know to bring all them. I will have pics up tomorrow of the infamous cross pein, as well as some other ones we've been making. I shall bring it, I'd be honored to strike for you guys again, it'd be the least I could do. I got a gorgeous chasing hammer from Brent too. it's a swell little hammer. Sask Mark-I have nothing on ebay (at the moment at least) but keep your eyes peeled in a few months. Patrick, were you at QS with a induction forge setup? at any rate, you are more than welcome to swing by sometime. just shoot me an email.

Brian, come on up to Milw and we'll see what we can do. :P I'll hopefully have around 8 of them coming with me to ABANNA this summer, so you can drool over them there. Rodger- my email is aaron cergol *at* hotmail *dot* com (no spaces) I'm looking forward to seeing it how it turned out. Perhaps I'll have to copy you and make one of there into a sheet metal one. Vaughn-shoot me an email and we'll talk. as mentioned I have some coming over the pond soon enough, and you'd be surprised how cheap shipping can be. Otherwise, I'm going to be at all sorts of events this summer, and if you or one of your friends will be at any of them, I can have it transported to you that way. Harold-I've felt that same feeling more than once. Frustrating at times, but it only means something better is bound to come along Aaron

Haha, you'd think. Nah, I appreciate them as a functional tool(and sometimes art), as a testament to the tradespeople who forged them, and a collectible item. all the stuff that I bought down there has since been repaired and sold off to people I have taught and who wanted a basic smithing startup kit. I buy dime a dozen anvils for that reason, and don't make much at all selling them-I'd prefer to not make money and have the craft thrive more. The European ones are a different story,I too collect anvils, and use them, and have paid top dollar for European ones in the past. They are a great investment, not only as a tool, but as a collectible item. However, do not expect them to come cheap. George-if ever you're in the Milwaukee area swing on by and we'll make them sing. I'd love to chat with you again. Aaron

Hi all, thought I'd post this as I don't see too many European anvils creeping around here too often. Here are a couple of the ones I currently have. These two I suspect I shall have for some time, as they are both work horses. I have a few others that are at another location that I did not yet take pics of. They are mostly German ones there, a few pretty decorated ones, and some nicer stake anvils. all of my anvils are forged. The double horned German one with upsetting block weighs in at 431# and is my main shop anvil. It is a joy to work on, for one, it's 431# which means a lot more energy goes into the work per each blow. Th Germans really knew what they were doing-it has a top tool steel plate from horn to horn-not just the face. this means that forging on the horn actually has a good rebound as well. The upsetting block makes everything even more stable and does exactly what it was intended to do. The German one with Church windows and stepped feet, by our best guess is from around the 1890's. It weighs in at 389# and has a cast stand that is an additional 150#. I just picked it up this past Wed from part of a trade, and I have to say it is a real treat to work on. I cannot describe the rebound, except to say that when forging, it "whips" the hammer back at you and allows you to exert less effort than you normally would have to. the angled table allows you to draw over the edge very quickly with minimal cleanup afterwords. It too has a plate from horn to heel, and the edges are very crisp. looking closely, you can see the scarfs where the steps and the nose of the windows was forge welded on. Time permitting I'll go to storage and snap pics of what I have there. I have a few similar ones, and an almost matching one of the German with CW's only it is hornless, but roughly the same weight. attached is a pic. Lastly, I am importing 8-12 anvils this year from Austria. I will be keeping several as well as get some people here stateside hooked up with these wonderful tools. it'll be about a 50/50 mix of anvils that are real work horses, and anvils that are strictly pretty ones to collect. the last pic is a sneak peak of a few I'll be bringing over. The bottom one is a 550# Austrian with stepped feet that is dated 1887. the one on top to the left is a Polish one- 88# dated 1826 with beautiful punched and chiseled ornamentation. the other one on top to the right is a 154# Austrian with church windows and stepped feet. emeral anvils2.bmp Let me know what you think, and let's see some of your European anvils too. Aaron

I got a call from a friend the other day. He says his brother just moved into a new house, and the shed/garage he thinks used to be a blacksmith shop. long story short, he says there was an old hand crank blower in there. I go to pick it up, and it's a *mint* condition champion 400 blower. quite possibly the smoothest and quietest blower I've ever used. Oh and did I mention free? It was a very surprising, but welcomed gift.

Well its all a matter of what youre willing to pay. I love camelback drill presses, and I though I was getting a deal on one for $150. after 4 plus months of taking apart spraying in penetrating oil and just general futzing I no longer think it was a deal. I originally thought mine had auto down feed...which after more research is missing many of the parts. So what did I do I bought another two full sized ones and a little baby camelback press. All this said I would not pay more than $75 for all that rust. When I find one (working) with all the parts for back gearing and auto feed Id give up to $300 for it and still expect to do a bit of work to it. I need to find a home for 3 other camelbacks first... Aaron

I've moved far worse than that by myself. Just remember the 6 simple machines. If you think smart, you'll save yourself a lot of trouble in the long run. The other day I was given a mint condition Delta Rockwell surface grinder. After some research, it weighs in at about 700lbs. Me and one other person were able to get it into my truck alone. No engine hoist or the like. just a 2X12X8 ramp I always keep in my truck-used it as a fulcrum, and gently tipped it on it's side. I've loaded and unloaded 300+ pound anvils this way too. use the ramp and just wiggle or walk it up or down the ramp. In your case I would just back your truck up to the stand, put a ramp going from truck to stand and walk it into the stand and call it a day. Aaron

a few month ago found a lot of tongs on CL. Emailed them and they sent me pics of what was around 40 pairs. Talked them down to $350 and drove down. I get there and what I got was 65 pairs of tongs total-some of them very big for power hammer work. Also a few top tools. As I was loading I saw two swage blocks painted in dust. I ask if they were willing to sell them-they said sure and ask what I was willing to give. I said I'd give $50 a piece. they are a good 150lbs each and have dishes as well as holes. Then I scored a free almost new Delta Rockwell surface grinder. This is a fun tool. Quad State- -a treadle hammer for $400. he threw in a shovel swage too. this is a very beefy treadle hammer. -an old Sweeny and Blockside flypress (#5 or 6) in beautiful shape -a 150 pound Colonial anvil with fifth foot-no pritchel or hardy hole -a 431 pound South German style anvil with two horns and upsetting block -lots of hand hammers and a few tongs -7 sets of spring fullers for a treadle hammer all for $35 total -a very strange anvil. it's a goofy little doorstop that actually has a tremendous rebound. I will have to snap some pics and see if anyone knows more. Quad state was a blast this year. Sold everything I went down with and came back up with 1,800 lbs of tools. Aaron

oooh yes, I shall be there. Had too much fun last year not to come. This year, I'm coming down with my truck already overloaded, so I have to sell my stuff so I can go home with more. Als bringing a bit more funds to play with this year. I'm going to the MN event this weekend, then three days later to QS. Looking forward to chatting with you again Thomas. btw-we figured out a savy way to flatter on angles using the flypress-I'll show you da plans next week there. See you all there, Aaron

Hi all, I have a friend who works for a very large machinery operation here in WI. I told him to keep an eye out for scraps-big scraps, like 2.5" plate in a big square. Well, he gives me a call the other day to come out to the factory as he'd found a piece that he thought might work for me. I got there and he rigs up a big electromagnetic crane, and picks up a block of steel- 3.5" thick by 27" tall, by 12" across. Did I mention this was free? If I did my math right, it should weigh about 320ish pounds. I believe it's just plain mild steel. So I'm looking at one of two options... first, make it into a Brazeal style anvil. It's 27" tall, which is at good striking height already-just weld on some angled legs, and grind/cut the top. possibly have an additional hardy hole. the other alternative is, to make a big swage bench out of it. Have different shaped/sized holes cut into-much like a swage, as well as a couple of dishes. have it at a good striking height, but not too low, so I can use a portion of it as a stake plate as well. It would be awfully heavy, but I might as well have grooves cut in the sides as well to make it a true swage block if I go this route. My instinct tells me to make it into the latter option as it will be of more use to me for this particular piece, and try to get another (smaller) one to make into the Brazeal anvil. That being said, how would I go about having this cut? I'm thinking waterjet, but possibly flame cut if it is precise enough. I also thought about having a couple/few dishes on it to work metal into-how would one go about doing this? I'm not crazy enough (yet) to try forging them in, but could they be cut in using a milling machine or the like? .or is this just a big waste of time, and should I bring this hunk of scrap to Quad State and give it away? Aaron

Well got them pulled with no major complications. I'll be on meds for a couple days though. oh well. Why don't you make one? or have yours welded back up...you said you don't use it often-at least for heavy work like we were doing, so after you grind the edges you should fine with it for a little while. If John and I had it, it probably wouldn't last a month more. I've got a couple spares-smaller 2" ones that might be better suited to small work. next time I see you I'll show you the couple spares I have. I have two working ones that you saw and a few in reserves as John and I will go through them.

Yes, I love my stand that Mr.Lyle made for me. I welded on two tool racks, and will soon be cutting out one side for the sole purpose of doing longer bends. I agree-do as much forging and refining by hand as you can as it's less work in the long run and saves you (top) tools. I'll say though, whatever that bick was made from was awfully tough stuff. Did not move too easily. and yeah, the edges on that flatter were pretty scary-it probably does not have too much life left unless you build it up with weld or the like. the bick we were making started out as a very rough hardy that I found in the scrap pile. It was only about 5" long not including the shank. We ended up drawing it out to around 10" and then I bent it at near 90. I'll have to appologize for the mess in my shop-still in the process of getting situated, but too busy with work to do what needs doing. We've been in the process of doing some tear downs, renovations, and even restoring a few bigger tools littering the floor. All part of the game I suppose. After everyone left, John and I made a flatter. started out with 2" round and upset it on the anvil, then in a swage block till it was about 4" in diameter. next time we forge we'll clean up the lines a little. We actually broke the swage block. This was a very old swage block that I knew was cracked-it was being held together with a large forged U bolt. We've used it many times before, but not that particular hole. Well looking at the block now, we saw the one major crack, but more than a few smaller almost hairline cracks. We still have 4-5 useable pieces/shapes, but have lost the good mass we need. Live and learn I guess; I'll be picking up a larger swage block and matching top tools from a friend in Iowa in two weeks. since we're on the topics of flatters, how would you go about hardening one, if at all? I generally do not harden my top tools, but I think it may be wise to harden this, however I'd have to draw the temper back from the struck end. So heat the face to cherry, quench in a shallow amount of water, and let it temper with the remaining heat, then quench the whole thing in oil once the face is barely straw? Well I'm hoping to be forging tomorrow, but I'm getting all four wisdom teeth pulled at 6am, so we'll see how I'm feeling. Aaron