Aaron J. Cergol

Very cool! I love the "english bellows". I see a lot of them, but I don't often see people reproducing them, kudos! also, nice decorative touches on the forge stand. does the book go into any detail on the bellows? Thanks, Aaron

there was a HUGE cast iron ironworker this year at Quad State. I cannot recall the brand, but it had straight shears, notches for bar stock, and a spot for angle iron. he was asking $400 and I would have bought it too had I not spent more than every penny there already and was worried about the capacity of my truck... it was a pretty sweet looking tool, and no doubt still very functional. Aaron

Hi all, I'm looking for any suggestions on how to twist longer stock pieces uniformly. I can twist 1/2" and slightly larger cold, but I'm looking to twist a 8-10' section of 1"-1 1/2" thick square for a railing. I obviously cannot heat this much op in a forge, so how is it done? I have seen motorized twisting apparatuses but I do not have the time, or the means to make one now. Now, I recall visiting a blacksmith years ago when I was just a wee lad, and he had me twist some very large square stock COLD, simply by continuously turning a small crank. he also hooked this up to a basic cordless drill too...anyone have ideas or plans for one of these? I recall it was about 4 or more turns to get one 360 degree twist of the bar. I am not a fan of motorized twisters as I liked the control of a hand one, so this may be the route to go. Thanks, Aaron

Well, got the anvil today. boy oh boy is it ugly, and I don't just mean the sandblasting/sanding. it's totally off kilter, like it warped in the quench, and is a wee bit wobbly, but the face is xxxx flat. the forging itself is pretty rough overall, especially under the horn, but the construction technique is very visible due to the sandblasting...at any rate, I love it. it's little pieces of history like this that make using and collecting these old tools fun. I personally love the fact that the whole body is warped, as I've never seen one quite like it before. the rebound is fantastic, and it has a very pleasant sound to it. I'm looking forward to doing light forging on it for reenactments but am going to try to avoid heavy work on the horn due to the cracking. I may end up just finishing up the sides as you guys suggested, and put a coat of wax on the top and use it s a study piece so I won't have to risk anything cracking more. all in all, I'm happy with my purchase.

Fantastic Kevin! I'm in the process of this too, but I'm still in the planning stages and drawing up the CAD version for the burn table. What style will the other one be? I'll be going for a French Side horned church window anvil with stepped feet. I will be following this very closely as I think it's a very worth while project. how are you going to be welding on the face and church windows? forge welding, or with modern welding equipment? What about the hardy hole? Broach it hot, or machine it out? Also, what sort of hardy are you going with, or rather where will it be placed? I'm sure you know this, but simply where you put the hardy hole can affect the date on a piece, as well as sometime location of origin. some of the earlier hornless anvils have their hardy holes on the side and exit through the side as well. I'm sure you've checked out all you can over on anvilfire.com too...Also, check out ended ebay auctions, as well as eBay.it, eBay.de and eBay.fr for inspiration. the latter eBay at any given time will have some pretty rare types. Best of luck to you! I'm really looking forward to more progress Kevin. Aaron

cool thanks for the help guys. I'll try a copper roofing place. I work at hardware store/lumber yard and we sell *some* copper roofing supplies, but mostly sit on it. that being said, I bought a sheet of 20oz copper a 4'X8' for just over $70 bucks-this year. I paid 10% over cost (my discount) from when we bought it a few years ago. still have a whole lot of it too. bossman said he'd put a few sheets aside for me until I an pay them off. Aaron

Rob, yes two different things. I was thinking the 14 gauge for the pots/pans and things in contact with heat and the 3/16" for the other items. sorry, I wasn't too clear in my post above-now edited.) will the 14 gauge be too thin for stove use? (i.e will warping be an issue?)

Hi all, for some holiday gifts this year, I'm looking to make some quality copper cookware. pots, pans, spoons, egg mixing bowls... so a few questions before I begin. first off, what is a good thickness? I'm thinking like 14 gauge for items in contact with heat (I know copper does not come in gauges though)and maybe like 3/16" for the other items, or will this be too thin? I know I'll have to anneal it a lot, and I might get lazy and work it hot (hot copper=working with butter...sooo nice.) most of these vessels will be raised, but some will be soldered as well. Also, for the plain bowls and egg mixing bowl I will not finish the inside, but for pots and such, what do I finish the insides with? I know I need to heat it up and "line" them with Tin or the like, but I'm looking for a specific name here. also sources on where to buy said material would be fantastic. Also anyone have a (cheap) source for copper? I know that cheap and copper do not go together, so I should ask for a *cheaper* source. Thanks, Aaron

Well I checked it out yesterday. the thing is a monster, much bigger than I had imagined it. Everything works smoothly and tight. But, I decided to pass after a lot of thinking. I thought, I might as well ave up another X hundred dollars and get something that I can really use. the whole speed issue really hit home with me when I actually got to test it out. he says he's taking it off CL and will still be available to me in a few months if I want it, otherwise he's keeping it. Thank you all for the input and help. This next Thursday I'm going to Bob Bergmans' shop to see his setup and try out some fly presses there and get his input. Aaron

you can see a bridge anvil in this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D6-w1g3_30 from about 1:00 onward you can see it.

they really are quite ugly sandblasted, especially the smaller (William Foster) one. I feel sorry for the poor guy who bought that...wait, that was me. I'm fairly certain it's a W.F. Pre 1830's, and I'm guessing quite a bit earlier due to the very very faint "church windows". I don't think I overpaid for such a piece of history, but I'm really upset by the fact that it is sandblasted/sanded. What would you guys date this to? I say it's a W.F. for a couple reasons, stylistically it's spot on, and the markings are identical to a 108 pounder I already have. how will I go about making this less xxxx looking without compromising the historical integrity anymore? I'm thinking of just painting the sides, and then hand sanding the top and horn...? Thanks, Aaron

I figure, it's at least worth my time to check out. If it's all in good working order, I'll offer him a bit less, or a trade. I figure I can still use this, and as you said southshore, it'll be a good teaching tool and help me figure out what I eventually want in an actual fly press. plus, I've been looking for a while, and this is the only thing that comes close to my budget, and size, so what have I to lose? What sorts of things should I be checking over when I view this press? obviously that everything turns freely and that everything else is tight, but should I bring along any metal (non ferrous) to test out? I don't really know what to look for while viewing/testing, so any advice is appreciated. wait! I could bring my forge and... if only it were that easy. Thanks for all the great help guys! Aaron

so there is a difference between a screw press and a fly press then? I'm new to this, but what difference does the speed make? or does it affect the momentum thus equaling the force exerted on the piece? it's $300 and within a 15 minute drive. I've been looking for a press for a while, so I think it's a decent deal. do you think it's worth the $300?

Hi all, a friend pointed me to this fly press he saw an ad for in my area. All we know is that it's 6' tall, weighs a good 700 pounds...and that's about it. I'm going to check it out this week. at any rate, if this is a good press, the price is certainly right, and I'm going to buy it. here's a pic from the ad. what are your thoughts on this press? is it a known brand, or does it look to be of good quality? what sort of things should I be looking for, and checking over when I check it out? if it helps, I'll be using it for heavier gauged repousse, slitting, drifting, riveting, and tasks like that. (mostly hot) Thanks!

Hi all, I unfortunately had to just move my shop and put most of it in storage this past week. what an absolutely horrible ordeal-moving, and being a little depressed about having no shop for a few months. On the plus side, now that there is no shop rent to pay, I'll have some spare spending cash and my eyes are looking toward Europe and the vast collection of anvils over there. Why Europe you ask? Well I have narrowed in my anvil search and am looking for something a bit more rare (at least in the states) that your average dime a dozen London pattern anvil. I've got my eyes on several Northern German styled anvils, one southern one, a few French ones, and several German/Austrian hybrids. They are pretty plentiful on the other side of the pond, so that's where I have to look. So, I'm looking on the Ebay world over there, and find lots of stuff I'm interested in. For those of you who have done this, would you care to share your experiences? I'm going to buy a few mall stakes and hammers first, just to get the hang of it, but I really would like to have several anvils shipped over here. Any insights would help me immensely. My thought is: 1.find anvil and win it on ebay 2.talk to a contact I've made in that country to arrange pickup. 3.have them ship it over or shipped to a friend stationed over there and possibly get cheaper shipping...? the language barrier is a bit of a dead end for me, but I have a friend fluent in French and German, so it's not all bad. Thanks, Aaron

that one with the broken heel looks to be a mousehole. a xxxx good price at that. I just contacted the seller and left a message to see if they are willing to ship. This would be ideal for a good friend who I got hooked on smithing. He's looking for an anvil, and would kill for my MH anvil, but has no money. I'd buy this for him in a heartbeat at this price. Aaron

yes, the title did need all caps. it really describes how excited I am about this one. So, I finally made it out to Quad State for the first time. What a blast! I met a ton of great people, and spent too much money-if that's even possible. I really did end up with a lot of great stuff. anyways, my highlight purchase there: a hornless German anvil, weighting around 300#. it's dated to around 1850 or before, and features a large side table, and church windows, as well as stepped feet as seen on Austrian anvils. more pictures oncoming.

you certainty would not need a telephone pole. I would think that a good quality 6X6 or even a 4X4 would suffice depending on hammer head weight. make something where you can change dies out though to make it more versatile. oh and as fr as the water wheel is concerned, the several that I saw over there were geared down so much, that you could probably lift the hammer by peeing on the wheel. I'm seriously not exaggerating. it was incredible the small trickle that moves such a huge hammer. I think making one of these would be something very worth while to do. let me know if you need some help.

I'll be going, and this is my first year there, so I'm pretty psyched! I'd love to meet up with some of you. is there anything I should know before I go? Lastly, I know it's an open tailgate selling/swap meet, for blacksmithing tools, would it be appropriate to bring my 1903 barnes metal lathe? (6' bed by 14" swing) as I'm looking to sell or swap it... Thanks, Aaron

Hi all, I'm wondering what would be a (somewhat simple) way to reduce the RPM on a motor. the motor is a 1/2hp or 3/4hp, and I need to bring it down to around 500 RPM for a piece of machinery I have. If I could do this internally with the motor, great, but I'm thinking I'll need to make some sort of large flywheel and reduce it from there with a ratio orientated approach. Thanks, Aaron

Couple weekends ago I was at a steam engine show and a gentleman and I started talking. he says he has a post drill for sale. I follow him to his place to go ad check it out. as we're digging through his garage to find it, I see an old honda motorcyle, and I mentioned "nice bike" to him. he says "ya want it? $100 and it's yours". well of course I could not turn the offer down, so now for only $100 I got myself a 1984 Honda, 650 CC and 4 cyl engine. he gave the (xxxx near brand new) post drill in awesome condition with the bike, as well as large rolling metal tool cabinet from the 40's. it was used for some sort of testing as there is all sorts of cool gauges and dials in it. I'm turning it into my rolling welding cart. The bike will need a bit of work, but overall is in very good condition. fun winter project. I also picked up a mousehole forge anvil 219# and a nice size swage block (16X16X3) . got the anvil for $250 and the swage for only $150 as is there is a hairline crack running through it. I'm really excited to finally have a swage block. Aaron

WOAH WOAH WOAH! you have a water wheel and you have not harnessed it's power? yes the treadle hammer is all good and dandy and does what it needs to do but there isn't a whole heck of a lot of evidence for them. that being said, you could easily modify it into a maglio! this is just some of the footage I shot in Italy last year. This Maglio has been in use since the 12th century producing buckets. the maglio (hammer) itself is water driven and is has variable speeds. the air flow for he forge (not the propane one) is water powered. they had water powered shears, and water powered maglietti (planishing hammers). constructing one is deceivingly simple. if you get the gears/ratios down pat you could easily do a 100 lb head... it's just a helve hammer on steroids. shoot me an email if you want more info on them and I can send you tons of pics drawings and a description of how it all works as well as more vids if I can dig them up. Kudos for making it all more period and I very much like your simple but effective design. Aaron

oh for sure! my thank you list of things to make is almost as long as my commission list. a little thank you goes a long way though. yes, I'm planning on buying or making an I beam trolley for it, and welding onto the existing beams to make a Beam that goes right over my forge...anvil making anyone?

I was just given a 1HP motor for my lathe from an old timer at work. I had told him about my lathe, and he said that he'd have something to help me along with it the following week. I was also talking with a gentleman at work about how I need to invest in a small shop crane. He tells me where he works, there is an old chain hoist crane that has been sitting and rusting for the past 50 years. he says he'll bring it by in a few days. Well, he comes back no less than one hour later, and gives me the thing. it is rusty, but just surface rust. it's easily from the 40's-an old Wright 1/2 ton chain hoist. we took it apart, it still was oiled and lubed up, and runs cleanly. just an awesome design, and does the job perfectly and simply. Yet again from my work-I was talking to a contractor, and he mentioned that while he was doing a demolition job nearby, he said he found a very large coffee tin filled with hand forged nails, he said he'd stop by in a few and give them to me. What can I say, I love my work. Aaron

I was planning on having a neighbor, who happens to be a fire fighter come in and give advice, but is a fire inspector really needed? the reason I ask, is then I would probably have to get everything up to code, and that's probably a lot more than I am able to spend on getting this all functional.... but I know tis best to do things the right way first and save yourself the hassle or catastrophe later. Aaron