Tom Allyn

Under closer inspection the 1/2" square drive ratchet appears to be an Indestro. The smaller 1/2 hex-socket ratchet is stamped Indestro.

Sweet!

Thanks, Curly. I'll test it. It's a piece of old mining rail out of Wyoming. The fellow who owned it said his grandpa had it made for him. Grandpa was a carpenter.

$10 anvil Picked this up today for a friend off of Craigslist. It's only 20 lbs. but he has nothing now. It's just 17" long. I'll help him clean it up and reinforce the web. May even attempt to harden the top. I've read Weyger's method. Anyone have anything to add to that?

Good point. Thanks, Thomas.

No lip makes it easier to work the coals and add coal.

Maybe you answered your own question. How 'bout a dutch oven with the interior lined and shaped with refractory? Kitchen-use dutch ovens oven have pour spouts and aren't fully round. But camp dutch ovens, the ones with the 3 legs under them, are round and come in a variety of sizes. Just a thought. They're readily available.

-20? Where you at? Fairbanks?

That seems just about right to me. You need some fire under the metal. You just need to pile more coal on top as Drewed mentioned. Then control the fire by limiting the air and/or using water. I do both. I use a little 1 gallon garden pump sprayer to keep the fire under control. Many smiths use a tin can dipper with holes in the bottom. Whatever works.

I put pick-points on mine so I could move it around with a hand truck that has large pneumatic wheels. Where those braces are across the bottoms of the sides of your forge is where I lift. I put a sturdy piece of angle iron in that location. Then I C-clamp the top rim of the forge to the top of the hand truck. I have no worry about the load shifting while I move it about the yard. And the hand truck can be used for so many other things instead having wheels dedicated to the forge. I use one just like this.

Isuzu used to sell a diesel light truck.

A specialty Christmas store is where I'd start. How 'bout this? http://www.colonialm...productid=23293 Or http://www.google.co...iw=1280&bih=827

Good idea to get your anvil at the proper height. Saves wear and tear on the body.

That's a great idea. I just assumed I'd find something to do with so many pieces of tool steel. I've got a few to practice on now.

Looks like a pretty decent 3 lb. crosspeen, Joaquin. Just needs a little polishing. How heavy is the wooden mallet? I use a heavy one to strike a hatchet for splitting kindling or notching timbers. The wooden mallet doesn't mar the hatchet.

Love the '66 Ford!

And as an added bonus it included a minty fresh Cochran 'Speednut' self-adjusting wrench. 99% of the original black paint is still on it including on the jaws. Jon Zimmer has one in poorer condition listed for $35. http://www.jonzimmer...ls/wrenlist.htm

Bucket o'wrenches Picked up for $30 off of Craigslist. The pair of 15" monkey wrenches show little signs of use other than rust. The 12"-ers need a little TLC. Also included a couple handfuls assorted cold chisels and star drills and more heavy drop forged wrenches than I care to count.

I got a squirrel cage blower from a residential HVAC company for free. I yanked it out of a scrap furnace he had replaced. It's a universal motor so you can slow it down and control it with a rheostat. It adjusts from barely blowing to nearly blasting the coal out of the pot. And I couldn't beat the price. Drawback is it's bulky but so is the forge.

When cleaning masonry we would dilute the muriatic acid down to about a 5% solution. Muriatic acid for the construction/masonry industry is typically bottled in a 20%-30% solution with 70%-80% water. When you rinse down the wall after washing you are further diluting the solution down many times. The result in the soil would be a fraction of a % solution. Not saying it's OK, just providing info.

Nice score, Aaron!

Congrats on your first fire, Pat. There's probably a local blacksmithing group you can get involved with to learn more. Going to a conference is good way to get some experience, too.

Sweet lookin' anvil!

Grant was the Library of Congress. That much smithing knowledge is rarer than hens teeth. It's a tragic loss for his family and the blacksmithing community. I was just thinking of him this afternoon while at the forge. The tuyere design he suggested for me was working well even with some so-so grade coal. I was grateful for his help. RIP, Grant.

Any local equipment rental outfit would rent you a forklift and trailer. But as others have suggested, finding a contractor who's short of work right now (there are plenty) might get you a better price.