jeffro1205

what Phil said is right. that will be a good work surface. it may also help you with hammer control being that you have a small work area. not sure about the bucket of concrete, i have never used that as a base but wood is always good. good luck please post again and let us know how it turns out

For a newbie like me this weekend was a great experience. I got to meet a lot of people that have been doing this since long before i was born. The demo's were great. Steve made tongs and dies both days and made it look so easy. The other demo was coppersmithing and that was amazing. Lots of tailgate deals, and i picked up a few things i needed cheep. The best thing that i got out of this weekend was just meeting people and talking to them. Some hobbies you get into people will not tell you anything, not here all you have to do is be interested, ask a question and get ready because everyone is very open about things. All and all this weekend makes me want to get into blacksmithing more. Good people and good times Till next time Thanks for your time Jeff

thanks for all the replys, i will post some pics asap.

just got a post vise from ebay... seller said that it was purchased in the 1880's . the vise seems to be in good shape but has alot of surface rust any reason why i should not cleanup and paint this vise?