FordPrefect

I did some metal spinning in high school, used aluminium to make a water cup...it seem fairly simple to thanks to Mr. Steve Vandervest who made metal spinning easy and fun.

That price is a steal, but you could still buy it, and then wait for some real steel to come along...

Is there a picture of the bottom of the stand?

I only knew of Grant Sarver by reading his posts. From what I read he freely and willingly shared his knowledge as well as his humor with all of us, thank you Grant. It is always sad when a man of Grant's stature passes away, my prayers go out to his family and friends.

I love this sculpture...

Love the anvil in the above drawing, this is from a fantasy book author Terry Pratchett.

The stuff we got is 1" to 1 1/2" and few bags of that larger size coal, it works just fine, I use a screen to remove ash and clinkers. The fire is good enough to do most work. I also picked up a gas forge so got all the basis covered.

Drewed, where are you dude?

FDL has "anthracite(green) coal.anthracite= hard coal that comes from pennsylvania, which as low sulfur, low smoke, low dust, and low amounts of ash rated 13,000 btu 1 1/2" clear for wood burners or coal burners or forge" The stuff I get from Centuar ( and its 27$ a bag, not whatever I said before...) specs at: Moisture: 6.0% Ash: 8.0% Sulfur: .1.5% BTU per lbs: 13,000 Volatile Content 25% Size 1 1/4 x 3/8 So Same BTU, and little bigger in size but... 9 Bucks a bag?!? Oh heck yeah I'm heading to FDL!!! Do they have a location that is staffed during the week, or is it buy appointment only?

Drewed,

Just give them a call, there is someone there all the time. I am not sure what the ash content is but for a beginner just getting into blacksmithing this will keep the cost down.

what about ash and sulfur levels. > that sounds like low BTU's and at too cheap a price to me.,

Not sure ash levels, price is great for just starting out.

Steve the samples of Damascus pattern examples are awesome on your web site. I love them all, the ladder, serpentine, and welded cable is really nice. Thanks for the link Steve.

Drewed,

You have been overpaying, my other friend told me he gets his coal Burlington. I will PM Aaron Cergol for the fly press.

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/mat/2693092476.html

Bud Soil's and Grading LLC.

nut= 1 1/2" clear for wood burners or coal burners or forge
50 lb bags are $9 per bag.
$8.50 a bag on a pallet of 50 bags/1.25 tons = $425

stove= 1 1/2" to 3" clear for wood burners or forge
50 lb. bags $9.50 per bag
$9 a bag on a pallet of 50 = $450

rated 13,000 btu wood normally 5000 to 6000 btu

Only problem with centuar is that they are pretty expensive, but then again who isn't! Also, it is very hard to go there to "just pick up some coal," I tend to leave with a lot more than coal...

FP- Anvils are harder to find around here, I don't know why. Don't feel too bad about not getting the vulcan, they tend to be in bad shape, and I don't like them. Not sure why, must be a personal thing. How much you looking to spend? and how big of an anvil do you want? I know a guy in Milwaukess who has/ had a few, but he is a blacksmith, and knows what they are worth. But they are not JUNK, and he wont screw you over. Shoot a PM to Aaron Cergol. He has a fly press for sale as well... Or I can e-mail him if you want.

Drewed,

I get my coal in Fond Du Lac, great price, and found a forge there. I was thinking of getting a Centuar fire pot and make my own stand and the rest.

I don't feel bad anymore, it's just that if I tell someone I am selling something to them, then that is what I will do, it's a principle that I live by, my word counts for something.

I would like to pick up a 80lbs anvil and a 145-165lbs anvil, that should cover what I want to do, price is not an issue but not going to pay over $3 per pound, obviously I need to see and if I like it, then price is not an issue. A friend who is a welder picked up a Trenton 150lbs anvil for $35, I have a picture, what a lucky stiff. Looking for a clean drop forge anvil (Hay Budden, or Trenton), verse the cast iron, so Vulcan even a clean one, is not all that, it was not meant to be for me, lol.

Any help I get is appreciated, so if you know someone let him know I am looking for two anvils, but one would be great for starters, by the way I am doing the smithing in Big Bend, in your hood, I keep my honey bees there and plenty of room for me to do all the stuff I love to do.

I will have extra two post leg vises, I will pick the better of the three I own, the other two I will sell or trade for an anvil, two of the tree are in great shape, I will clean them up before I get rid of them. Thanks Drewed for all the information, maybe we can meet one day, and have a coffee, love Starbucks.

Hi Brian, and thanks for the welcome.

Drewed, having a real hard time finding a good anvil, my friend who lives in your neck of the woods (Big Bend) found a 70 lbs Vulcan, but one that is not is in such a great shape. I had to buy three post leg vises just to get one that is good, that is sad.

I got stuff to trade with now, but I am bummed that the guy sold the two anvil, just before i picked them up...oh well, patience is a virtue, especially when you have metal to pound on.

I thought in Waukesha they babble...lol, but yes we some of us from Milwaukee do refresh our self via the bubbler.

Oh we got a comedian, wow, from Waukesha, lol.

42:

I could have used your help and knowledge few months ago when I and my wifes brother in law Bill started in this path to blacksmithing, now I have three different post leg vise (Columbian 4 1/2" jaws complete, Indian Chief 3 3/4" jaws complete, and Iron City 4 1/4" jaws missing few parts), will be picking up a very clean Vulcan 70lbs Anvil this Sunday. Hammers and tongs I have.

Bill has two old forges, one post leg vise unknown manufacturer 4 1/4" jaws, 70lbs Vulcan vise, and soon will be adding 50lbs Vulcan.

Getting big items was a nightmare, especially anvil's and post leg vises...the collectors created an artificial demand and the prices are sky high, which discourages people from starting in this hobby, good thing I am stubborn and persistent.

Ebay, etsy, Craig's List are all good sources but sky is the limit and not knowing what to get and how much to pay for it was a learning curve, example for the post leg vises I paid $113.12 for the Iron City, $86.75 for the Indian Chief, and $90.00 for the Columbian. For the Vulcan Anvil I will dish out $200.00, which is $2.86 per pound.

Unfortunately I found this and may other good web sites, after I acquired few initial pieces of equipment, that would have helped me choose the equipment much more wisely and guide me as to their value.

So any help is appreciated.

Thank you all, I will be looking to find locals that are getting into forging iron, that is a bond that only few can hammer out.

Hi all, just starting out with blacksmithing...