Ridgewayforge

Isn't this how Vise-grips were made?  A blacksmith trying to make better tongs! No reason someone shouldn't- 

For straight stock, what if you took a bit of tubing, and riveting inside of it a bar, leaving a bit of tube out one end. Then, you drilled and tapped for a set screw, like a socket wrench, except with clamping power. 

If that makes any sense, then hopefully you can visualize what I'm trying to say! 

No reason you can't use the horn for light bending until it breaks. Give it a try! Worst you have now is a slightly less usable tool.

Are those table legs braided? I can't quite tell from the pic. I love it- it looks fantastic, and seems to fit really well with the decor! 

The way that I forge spoons in to do a short faggot weld on the end of a round bar, either once or twice, to avoid necking down. Then you can keep say a 3/8" round bar as the handle, and have a decent sized spoon. 

I figure I keep it vague enough to work; I dabble in blacksmithing, I have it as a hobby, I like to blacksmith- 

Only when I'm trying to impress someone do I pull out, "I'm a Blacksmith". More often, I do some blacksmithing... 

And then the questions come..... Do you make swords? 

*Sigh*

Is that why they're called kids? 

I think that's the key, omegabrock. I'm not advocating not asking advice or following it, but sometimes I wonder if we build the box, then ask someone to help us to get out of it. Perhaps its just my background in philosophy, but I really think that when we have something, an idea, a piece of steel, a problem, a snag in the next step, that it can be helpful to place it in a new light- Maybe you can't figure out what to do with the piece of scrap because you haven't turned it upside down to see what it looks like it wants to be from there. 

Imagination is a powerful tool, and its effective use is what makes someone truly great.

I've noticed a lot that people are always posting things like "What can I make with _____", be it RR spikes, lawnmower blades, Rebar, old tools, etc. 

We all want a step by step on how to be great; I think its in all of us to have a little fear of the unknown. But isn't that the simple joy of blacksmithing? We take something, and with each hammer blow the unknown becomes a little more known. What was a 3lb hammer blank can turn into a hammer if we want, or into a lampstand, or you can take it, draw it out, and make dozens of S hooks with it. When we take the steel and heat it, then we start looking at the unknown and making it known. 

So, its hard; on the one hand it is good to get advice; that's why forums are such great powerhouses of knowledge- many like minded people coming together to get different perspectives on things. So its natural to take a piece of steel, usually one that is scrounged, and ask "What can I make with this"? Be it a crow bar, old hammer, shovel, large flat bar, or the like. 

Well, that's a good question. what can you make with it? Its a better question than 'what can I make with it?' 

Sure, advice is good- but what if you tried to make something out of it? What if you took that leap into the unknown and try to make something  out of the railroad spike, or the large piece of rebar- Like its always said, strike while the iron is hot. 

Just a little thought-

I love it! The funky candle is actually a really whimsical feature- Great work! 

That's some ingenuity, for sure! Doesn't look like it even moves an inch! 

On 11/7/2016 at 3:02 AM, VaughnT said:

Track anvils will work half-way decent if your turn them up on end so you're hammering on the cross-sectional face.  Laid flat like normal and they're almost useless and you'd be far better served with a solid chunk of steel.  

I must respectfully disagree- I used to work up to 3/4" on a railroad rail flat like normal, and although it certainly wasn't the most efficient way to forge, but I made a fair bit of money working on that anvil- lasted me several years, and I made dozens of items with it. 

When I upgraded to my 75lb english london pattern, I did see the difference- It was much easier to forge on that anvil than on the railroad track, but the RRtrack worked. 

That being said, its always worth it to have some extra big steel- if nothing else, cut it up and use it for tools! 

25 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

 

I like McRaven's method; but then I am friends with several folks in the local VFD

I don't think it would be too hard to convince the VFD anyways- ask them, buy a few pizza's and watch the show- Its a good spectacle! Maybe have a school day demonstration with it! 

FISHER anvils are not forged anvils. They are American made cast iron/steel top plate anvils. What you have looks like an old engish wrought anvil- plenty good, if you don't grind the face off! 

The anvil's face is like the modern automobile's computer chip- the whole thing doesn't work unless the chip is in good condition, but its small- like the face of the anvil, and grinding it can take 100+ years off a usable anvil. 

Yours looks good, though- its a nice anvil

2 hours ago, loneronin said:

...you could also rotate the picture

I think he means from different camera angles, in order to see the anvil more fully, making sure some aspects aren't just a trick of the light. 

I'd like to see more of it too- How are the welds? Are they full penetration? Did you harden and temper after welding? How's rebound? 

2 hours ago, jefe said:

Do you know of a way to tell if it is cast vs die forged? Thanks.

I would contact Joe van der Steeg, He's a user on here, under the name of TechnicusJoe- He's a big proponant of PFP anvils, and knows far more than myself on them. He's here and on youtube, and if you look in the "anvil reviews by brand" section, he's written a lot about peddinghaus and PFP anvils. 

Could be die forged, but I am not sure that really squares with the way this anvil looks. That being said, if its good and hard and has rebound, no reason not to use it, its just helpful to keep it separate from true PFP's. 

Then again, what do i know? I've only ever owned one london pattern made by some unknown english maker! ymmv

I forge even into the single digits; granted, I am not out there for too long, and often build a campfire on the ground nearby to keep the ambient temp warmer. I forge outside, too. What's your situation? Do you have a shed or shelter? What is the minimum that YOU are willing to work with? 

Its a Champion 400 blower, a very good blower if you can fix it up. I use it, and it puts out a lot of air! 

3 hours ago, John McPherson said:

Older thread from 2012. PFP stands for Paul Ferdinand Peddinghaus, the company founder. 

http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/27462-old-new-pfp-peddinghaus-anvil/

 

PFP anvils never were, to my knowledge, cast. This anvil looks definately cast- the raised PFP and the ridge under the heel. The hardy hole isn't square all the way through, and the step/horn transition isn't good. 

That being said, though this is an imitation of a PFP anvil, it might be a good anvil. Just so long as you don't associate the name PFP with the quality of this anvil, since they're two different birds. 

22 hours ago, natenaaron said:

As noted in another thread I have not had business phone service in over two weeks now.  I've been fighting with the computer voice at AT&T with no luck, bought a VOIP phone and service that has a problem "they have never dealt with before" told to get a router and the router is not working because the internet is "unstable" but the internet provider says the internet is fine.  I just got off the phone with the internet company right after the router company.  she drove up to tell me something, I took it as a gripe and blew up. 

Part one of the apology was by text because she refused to answer her phone or tell me where she was so I could go to her.

Off to get part 2 now and take my much deserved lashings  .

Your willingness to appologize says a lot about your character; take that to heart- Not everyone is as brave as you are. Sometimes these things can form stronger bonds, although its not an easy or fast process. While its never good to have fights or things like this, major props to you for owning up to it and seeking reconciliation with her! 

12 hours ago, Farmall said:

  Fellow wants $390 for it.   Two things - that seems a little high, 

 

 

In Western MD (where I previously lived), those prices are a bit fair, depending on where you found it. Hancock and western, to about morgantown wv are pretty scarce on anvils. Towards Frederick, lancaster and York PA they are a bit more plentiful. 

On 10/10/2016 at 10:09 PM, ThomasPowers said:

Yes; it will be about the same amount of effort and cost as using 5160 from a leaf spring and won't work nearly as well but it could be done.

If it will be a top set chisel type you will need to be careful about bradding the end in a hole you are cutting.,

I used a railroad spike before I even knew what I was really doing. It needed sharpening at the beginning of each forging session, but on the upside, it made a great small fuller by the end of each session. 

Bottom line: There is a big difference between something 'working' and something working well. So, railroad spike (which is low carbon, doesn't harden) is workable, but its really a make-do sort of thing. Much better to have something that just plain works, and works well. 

On the left was the spike, and on the right is a 80 point carbon steel hardie that I made. The difference between the two is astounding. So, if you do it well the first time, no need to redo it! 

Ah! I mistook which plane the arch was in- I thought it was tail to horn; now I see that the arch is perpendicular to the face. 

That seems like a nifty anvil to have. I'd love to get me hands on one of them! 

52 minutes ago, Zeroclick said:

Well to begin with I am looking to learn basic techniques, so tongs, chisels,candlesticks, door hinges etc.

Just smaller pieces that expose me to a few different techniques, once I get to grips with them I hope to get a bigger anvil to work on.

I am hoping to put a hardie hole into my first one so I can build some tools for curves, so a horn isn't essential at this point.

That makes me happy; You want to learn blacksmithing first, not bladesmithing (nothing wrong with bladesmiths, but this makes me think of my own beginning! Tools and hardware, as I say!) 

The curves can be done: 

1) over the edge of the anvil without a cone or horn- its really easy to do, and once you start hitting hot iron, you will see how it forms an "anvil" on itself- I.e., each time you hit it unsupported, it curves a certain amount, making nice gracile curves, once you have the hang of it. 

or, 2) with vice-mounted bending forks and forms. This removed the need for a hardy hole, as even a machinist vice (cast iron) can withstand bending motions, to a degree (don't go overboard, though.) if you're using mostly smaller stock, then there is no reason a light duty vise can be used for twisting, bending and curving. It makes a good non-impact tool holder. 

8 hours ago, Everything Mac said:

A direct translation of Eselsrücken means something rather rude according to google translate but I wouldn't be surprised if that were wrong. 

 

Everything Mac, think like a donkey, not the other!

6 hours ago, Tungsten said:

The upsetting block is a nice feature of this anvil, but the 'Eselsrucken' is a german word for arch.

I did some research, and nothing I could find would indicate that this anvil has anything to do with an arch. The word doesn't translate into arch in english, as far as I can tell. The Arch you can see on the anvil looks to me to be ordinary swale on an anvil. I've never heard of an arch anvil. 

That being said, I'm ready and willing to be proven wrong, both on the German translation, as well as the terminology for this style of anvil. 

Regaards, 

Ridgewayforge

It has a different ratcheting system than I've ever seen on a pump forge before, so that makes it 'rare'. However, rare in terms of the many many forges available? no. 

As to the history, probably made small farm repairs for a farm blacksmith, hence the crack- or the cracking forge table could be due to time, so perhaps its seen some time outside unused.