MOblacksmith0530

Things to consider when forge welding; -Fire control in coal it needs to be a clean fire (no clinkers and ash to a minimum) and using indirect air blast (coal under the piece to burn up the oxygen before it gets to the work) and in gas a rich flame more gas than air fo rthe same reason. -don't be afraid of getting it hot. I always like to see a sparkle or two coming off the piece -Good scarf so that the scale and flux have a place to go -Piece cleaned of scale at a red heat before fluxing -bring it up to heat slowly to fast and the heat won't be deep enough -And the one that eats my lunch ost often, DONT hit it too hard. If you can get these under control you should be good. I knew all this before I was sucessful regularly and what turned the trick for me was what dablacksmith said. Find a local smith and go weld with him. I watched Walt Hull from our group do it and then talked with him about it and we went back to the forge and did it again. I can't figure out what I did different with him than before but now forge welding doesn't scare me at all. I forge weld leaf bunches and I quench them hot and throw them on the floor to test for a good weld and they have passed more than 99 percent of the time. The ones that fail I can usually call before I toss them on the floor. Practice after you have had sucess will make all the difference.

So the 1 to 2 hp will run the depew and the bigger motor the little giant?

Keep the better one for yourself. When I first read the title it camr to me "keep them both" but as it is a friend then let him have non PW don't get to attached to a name, a good working anvil is a good anvil regardless of the name or lack thereof

Okay here goes try #2 to post pics

Hey that might work out. I may even be coming back down past you from Minnesota later in the week. I will call you when I know more.

Man I wish I were closer it would save me from having to make one from scratch. I have to make two and keep putting it off. I have a good set of plans, but would love to finger one that had bad leather and I could get inside of. By the way are the flap valves in this one? If so could you get a picture of them and post it?

I finish in bees wax, and be careful to always tell the customer that I did. I also quickly describe how to repair the finish, vis a vis cast iron. I haven't had a lot of luck with any type of stainless not rusting some after forging. I think the forging process somehow kills part of the stainless properties. It doesn't rust as bad but it still rusts.

I keep a small amount for the winter for the traction but the larger amount goes to fill holes in the field behind the shop. It is inert after burning and is like any other ash. In my humble opinion.

Yes it will forge. It will try to collapse on you as you forge it in between the corners. An old pipe benders trick cap the piece off and fill it with sand via a pipe plug welded in teh end or whatever. The sand help to keep it from collapsing but go slow and it should work out fine. Oh and heat the whole thing in my opinion not just one side. If the rest is cool it will fight against you.

I just came back from the BAM conference last Sunday and I have the 25 lb Little giant in the bed still, I will probably unlload it when I get home Thursday or Friday and will get some pics of how I sling it. I have it laying down now due to height reasons in my shop so I will post them maybe Thursday or Friday if I don't forget. I use two straps and a chain to connect them to each other so it pics straight and I drive the truck under or out depending on which way I am going.

Master Curmudeon you are a smart xxx..... funny though...... I think you did well. I started with a 125 lb farriers anvil and still use it as my main demo anvil due to the weight and hardie tools I have made for it.

Handful? wow I am impressed if you can get that in your hand....... :D Seriously really nice anvil, you will love having that long surface to work on.

@ drewed Hmm I may have to update my prices. I say they start at 1500 and go up from there and take a minimum of 3 months. I haven't had a taker yet thankfully. I have made a few swords but only for myself to learn.

One of the wildest that comes to mind was a 5 inch stainless steel nail for a sword swallower couple he put it up his nose. Up to the head of the nail from what I was told. I was not inclined to watch that display. Another was a cast iron street lamp that had lain in teh myd for decades and rotted through. I told the lady I could fabricate a forged piece that would match the cast iron but that it would take almost a day and with a shop rate at 50.00 per hour she declined.

I will join the rest of the hardie hole herd. I have done it on a 7/8 inch hardie you just have to use a small ball peen hammer and go slow.

I am happy to see people repairing the old ones and keeping them in the world. I have repaired a few over the years and haven't had any issues except for one mouse hole that has a little dead spot under a repair, apparently I didn't get keep enough. I fuild a little firebrick chamber on the end of my welding bench where I preheat it and then post heat after welding and it has served well. The trick with something like that that has different metals in it is to do the heating.

Great looking anvil and the price is not bad I would say go for it.

Well it was great! For those of you who missed it Phil held court in power hammer row until 2 am Friday morning. There were great deomonstrations going during the day and a good time after hours in power hammer row. We had 3 Little Giants running 2 25's and a 50 that hit like thunder but was super controllable. The star of the show was the gas engine powered 25. There was combined had and power hammer forging and a cala(sp) lilly forged under the hammer by Phil. I think we are plannign on the same next year so come and play, oh yeah we had good food too with some stellar beans and grilled meat.

Good job on the cross. If you vary the overlap of the cuts you can get some interesting effects. Sometimes make a longer overlap but don't forge it down as much and it gives a different effect.

Ha, I used to stretch the heck out of holes with my drifts, then I learned better. Yes I assumed you were hammering the sides with the drift in the hole that is the way I would have done it, like I do with hammers. Anyway thanks for the great pics from before I was able to use them and I tested the set I made for the box and they worked well. I made them out of sucker rod and used it as forged without heat treating them. Judging by how tough the metal was to work it will be a good set. probably something like 4340.

Cast iron anvils will be more brittle because of the nature of Cast iron. having said that I had a friends 275 lb vulcan in my shop for about 4 years and it was heavily used mostly for sledge hammer striking and it held up beautifully. it had good edges and that sort of flat topped horn that they all had but it was a workhorse. So like was said before some are good some are bad. Take care and if you are lucky to get one that was right use it and enjoy it. Beware that they can be brittle and pay accordingly and all will be what it will be.

There is a lot of symbolism in art. Especially old European art. The didn't have TV, no Internet and no movie theaters. Art wasn't just fun to look at. It was almost always commissioned as artist couldn't afford to paint simply what they wanted. It was usually what they were told to paint. Consequently, painters and other artist became the editorialists of the day and their work often contained hidden as well as deliberately not so hidden messages. Perhaps this inverted anvil was a commentary about the times. Maybe the economy was particularly bad at the commission of this work. Since blacksmiths played such a large role in the community, could an up-side-down anvil represent this economic decline?? Or did I totally miss the boat in my college Art History class @ Dodge, see your ma was right education aint wasted time...... This was my thought since it is a painting I could not have put it anywhere near this clearly though.

We must keep in mind that mankind (womankind included) strive to improve in many ways. Sometimes that imiprovement is in one way and sometimes in another. Ancient and modern forging techniques and equipment have changed to reflect improvement afforded at the time of change for a specific benefit. If that benefit were not achieved that method would disappear. I think that Bogdon's method and tools are what he needs for the type of forging he is doing. Some would not be comfortable as their style and type of forging would differ. I think it is important that we try to save/relearn all the encient techniques and tools to keep all of the craft alive. :END PONTIFICATION>>>>

Here are some pics of my Champion setup

I had one that had a threaded bolt(square headed set screw) that held the chuck onto the spindle. I turned a piece in my lathe to just fit into the bore of the spindle and used the bolt to hold it in. I put a flat where the bolt would hit the piece I made. The chuck I had had a 1/2-24 thread which was why I had to make the piece. A picture might help if it is different than the one I had.