Thomas Dean

Francis Whitaker used an anvil of only 150#, Brian Brazeal uses one that is only 100#, Tsur Sadan uses one that is less than 150# (best as I remember). JUst because the anvil is BIG doesn't make it any better. A good sturdy base that is mounted to the earth will make a smaller anvil seem much larger. Good luck on you search

Good for you!! You did right by stickin' to your guns on this one. He just didn't want to make the trip! Glad all worked out for ya

Kathy, I assure you no offense was taken. Sam nailed it by stating that we here on IFI don't want ANYONE to get hurt if WE can prevent it. Smart thinking to call the FD for their take, those folks have my deepest respect for what they do. Hope all this works out good for you and do let us know the end result. BTW, HOWDY from East TEXAS!! and welcome to IFI!! Glad you are here and we REALLY like seeing pictures of people's work! so post some in the future for us please. Also, if you would give us an idea of the general location in GA that you are in. Shoot, we may want to stop in for a cup of coffee sometime ;) Anyway, glad you are here and look forward to seeing and reading more about you and your work.

Well, Georgia is in the USA and there for it is against the law to transport in a car...consider yourself very fortunate so far. I have also seen trucks like the one Glenn pictured above that were owned by welders with years of experience in the field, it just takes one. Not to be a smart mouth but when folks ask advice about something this dangerous and then don't heed the warnings just doesn't make sense to me. Still wish ya good luck.

DO NOT TRANSPORT IN A CAR!! Call the dealer you purchased the bottle from and have them pick it up with a replacement. Not sure about where you are from but it is against the law to transport gas bottles in a car here in TX. If you have to transport you bottle then borrow a pick-up from a friend and secure the bottle in the cargo area of the truck, preferably in the corner upright. Good luck.

Howdy from just a little north of ya! and welcome to IFI! Check this bunch out www.habairon.org find out when there next meeting is and GO! They will be glad to have you and will help you any way they can. Sure will shorten the learning curve to have someone helping eye ball to eye ball. If you ever get up to the Longview area give me a holler, my shop is always open!

Howdy from EAST TEXAS!! I would stronly suggest that you get yourself to the ABS school just north of Hope ARK. 2 weeks in their class will knock off YEARS of trial and error on your own. Good luck. BTW, nice looking set up. Where in N. LA are you located?

LaGrand's in Texarkana has coal. The 4StatesIronMunchers meet there on the 3rd Sat each month. Been nearly 5yrs since I bought any from there but it is excellent coal....or was anyway. If you are a member of the Saltfork Craftsmen and Artist Assoc.=== the Oklahoma group===you can buy coal from them. There is a group of them that meet in the Paris, TX area on the 1st Sat each month. Their web site is www.saltforkcraftsmen.org if you need to contact someone up there. here is the 4States web site== http://www.fourstatesironmunchers.com/4simindex.html Good luck!

Howdy from East TEXAS!! and welcome to IFI. You do fantastic work! look forward to seeing more. I'd be honored for you to call me a friend too.

Nice knife but what is that anvil!?! never seen markings like that on one.

Hey Jerry! Lookng forward to seeing you and others at the Lee Bros event in Bryan in a couple of weeks! Folks, this is an event that is a must see if you are anywhere close....I'm driving 4hrs myself and wouldn't miss it. Alan and Lee put on one of the best demonstrations that you would want to see and as an added bonus it is FREE!! Donations for lunch and what you spend at the tailgate area and such are the only expenses. They rival any Assoc. Conference out there, yeah, it's close to "AggieLand" but that is really the only drawback. ;) Hope to see ya there!

According to AIA it was born in 1920. HB started adding the prefix letter "A" to the SN in 1918.

Howdy from East TEXAS!! and welcome to IFI! I'm in the Longview area, about an hour from Shreveport. Good to have ya aboard

You could contact Robb Gunter and ask him personally. He was one of the develpers of Super-Quench and can give you concrete facts on the subject. This is his web site; http://www.g3blacksmithing.com/about.html

Jerry, my heart aches for you and your wife. Praying that Our LORD will comfort you as only HE can. TDean

I use Johnson's Paste Wax, the same stuff you use on hardwood floors. cheap and lasts a long time. Apply while your piece is still hot==450-500. Will give a nice dark finish. There are others of course but this is easy and fast. Also, when you make your hooks, turn the "eye" of the hook to the outside. This will allow what ever you place on the hook to be easily removed without hanging up. One more thing....forge to finish does include cleaning with a wire brush and waxing...IMO. Nice work and great photography too. "a picture is only as good as the subject"

Neat anvil. I have a William Foster dated 1848 at 107# with a side horn like that only a little shorter. face is not anywhere near that nice either.

Howdy from East TEXAS!! and welcome to IFI! www.balconesforge.org is the group in your area. fantastic buch of folks and all are willing to help out newbies. Also, save the date== Feb.16, 2013 at the Lee Bros shop in Bryan, TX. there will be folks for Balcones Forge B. S. Assoc., Houston Artist Blacksmith Assoc. www.habairon.org and the North Texas Blacksmith Assoc. www.ntxba.org . Alan and Jeff Lee will be doing an all day demonstration of various blacksmithing tech. and projects. Good for the beginner and master smith! It will be well worth your time to make it! Hope to meet you there!

I have a 1hp motor on my 25# Little Giant, at 1750rpm. what the book recommends. I'm sure it would be plenty for you 35# hammer.

short answer--no. buy a single phase motor. you can do that cheaper than buying a converter and the elctric co just south of me was going to charge a friend $4,000 to run an extra line to his shop for him to have 3ph. My elect. co-op told me whenever to let them know and they will do so for free! at the moment I have no need for it.

I buy my coal from Robb Gunter. He lives in Moriarty....well, just east of there. You can contact him through one of the SWABA officers. check out their site here http://www.swaba-abana-chapter.org/ This is also an excellent group to hook up with as they are all about helping anyone learn how to mold metal! Well worth your time to check them out. I'm about 800 miles east of ABQ. and when I'm in the area I try to get with them if at all possible. Tell em Tommy Dean sent ya.

I started a thread a few weeks ago about my new web site and this is what happened.... "Your post was taken off line as it redirects traffic from IForgeIron to another web site." I have a link to "I Forge Iron" on the first page of the site and the site is about Blacksmithing...oh well. Kinda silly I guess to ask a bunch of blacksmiths to go look at a web site of my work. :) No biggie tho, I'm not mad or upset, just struck me kinda funny. You can send folks to eBay and craigslist and other web sites no problem... Good blog, BTW. enjoyed it, great stuff!

How do you get your anvil to stay on the ceiling?

That is a Columbian. good anvil, IIRC they were made by Trenton...can't get to my copy of AIA to verify.... OK, NOT by Trenton! could have been made by Soderfors of Sweden if between 1922-1927. It should have the Sodierfors trademark if so.(I don't see that mark) Again, a good anvil that had a thick high quality tool steel top. Most are large anvils used in heavier industry. AIA pages 212-223.

Howdy from East TEXAS!! and welcome to IFI! Ok, ya need to hook up with the Saltfork Craftsmen and Artist Blacksmith Assoc. !! www.saltforkcraftsmen.org is their site to find meetings near you. Also, start making plans to attend their annual conference held in Perry, OK...fairly close to you btw. There are several active members near you and any one of them would be glad to let you come by and "play in the fire" with them. If you are ever near Longview, TX give me a holler, my shop is always open.