jay_cat

The weight is in. It's 220lb anvil. Still shocked I was able to load it my self.

A lot of this stuff was made up north. The cone mandrel was made in Greenfield, Massachusetts. I have a friend that's works in a old blacksmith shop in Worcester, MA. The owners grandfather started a shop in the early 1900's. The forges and tools are all there, but the shop just does metal fab work now. he won't part with anything.

I know. I felt like I found a treasure chest. Now I get to teach myself how to use every thing. I will post the actual weight of the anvil as soon as I get help lifting it. I know you asked if anyone had a early fisher over 200lbs. I doubt this is, but it will be close.

This was my sunday score. there are still items hiding in peoples basements. all you need to do is ask around. I also purchased a dozen tongs, flatter, hot cut, and a few other hardy tools. I'm picking up a old cast iron forge, forge blower on a stand, and a post vise from the same person next week. I know how we all love pics on here, so I thought I would show what I got. The small vise will be great to hold my blades for file work. I was pumped when I saw all the items in the corner. Like a kid in the candy store.

This is one of a few items I scored Sunday. I will place it on a scale as soon as I have some help. I messed my back up lifting it alone into my car and can't get it out yet. Its heavier than my 176lbs Arm and Hammer. I'm guessing 200lbs

Thank you for the quick response. Had us both guessing.

I bought this with a few other items and do not have a clue what is used for.

a leg iron?

Looks great. How does it feel in your hand when striking? does the shock transfer heavily to your hand?

You wouldn't happen to be In Salem would you? I was in the army with a Ellis. he went by "Beaver"

My order of operations was not the most efficient. I was using my propane forge and i had to unbend and re-bend to heat the areas I wanted to. One of the reasons I like using my coal forge. The good news is the owner of the farm stand liked the idea of what i made and said he would use them. He also told me to leave him a card because people will ask where they can get one. I better get hammering so my work quality will increase. I am starting some one on one lessons next week. Charles, my pritchel hole is filled in solid. I've been planning on drilling it out. Also my anvil edges are all rounded so a square block would definitely help. I hope my errors will make other newbies more comfortable with there first projects. I know pics on here have helped me tons.

I cleaned up the angle and gave a flat spot to hammer it in. If I would have taken an extra minute or two the first time it would have came out cleaner. Thanks for the tips.

I will have to refine this or make a few more. This will be indoors. The farmstand sells 100% grass fed meats and they have several lanterns hanging against the beams. They are trying to have a vintage look and I thought the lanerns nailed to the beams look bad and that I could help. I appreciate all the input. I want the gift to be as functional as possible. Others may ask where they got them and want one. They also have a full size bull statue that the owner said he would like a name tag made for it. So I want to give the nicest hook or hooks I can to encourage a possible commission for the name tag or other things do decorate the stand. Thanks again.

That was the goal. I need to slow down and enjoy the journey and refine the details. I only have a 5 or 6 sessions under my belt so far. Once my new house is up this summer I will have a deticated forging area in my detached garage so I can have more time to learn. Its like meditation for me.

This is a lantern hook I made for a local farm stand. I noticed 3 lanterns hanging from galvinized nails from beams at the farm stand and thought I would make them a gift. If he likes it, he may request more. I still have very little time at hammering metal so I like to stick to easy things like bottle openers and hooks.

I'll have to check this place out. Just hope I don't stumble across and of the toxic waste. This site is a "Superfund Site" , a hazardous waste area. Cleanup is controlled by the EPA. Current human exposure is not under control ie asbestos, lead, and toxic chemicals. Fun place.

I wanted a to buy a new kukri and thought $300 was a lot of money. After watching videos of the men making kukris, hammering barefoot on a sledgehammer head cemented to the floor, I though " I can do that. this looks easy." I've spent way more than $300 and still have yet to forge a kukri. I'm still practicing on bottle openers and s hooks for now.

I have a couple bags. works great.

I picked up my roll of Kaowool at my local HVAC supply store.

Thanks frosty. Its been bugging me all day. In additon to what you said, I also threw the handle end into water to make cool enough to hold without using tongs so I could work the blade end. This obviously hardend and made the handle even more brittle. I need to slow way down. I watch all the Youtube vidoes of experienced guys and they make it look way easier than it is. I need to stop trying to accelerate my learning curve and just slow down.

I left it thick for a couple reasons. I wanted a EDC that could handle batoning. I didn't want to get to carried away with the belt sander and grind it to high. The third reason is the fear of the blade looking like a piece of bacon after harding. I played it safe with this one.

This is my knife in progress. Just finished hardening. I will temper tonight. I'm planing of a wood handle but might use 550 cord. Not sure yet. Learning as I go. I would be lost without this sight. I know how everyone loves pictures, so I will post more when I finish.

I would think so. I've only been using one of the two burners to make bottle openers. It heats 1/2 square stock fast. The one upgrade I would and will add is a strip of angle iron below both openings to slide in a fire brick. I do see how coal has its advantages. You can control what area of the metal you want hot easier. With the gas, everything inside gets hot. I bought the gas forge for two reasons. I have very little time to hammer and this allows me to use it in my garage at night and I think it will be easier for hear treating the knives I'm am making. Buy one, unless you have time to make one. Hope this helps.

This is exactly what I was about to get into before I figured out I don't have the time or a welder. I even have a airtank with the ends cut off, Kawool and ITC100. Great pics. If I ever get around to completeing my build, this is a nice reference. I was is the same boat as you. After looking at the parts in my garage I just pulled the trigger on a propane forge off the web. I was up an forgeing a week later. I'm glad I bought one before building because now I can figure out what I will need when I do build.

Update. I brought the hose to my local welding supply and had the crimps tightend up. That fixed my hose issue and it didn't cost me anything. The forge works great. Heats up quick. I'm going to do a lot more forging now that I can do it in my garage at night. I'm glad I dropped some cash to get the forge. Its ready out of the box. I'll update on durability once I have some hours on it.