Dragons lair

Call up your local firewood guy, and order a round of a minimum diameter. Ask for hardwood preferably oak, but maple and others are acceptable. Should cost $20 or so if you pick it up (firewood suppliers charge different, many are "side jobs"), and it should fit in the trunk of your car. Remember the sheet of plastic if it is not your car (and even if it is your car why make a mess).

Stand up straight in your work boots and measure from your wrist bones to the floor. Subtract the height of the anvil, and add some waste for leveling the stump when you get it home. Shortening the stump is easy.

The older boors state to have the anvil at knuckle height, but it has been mentioned that shops typically employed strikers universally. Based on several threads on the topic here wrist height is preferred in a one man shop. If the anvil is slightly high, a low step can fix that easily.

Now get some stock and forge some attachment that can be lagged into the stump and tightened with nut and bolt for "easy" separation.

Phil

Second time back be sure to take a finished piece and or donuts. Even if they charged ya for the 1st visit.
Ken.

Most powder coating doesn't hold up well outdoors but it's getting better.

For durable I like self priming epoxy paint, you can get spray cans and not mess with two part. Of course there's nothing wrong with Krylon. Besides you wanted to build that tumbler anyway didn't you?

Before you invest too much "educating" him consider losing the emotional investment in the pieces. Nobody pays for your emotional investment, they want what they want and the key to success is many fold but two are near the top. #1 Give the customers what they want at competitive prices. #2 If you can't make a profit drop the item.

Oh yeah, educate who? Wrought iron has been getting painted since paint was invented, since Rome, maybe earlier.

Frosty the Lucky.

It's when ya got burns on top of burns that were on top of other burns. Try sitting at a steel table tigging turbine blades. OOps that ball just rolled off the table. Time to go to the water cooler AGAIN. Been burned places ya don't wanna know about. Worst thing is cooling it off then light the fire again feels just like the first time. A blob of aluminum will go in your shirt at collar bone height and end up in your boot still hotter than XXXX. 7 holes inna shirt and 5 inna jeans 2 inna socks. I must like it. I did it for 20+yrs now I get burned for me not the Co.
Ken.

I am with Jer on this one.Don't care what lives in the smithy. YOU bite or sting me ya gonna find out how hot the forge is. Or how hard i can swing the hammer
As a former wildlife rehabber I have had lots, Starlings, possums,rabbits, hawks
snakes, Gave it up too many calls on Sun nite. "My kids been playing with this rabbit the cat caught on Thurs. Now we need to go home come get it NOW

welcome aboard, glad to have ya. How's about putting your general location in your header so those of us old farts who enjoy a single malt tipple while on the road don't have to rely on our memory if we feel the need for a nip or nap. Hmmmm?

Frosty the . . . .

Wish somone would offer me a glass of 40yr old whisky "Hint Hint and more Hints" Enjoy both the forging and
the sipping.
Ken.

This will fly with some outfits but a no beards or no job policy isn't discrimination so most outfits'll send you looking if you insist.

Frosty the Lucky.

Hey Jer. never heard of fiberglass toes. I think I'll skick with STEEL. Yeh a few tons will will cut off your toes.
How much heat and pressure will Fglass do.
Ken.

Do the 6 ft blacksnake in my desk drawer count? Mikey lived in the shop for yrs till I screwed up and used a lot of carb cleaner in there. he moved to the wood pile till i cleaned that up. moved to the front porch then to the road. Bad move.
Only issue was when he did the cobra thing next to my bike(in the dark) Hard to ride after that.
ken. PS I don't care what it is as long as I know where it is.

My wife is demanding her parking spot in the garage back. Apparently "before the snow flies" is not good enough for her. I haven't touched the lathe is a couple weeks, but I have a clear aisle to it! Gonna park the wheelbarrow in front of it so I have easy access!

Dodge has a few sheets in the mail to me. Thanks BGD.

Phil

Doesn't look like any of the WWI German trench knives I have ever seen. The overall shape is similar to a Carcano bayonet that I have. Look it over really good for marks, even on the spine of the blade. With the phenolic style grip though is similar to some Brit bayonets. The Krauts used a Bakelite type material, along with wood. Most other countries used wood for grips, with a couple of exceptions like the U.S. Very well could be a post war adaptation. That Quillion shape was being phased out by the end of the war, and pretty well gone by the Korean war.

Does it appear to be original, or could it have possibly been reworked by some hobbyist?

I am not a blade maker. Just have to ask what happened to the old razor strop.
Have an old 70+ farrier knife maker friend. 4 strokes with an arkansaw stone
6 with a strop. Drop a horsehair and cut it in half. I have soft stones, hard stones diamond stones still can't out do him.
Ken. PS I grew up with barbers who didn't use throw away razors.

I have learned to not care what the clients budget is. Got tired of folks wanting
SS or aluminum tig work for $5 a weld. I charge by the hour( I'll even let them watch) No more bring your own steel. To much cut up scrapyard stuff. If it's clean or new OK. Ask them if they want to pay me to weld ,cut grind and clean their scrap. Price is posted with 1/2 hr min. Still when the old farm wives come in and need Dads cane repaired thats a N/C. I also warantee 90% of what I do. So if I am not happy with the job I pass. Like rotten truck frames,damaged alloy wheels. Old nasty cast iron, Header pipes(with gas,oil and brake fluid leaking
and laying in 3 inches of mud)Now I admit to having almost closed the welding,
blacksmithing,CNC shop due to a great saleryed job so its's not like i have to do the crap jobs any more.
Ken.

I have 2 of his artist forges(wide open front) Drove over and picked them up. Dennis is a great guy to deal with. I second the use of a 100lb tank. never liked the idea of putting a grill tank in the cuench tank.
Ken.

Hah! I was actually going to get both so she could work with me (she's going to start as well, but she can't come Saturday because her dad is leaving on a 2 week trip and she wants to spend time with him) BUT I will be there.

can anyone help decipher this description as to date of manufacture and quality, please, what does the #2 & #5 suggest? thanks:

Hay Budden 158 lb. +/- Anvil.

Made in Brooklyn, NY but date of manufacture is unknown.

Numbers shown on the anvil are:

On the side of the base is No. A5402 and on the opposite side is No. 2.

On the side of the base is No. 5.

Full beard since 1973. Shaved clean once but like Rcrew haven't been near my face with a razor since.

Thought about hacking it into muttonchops for an "1890's" look for my upcoming shows, but remembered there ain't no chin under there.

Been there done it from Bp to SP to thermite to gas jugs. Now that we have matured anyone want to let their kids play that way? Got a confession from a sundy school teacher yrs ago. town kids formed 2 groups armed with up to deer
rifles. 20 yrs apart. shot 200 rounds and injuried no one. "just playing"
At 8 yrs old my bosses kids and mine could be handed a loaded handgun and told to make it safe and store it inna safe. If ya can't say the same sell or give away what ya got. Or at least change the combo. I did.
Ken.

have had a gotee and stash for over 40 yrs. Wife has never seen the face. Started in the corp in the 60s. Might have to add a little coal getting a little silver.
ken.

D--m I just got carded. My boss who is 1.5 yrs younger at 64 had to vouch for me.
Shoot i have kids over 40. I guess when ya ride up on a 98" v twin with a 2 foot braid. They think your younger. Ride hard and shoot streight. Any body got a cheap helve or air hammer? After 65 we need all the help we can get.
Ken.

I had to change my mind. Girlfriend got wind of it, "You don't need TWO anvils." So I'm just going to buy the Russian. I'll give you his contact info if you want to check on the brokenhorn.

That one is the early russian with the "proper" hardy hole. Later ones have the hole diagonial. Have been told it really weakens the heel area. H-F used to putthem on sale for $79.
Ken.

pics or it didn't happen :D :D

Hey guys,

I figured a few of you would like to see some of the upper limits of what air/propane will do ......In the pics you will see 12 burners (tall ones) that are 10 Million BTU output, and the smaller one is rated 3 Million BTU. Notice spray can in pic for size comparison. Hence the topic description of 123 million BTU in one pic I make the burners from 304 and 316 S/S, the 10 Mils run on an 8" flex hose, powered by a 15hp blower, the 3 Mils run on either a 8" hose with a blastgate to slow the flow, or a 6" hose with an adapter plate. The burners have redundant ignitions, and all the failsafe solenoids you could ask for (they are powered by gas trains that we also make in the shop). The trains can be made full auto, with thermocouple feedback. Obviously they are too big to run in a home forge (the $20-25k price tag including the train might be a lil prohibitive too!) Mostly the burners go into large heat treating furnaces that we build...........in case you are wondering what they will do.............A pair of Ten Mil burners in a 18ftx18ftx60ft furnace will heat a 200,000 lb (<--not a typo) low alloy mild steel vessel up to transition temp (approx 1300 deg farenheit) in seven hours.............oh, and each ten mil is wide open, it consumes a gallon of LP EVERY 28 SECONDS:) Fun times:)