Jon Smith

Sounds simple enough. I think I'll go with that route and then stabilize. Thanks

I do plan to try and stabilize it, but I believe it has be dry first, yes?

I started with a Harbor Freight 55lb ASO. If its all you can get hold of, it does work. However, there is a caveat. The edges tend to chip, it's light, and only the bottom of the horn is round (duckbill horn). It's also a dead anvil. With no rebound, you work harder to swing a hammer, and the stop will jar your wrist.

Still, it served me well until I got my Hay Budden.

We were cutting wood for the fireplace and I had to do a double take when I found a good sized burl on a log. I haven't cut it up yet but it looks like some interesting grain patterns in there. So my question is whether or not anyone has experience using the stuff for a handle, either slab or block?

Timothy, thanks for the link. Great information!

Methinks it would be easier to build a power hammer. Got to be easier on the shoulder for sure

In general you use the largest hammer you can use for extended amounts of time continuously.

Using a hammer too large results in lots of downtime while you let your elbow heal, using one too small makes the time needed to forge an item extend.

So I know one professional who uses an 8 pound hammer and another who uses a 3 pound hammer; both are what is BEST for *THEM*!

An eight pound hammer all day long must seriously move metal. What kind of work does he usually do?

Furlongs, my good man.

Sounds simple enough. I wasn't sure if it had to be really thick to hold shape on a piece that long

That makes sense. The only other question I had was the starting dimensions for the spring

I would have never thought of a scale pile, but that makes all kinds of sense now that you say it.

I keep the anvil attached to the ceiling using a glue made of rust and beeswax. Wonderful stuff

Thomas, thanks for the info. I don't plan on it ever leaving my shop but its always good to know origins and such.

Stephen, thanks for the pics. Now I can start making the missing parts and finish the restoration

I knew about the mounting plate and was going to make a new one, and I've started stripping the paint, but I don't want to go so far as to blast it, so it's slow going. Haven't found any markings on it yet, but again it was outside for at least 49 years (it was there when my dad was a boy)
Didn't realize I was missing the other parts though. I'm guessing the spring would be to close the jaws? And what's a gib key?

I finally got my hands on a good leg vise, and, better yet, it's a piece of my childhood. I can remember cracking pecans in this thing when I was little (I could kick myself now knowing what I do).

It was mounted for many years outside on the post of a lean-to shed and as far as I know, no one in the family before me even had any interest, much less experience, in smithing, so I have no clue where it came from or how it got there. The shed was torn down two years ago at the death of my grandmother and I finally tracked down the vise through my cousin who bought the house, and I am proud to have started restoring it. Oddly enough, there was enough dirt and crud in the threads of the screw that they are in almost perfect condition and the piece is now a proud part of my shop.

 

It weighs about 45 lbs, and has 4" jaws. Anyone know how much it would be worth?

 

So I've made a few knives before, but this is the first one I'm not completely ashamed to show to the good people on here. Please feel free to tell me how I can improve, it's how I learn.

 

The blade is 5160 spring steel 4" long, the bolsters are 1020 mild, and the pins are copper. It's all hand filed with a flat grind and hand rubbed to 400 grit. OAL is 8.5" and the scales are mahogany with a clear coat of gun stock finish.

 

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/36513-img-0426/

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/36512-img-0423/

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/36510-img-0428/

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/36509-img-0427/

 

As a side note, I have about 5 hours work in it, but that's just because I'm slow. Anyone have a clue what it might be worth, aside from the obvious "what a buyer will pay for it"?

So I got her cleaned up and oiled and she's gorgeous. Rings like a bloody church bell too. I was right though, the serial number is completely obliterated; there's a chunk missing from the foot, almost like it was ground out.

I'm thinking he means the grind line down the middle of the billet. That would be the horizontal, or x-axis. The other top to bottom lines would be the vertical, or y-axis

Not sure but an enamel coating might do. Might screw with the temper though and I don't even know if it would stick to carbon steel like it does to copper. I've never tried

Serial number will be on the front foot not the side but they often are rusted past reading.

I did look there as I know HB stamped the serial there, but sadly if there was one it's really, really rusted over right now. Maybe I can clean it up with a wire wheel and resurrect it but I doubt it.

So one of the neighbors decided to get into the Christmas spirit a little early this year. Turns out he had a grandfather who did some smithing on the farm and the old Hay Budden was sitting in the back of the shop collecting dirt and rust--till he decided to pass it along anyways. It's not proudly in my shop (even if the face is broken :-( ).

The stamp on the side says
Hay Budden
Manufacturing
Brooklyn, NY

But no serial number on it. It weighs i would guess about 70 lbs. Anyone got any idea around when it was made? I'll try to post a pic later

It depends where you hit the hog as to how tough the flesh is. Wild hogs have a "plate" made of hard fat around the rib cage that can stop a bullet.
 

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say those are 2" floorboards in the pic, so the heads would be about 1-1.5" heads and about a foot long?

Regardless, beautiful work.

That is one beautifully cleaned up piece. Makes me think of the old Wiley Coyote cartoons from Saturday mornings when they dropped ACME anvils...

I liked the picture of all the different types as it reminded me a Japanese calender picture I saved from many, many years ago that showed some of the very fine arrow heads made for Samurai archers. If I disremember correctly it seems that all of them were tanged not socketed, really long tangs. I wonder why the difference in methods of attachment to the shaft?

For starters, Chris is right. Samurai used bamboo not only because it was cheaply available but also because the tang would split the shaft on impact. This would either cause serious trouble for a target because you couldn't pull the arrow out or push it through, but if you missed, your enemy couldn't shoot your arrow back at you!

That is one wicked chunk of steel right there