Everything Mac

Hi Joel, cheers for that idea. This particular guy backed out in the end anyway but I'll bear this advice in mind for next time. Cheers Andy

Great thread. I like seeing work in progress threads like this. Looks like you're doing a grand job. I'm glad you've cleaned up the blower. I probably would have opened it up and replaced the great personally but I just can't help myself when it comes to things like that. I'm glad you were able to salvage parts of the forge. Were you able to remove and salvage the, err, "U" shaped bits on the side of the forge? I'd try and put those back on the new construction if you can, they look hard to fabricate. Looking forward to seeing the finished product. Also that anvil is perfectly fine as it is. All the best Andy

Try as I might I just can't get a reply to the thread to work. This is an addition to episode 5 of my basics video series. A more detailed look at dressing a hammer face. Cheers Andy

My thoughts exactly Smoggy. I want him to be able to take home at least one usable item that has at least some wow factor. Something he can be proud to show off. I'll play it by ear. If we only get a few nails made then so be it. To me if they can put a point on a bar it's not so far off making a hook. And a hook isn't so far off a simple bottle opener in my mind. Cheers John, very much appreciated. All the best Andy

My thoughts exactly Smoggy. I want him to be able to take home at least one usable item that has at least some wow factor. Something he can be proud to show off. I'll play it by ear. If we only get a few nails made then so be it. To me if they can put a point on a bar it's not so far off making a hook. And a hook isn't so far off a simple bottle opener in my mind. Andy

Hi chaps, I may very well be running a one to one class in about a weeks time. The student is a complete beginner and has never picked up a hammer. I've run a good few classes in my time however they have all been for people with some experience. What would you start them out with? As it stands I'm planning: Basic H&S, do's and don'ts etc etc. Go over some basic theory and basic techniques. We might start by making a couple of nails if needs be. Project 1: Simple hook from square bar with a twist. - This covers: drawing out, twisting, scrolling and half faced blows Project 2: Basic bottle opener. Covering the above techniques but throws in a one sided taper. Project 3: Fire rake. All of the above techniques put into a larger project. I'd have thought I can cover those projects in a single day. Any other ideas? Andy

I've seen these phrases battered about the place a lot recently. To me they're the buzzwords of blacksmithing on the internet right now. I've seen Brian work in the flesh, he's a nice guy and you really can't argue with some of his techniques. BUT.... most of what you've repeated here is BS. IF you don't hit squarely then surely you have poor hammer control? If you have poor hammer control one could argue you need to practice a bit more and perhaps shouldn't be using a hot cut at all. As for bending / denting the stock you're cutting, - so what? If in the somewhat unlikely event I've bent or dented the piece slightly I'll just heat it up and correct it. If it really matters then I won't be hot cutting it at all, I'll use a chop saw or band saw. My time is precious but I'm not going to fuss over an extra hit to straighten a bar or "limit surface area contact to reduce heat loss". How much heat is lost I wonder? Is my anvil completely cold to the touch? I'll wager that a warm anvil face would save just as much "heat loss" as limiting surface area contact. To me it's a nice idea in theory but I can't see it saving me even a minute over the course of a day of forging. I've tried curved hot cuts. There is not a single video online I've seen where the smith doesn't have his work fall off the hot cut. Not only that the large radius on most of them effectively reduces your working area to about one third of the tool. The outer edges are absolutely useless. In my experience they cut no better than a flat hot cut at all. JHCC you've done good work on your hot cut. I hope it serves you well. Andy

We may have that story but it's not one I've heard. Trouble is folks are going to pay what they have to if all they can find is trash and aren't patient enough to wait for something decent or something decent simply isn't attainable for what ever reason. As I say, the market has changed. Moaning about it changes nothing. - you can't possibly educated every single potential buyer out there. They "need" an anvil and they'll pay what they have to. How many folks do we see on here that have just bought something and want to "repair" it? When 5 minutes on google would show they should do nothing to it. Andy

Woops should have been more specific. -the anvil that has been cut in half in the link above. (the double horn) Looks like cast iron to me. I'd expect a double horn to have a pritchel hole as well. The single horn anvil the OP has posted pictures off is certainly a real peddinghaus. The single horn/ forward hardy is a classic German design. I've seen a few German anvils like it. Andy

Reality check gents. Anvils aren't as cheap as they used to be. It might be time to put on your big boy pants and accept it. The anvil market here isn't what it used to be. I'm never going to get an anvil for the same price I paid 5 years ago. Just not going to happen. Don't like the price? Move on. All too often I see posts from guys just starting out who are doing things "on a budget" and that's just fine, I reckon we were all that guy at some point. Myself included. But if you decide you want to take things more seriously and invest in better equipment down the line then you're going to have to save up for it and spend the money where it counts. All the best Andy

I agree with Matei above. That anvil that has been cut in half looks like a cast iron anvil. The feet look a bit wrong and the lack of a pritchel hole on it is a dead give away that something isn't right. My money is on a cast iron copy of something else. The anvil you have posted photo's of is indeed a real Peddinghaus and you should buy it. Great anvils. Andy

Trouble is that "ring" is very subjective. To me a steel anvil would have a high pitched piercing and prolonged ring like a bell whereas a forged wrought anvil would still be prolonged but perhaps not so piercing in many cases. An unmounted Fisher will still "ring" a certain amount, they aren't completely dead when struck. Andy

Fixed the pics for you. Turning my head wasn't working for me. I don't think it looks as bad as some of the ones we've seen here. I'd probably just use it as is then take it from there in a year's time. All the best Andy

I love it. A classic example of not letting a preconceived idea of a tool getting in the way of a good useable tool. All the best Andy

Our 25+year guys are saying much the same, they've never seen it this bad. Hopefully things will pick up sooner rather than later. TP, I'm logging myself. I can't imagine things have changed much though amazingly it seems we're the only branch of my company still ticking over nicely. Mainly down to massively reduced head count. Oh well. Just got to ride the storm. But come on Xpert - did you bag that Fisher too? Andy

Hi Xpert welcome aboard. Glad to see another rig worker on here. I'm a third party contractor working in the North Sea myself. Hope you guys over in the US are fairing better than us at the minute. It's nothing but doom and gloom here at the minute and most of us are working trip to trip with no idea what's happening at the end of the month. That Vulcan looks pretty good to me. So what if it's not the best anvil in the world, it will work perfectly well for you, especially in that condition. Though I have to say if you get that Fisher for free I will be very jealous. I've only ever seen 4 Fisher's in the UK. I own one and two others are owned by people I know. The fourth disappeared into ebay history. I love my little 100lb Fisher, it's a lovely anvil to work on. All the best Andy

test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y29SkaF5R9I

Hey NTK, cheers bud. I'm well chuffed with it. There's still a lot I'd like to do to it, as well as a load of equipment I'd like to buy but I'll get there eventually. First on the list is a decent size fly press. Hoping to pick one up in the next couple of months. All the best Andy

Come on now Rockstar - this thread is useless without pics! Andy

Things have progressed pretty well. Coming along nicely. All the best Andy

Is it the table top that's warped or the fire pot? If it's the table then get our your hammer and beat that sucker flat again. Andy

Glad to hear you got a power hammer Joel - I'd speak to John at Massey Hammers in Manchester not sure he's on here though. Andy

O'dwyer is another company that make farriers anvils from ductile iron - they work just fine. If that hardness is 65 I'd be tempted to radius the edges a little bit as it might be prone to chipping. All the best Andy

Hi Michael, I'm just over the water from you on the Wirral. You'd be welcome to stop buy some time. If you put a few more pictures up we might be able to get a better idea. It's a farrier pattern as it's missing the cutting table. Beyond that it's hard to tell. If you clean it up a bit with a wire cup on an angle grinder you might reveal some markings on one side. Looks like a fair size. All the best Andy

Cheers Smoggy, I've done that to the larger table at the back. The smaller table will be getting a bracing today though it won't need it. All the best Andy