HWooldridge

Here is a pic of my anvil stand. You can clearly see the angle iron box and the cramp bolts.

Not mine - looks like a 50lb but I can't tell for sure. Little Giant Trip Hammer

Gerald, That's a very nice touch. Thanks for posting the pic.

I don't think it makes any diff whether the sand is welded in but like any pressure vessel, I'd leave a small hole in the top of each leg so it can breathe - 1/16" is enough. I put cramp bolts on all my anvil stands. I build an angle iron base just big enough to fit the base of the anvil except a bit longer in length (parallel to the centerline). It's a little longer so I can drop a piece of flat iron between the anvil and the locking bolts to act as a spacer. Under the heel, I drill two holes and weld nuts on the outside. Two bolts go through these holes to touch the anvil, then are tightened to lock the anvil into the frame. This will kill almost all of the ring.

This is a question that will really start an argument among smiths. There is an entire group of folks who believe in the flat die approach with saddle tooling. I am one of those guys who was heavily influenced by Clifton Ralph and I agree with flat die tooling for most types of work. The other group advocates putting in specialty dies for specific work, whether that means 50/50 dies or some other combo. They believe that dies correctly placed in a hammer will always be superior to tooling between dies. I don't think either side is wrong but you probably will pick one philosophy and stick to it. I've been using flat dies and saddle tools for a very long time in my 100 lb hammer but I had dedicated drawing dies in my 25 lb LG (since sold) and it was very convenient to have both hammers running at the same time.

There is nothing wrong with your idea and it's fairly common to see someone who has cut down a 55 gal barrel to the proper height for a base and filling that with sand. The anvil is then placed on top of the material. If it moves about or sinks, it is simply lifted and re-leveled. In your case, the sand adds mass and will dampen vibrations to a degree but it's more important to tie the anvil to the stand if you are trying to eliminate ringing.

Yes, you put a weld tab on the ends and weld off the part and onto that piece, then remove the excess with a saw. You can also fit a piece into the hole cold and weld that in place. In other words, saw or grind out to clean metal and file a matching piece to fit. Weld and grind to finish. I can fill better with a 6011 because it's a fast freeze rod but 7018 will work if you are careful. You didn't mention rod diameter but 3/32" would be best if you can get that size.

Yes, Peter Ross and his smiths built that one - there was an article on it in an old Anvil's Ring.

I use collared air chisel bits for most of my set tools (the large chisels). If you cut just behind a collar and grind away any proud material, you will have a nice swelled area to start your upset for the face, then finish by punching the hammer eye.

Bakelite is a tradename for a phenolic resin. It is still sold so you can use that or use any glass filled thermoplastic. I think the best direct replacement would be Phillips Ryton, 33% glass filled.

I agree with Frosty. You can't learn to swim without getting into the water... Many years ago, I was chatting with a very experienced smith after a demo I had done before a large crowd and he made a pointed and fundamentally correct remark. He said that I was much like him - we both simply liked to hit hot iron. I have since thrown many thousands of hammer licks but I still get a charge out of moving a piece of steel with a hammer. When I go to a demo, I want to be up there with the guest smith - not to show off, but because I really like hitting hot iron. By hand, or with a striker or power hammer - nothing means much beyond making something I have visualized from that bar. Go hit a piece of hot iron and then decide if it's your passion - I started 27 years ago and still want to keep doing it until I die.

Passivation is a chemical process typically done to stainless with some blend of nitric and/or hydroflouric acid. It removes any surface contamination of free iron and actually converts the outermost layer to an oxide. If you did not passivate, there might be some staining if the contaminants start to rust - or the presence may be so slight as to not cause a problem. If you are bent on doing something, you could likely soak the whole thing in vinegar overnight and get a fairly clean surface without having to deal with the hazmat.

Here is where proper utilization of keywords in Google is helpful: http://www.northamerican-steel.com/pdf/04-05.pdf Looks like a medium carbon steel.

PAM is primarily canola oil so it's fairly benign and also resists high temps.

I make a lot of cooking utensils and recommend to my customers to use steel wool and some vegetable oil to remove any rust (but don't use the dishwasher). Wash thoroughly with mild soap and tap water to remove any food residue or steel wool remnants, then warm slightly and reoil - spray-on Pam works great. With time and use, the rust will become less noticeable as the tool naturally seasons, like a frying pan.

Well, I think you did a great job. They look very period and that is in no way a criticism - they could have come straight out of 1830.

1095 will very likely spall or shatter if quenched in water from red hot so you may want to do as someone suggested earlier and make several duplicates of each tool so they can air cool after use. BTW, I've mentioned this before but anyone who lives near a diecaster or injection molder can go ask for their used ejector pins. All solid ejector pins are made from H13 and they are typically thrown away after wearing or galling in production.

495 Brinell is Rockwell 51 C - not glass hard but plenty to resist damage.

Generally, most blowers take grease only on roller bearings (if they have them) and were designed to run with some amount of oil. For example, a Champion 400 or any of their roller bearing models should have fresh grease in the bearings on the sides and a few drops of oil inside. I have a no-name blower with a fill plug on top and a drain plug about 1/4 up on the case. I have to pull both plugs and fill with oil until it starts running out of the bottom, then plug it (same principle as a differential on a car). Other blowers have an oiler on top and are designed to be "dosed" every so often. These do not benefit from any additional oil beyond a few squirts as they will simply leak the excess. I use plain old automatic transmission fluid for oil and it works just fine at all temperatures (plus it's readily available and cheap).

I have been commissioned to recreate a half dozen Suffolk style thumb latches from an 80 year old pattern - this is for a restoration of a local home with historical significance. The only issue is that the whole thing is bronze and I have never worked with that material so am looking for some pointers (I told them I'd make it out of iron and they said "NO!"). I was also wondering if anyone has a good mail order source - I'll need about 6 feet of 5/8" round, 6 feet of 1/2" round and a short section of 1-3/4" round. Thanks, H

Another trick is to turn the fan blade itself by hand, which assists in compound leverage from the gear train. In other words, the fan will normally spin several revs from one turn of the handle so a turn or two of the fan will apply a great deal of force back up the gear train to the handle. This will often work when you have already cleared the fan case but the handle still won't turn.

...and if it won't hold diesel, you can upend it in a 55 gal drum and fill the drum until the blower is immersed. I have never seen one that was so stuck that it could not be freed with a little TLC.

That's a cute little feller and you have a few accessories to go with it.

They are great for consistent sizes - in other words, repetitive work of a certain size and I'm sure an induction unit is the cat's meow for toolmaking. They are not as useful for odd sized stuff, like scroll work.

...or make a large block to set in the hardy. Something 3x3x3 with a hardy on the bottom makes a good sharp edge.