HWooldridge

I sandblast and "blue" the piece in commercial cold bluing solution (basically yielding a dark phosphate color) then clear coat with satin urethane. The sandblast is necessary or little pieces of scale pop off with temperature changes and start the rusting process. Nothing lasts forever on mild steel in the elements but this combination will last for some years.

Chris, Here is a pic of the hoist hanging from the trolley on the beam. The c-channel seen above the beam is a roof purlin. The end of the structural beam is welded to a one of the beams that support the purlins (not visible in this picture).

Anything used directly in the fire will burn off the finish so grates, tripods, cranes and poker tips will all be bare in short order. I use clear satin urethane on fireplace sets and simply tell the customer that they can clean away any rust with steel wool and recoat if they choose to. WD40 also works pretty well on indoor tool sets and can be easily reapplied by the end user.

Chris, I have 12" wide steel I-beams spanning 24 feet across the shop in a shed roof style. The shop is 36 feet long so the beams are on 12 foot centers. The monorail is a 24 foot long, 6 inch structural I-beam that is connected to three of the roof beams. A creeping trolley hangs from the beam and the hoist hangs from the trolley. My only problem is that my ceiling is 12 feet and max hook height is about 9-1/2 feet. I have to be creative when I pull things from trailers so I don't pinch the hoist. I have stalled my two ton electric hoist before on a big surface grinder so the beam will take a lot of grunt. I'll try to post a pic when my wife gets home with the camera.

I have a monorail running the length of the shop and centered in the door frame so I can pull/load stuff from trailers. A bridge crane is the best but of course, also the most expensive. I suppose a jib crane is better than nothing but they always seem to be in the wrong place. I think they are better suited to discrete and permanent pieces of equipment - like on the back of a big lathe to load the chuck.

I started in this trade about 25 years ago. Initially, it was a hobby but we were just starting our family and I couldn't justify spending money unless I could make some. I found a smith who had a good craft business but had developed tendonitis in both wrists. He taught me how to work quickly and accurately so I did a lot of wholesale orders for him for several years. I never made a lot but it was good Christmas and car repair money when my day job wasn't enough. I then became so busy at my day job that my smithing went by the wayside for a while but I never ditched my shop. Fast forward a few years and the company where I worked went out of business so I started a website, tried smithing full time and did the craft fair approach but I was never able to make more than a few hundred dollars a month so I found another full time day job. For most of those years, I concentrated on craft items with only a few architectural pieces thrown in here and there. However, I am now working full time during the day in a production machining shop and coming home to make custom iron for homes and local businesses. I also do a bit of custom turning, milling and other machining work. I have more than I can handle so most nights I go until 10 pm but as busy as I am, it's still not enough to make a decent living full time. Of all the people I have known in the business, the only guy I knew who was successful on the craft side started around 1980 and over time, put work in four different small towns with high tourist traffic. These were all stores that stocked many types of crafts and they sold his work in return for a monthly commission. He had saved about 20 grand from another job before starting out as a blacksmith (with no experience beyond a class at Turley's) and he told me it was completely gone by the time they made any money. He eventually hired a full time smith to help who stayed on for about 15 years so the two of them could put out a lot of work and it was very high quality. His wife did a stocking run to the stores once or twice every day and they said they had several years of pulling in $120-$150K annually but most were a lot less. They never had kids, lived frugally and invested well so they were able to retire when he was 55. I'm not trying to discourage you but that's the only success story I can tell you about making money from blacksmithing...

Mine is organized but packed pretty tight so it's hard to move around. I used to host workshops but it would be tough for me to have a group of people these days. I am usually making ornamental products from new steel so my scrap pile is pretty small but I have recycled quite a few things over the years - especially to make tools. The shop has a dirt floor so dust gets on everything. I have to wipe down the machine tools every now and then just to get the grime off.

The older anvils can easily be in the 60's for Rc hardness. The makers used shear steel - probably 60-70 points and hardened without a tempering step. Many old anvils will slide a file - it's not uncommon. The newer ones are designed more with impact in mind so are not as glass hard, which is why the old anvils chipped and broke - they were really too hard for some types of work.

The first leg vise I purchased (and still use regularly) had the very end of the threaded box knocked off. About 90% of the thread was left but the last inch or so was gone. I welded a pipe cap on this open end after drilling and tapping the end for a grease fitting. I can now pump grease from the end and it pushes forward to lube the entire thread and push any dirt out the front of the box.

I clean everything in the shop in either diesel, kerosene or citrus cleaner - I like kerosene the best but will use anything in a pinch. I use Lubriplate to lube most everything that is a low-speed bearing because I bought a gallon can at a garage sale and it's probably enough to last the rest of my life. I also save used motor oil and strain it through a filter element to remove the large particles then recycle the oil into shop tools.

It will probably work. I often MIG weld joints then hammer them flat after heating and I have never had one separate but I don't know what your project looks like. Make sure you get the metal close to welding heat before reworking it.

There are several things going on these days in modern America that affect craftmanship. One misconception is that many people believe their kids MUST have a college education to even think about earning a living. The truth is that many people have earned an honest dollar and lived a long fruitful life to retire on a blue collar income. Another truth is that many people can be very successful making a living with their hands but the public school system has no faith in vocational training (they also believe the college myth). Add to the mix that banks and other financial institutions already believe that manufacturing is going to China and other foreign spots and it's easy to see why some of these core values are disappearing. A large group of people make their income sitting in front of a computer but have no concept of much else. Thanks for the article, Irnsrgn...I'm going to forward it to some other folks.

Try the rubber mats first. Tractor Supply sells a 3/4" thick horse mat for not too much money. You could throw 2-3 under the hammer and probably cut down a lot on vibration.

IMHO, a side draft works much better than an overhead hood. I have had both and the overhead always allowed a little haze to develop in the shop but the side draft will pull out all of the smoke if it's built right and functioning properly.

This anvil was in such bad shape (250 lb PW) that I welded a new 3/4" thick plate on top made from annealed spring steel. Pritchel drilled and hardy hogged out by drill and finished with hand files. This was attached with 6011 from the center out after raising it off the surface with 3/8" mild steel rod so I could get down into the root (note how tall the face is above the table). I then heated the whole thing in a specially made forge and quenched it with a column of water. This was a WHOLE bunch of work but it has been my main "battle" anvil for over 20 years. It would have been easier and cheaper to buy a new one but like you said, big clean ones were and still are real scarce. PS - The stain on top is oil with a little dot of grease on it. I should have cleaned it before the picture but the photo was intended to be of the stand.

The low spot in the middle is likely a natural sink from a lot of work in one area. The spall behind the hardy is probably exactly what you diagnosed. I don't know what type of equipment you have access to but if it were my anvil, I would: 1. Sandblast the whole thing to see if there are any hidden cracks or other damage plus it also cleans the surface thoroughly in preparation for welding. 2. Put a small framing square against the face and sides to determine how much is missing (you probably already realize this but you'll have to go farther out to get enough material to grind back to a square corner). 3. If #2 is not much to fill, I'd probably take a big right angle grinder to it. Much of the anvil might be a good candidate for nice big radiused edges. Sharp edges are bad on an anvil for a number of reasons so even if built up, it will need dressing. 4. Anything I couldn't live with would be built up. I would use the MIG first and get a good bond to the anvil face (after a preheat). I might use a build-up rod on top of the MIG weld but only one pass. Like Jr said, hardfacing rods are typically intended for one pass on mild or low alloy steel to help with abrasion resistance. I used to build chisel plows for a few of the local farmers and I made the blades from mild steel with one pass of hardface on the leading edge. I have also seen repairs on high carbon factory-made chisels, which were broken clean away at the chill line. You are welding on a high carbon substrate so I would stay away from that type of rod. Just my 2 pence...FWIW

Fishers are great anvils - I had a 200 lb one like yours - a couple of edges needed repair so I welded them up. A fellow smith bought it a few months later and used it for many years.

I think that's as good a test as you can formulate without a lot of cost and trouble. However, a flat spring surface is a different substrate than a corner or edge knocked off an anvil - both in composition and architecture. i.e., an anvil edge with chunk gone will not react like the spring. Have you posted pics yet of the existing anvil face? Might be worth study by a few folks before pouring the juice to it.

Yes, it is more of a twist issue than actually being level. Twist puts the tailstock off center with the headstock - causing a potential for inducing unintended taper on a machined part. Having the ends high or low can cause a "belly" in the part because the carriage either rises or falls in relation to the part. This is more of an issue with older long bed lathes that are not fastened to a frame or cabinet. I have my 10" Sheldon on a dirt floor and it will hold .001 all the way down the bed but it's bolted to a large rigid cabinet.

Put them in a burlap sack first so you don't have to chase pieces.

I commented over on the Home Shop site.

Makes good eating utensils - 2-pronged fork, steak flipper, small pokers for stoves, etc.

PW's did not have thick faces as compared to a few other makers. My 250 was chipped and battered before I fixed it and the face plate was 3/8".

You could try epoxy but if it was me, I would drill and tap 3-4 holes in both guide and shim stock, then use CS headed brass screws to hold it on (or tapered brass pins if you have a lathe. File any proud material flush and you have a nice wear plate.

That is too much slop - how you fix it will depend on your skills and resources. I used to tighten my 25 until it locked up and then backed off until it slid freely without binding anywhere along its travel. You could try that first. A good way to fix it is line the guides with bronze or brass strips. That can be done a couple of ways but simple is best if you decide to go that route.