Marc1

You could also go to the chemist with the anvil in your arms and weight yourself, then put her down and weight yourself again ... and work out the difference ...

Vice is the spelling for the tool in 49 out of 50 English speaking countries including Canada to my surprise. The attempts at finding different origins to each spelling from Latin "Vitium "for Vice and "Vitis" for Vise is suspect at best and probably just a fabrication. The spelling development of the English language is interesting as watching grass grow. More of a convention that extends only to those convening . By the way I also spell Aluminium, Axe and Gauge

Wire wheel and ATF for me, but anything will do, orange oil, wax, wd40. Avoid anything that stays sticky afterwards like lanolin or linseed oil, unless diluted with turps or petrol.

I doubt that to be a double pulley. Considering it is from a exercise machine, the purpose is to provide resistance and not to increase power. At a guess, one wheel is spring loaded to retrieve the rope and the other provides friction to make you work harder. I suppose you can find use for such set up for something in the workshop ... If I had need for such thing, I wait for the council clean up day, when half of the suburb gets rid of their exercise contraptions, and merrily walk the street selecting the best one ...

As usual questions about 'worth' are subjective. If I was making a sculpture and the final missing piece was a large circular saw, perhaps I would pay a higher than scrap price. So it is all about how much it is worth for me ... or rather for you. For the others it obviously is overpriced because they are hinking in steel value. Bieing it most likely comes from an old mill, it can have value for different reasons that are not it's steel content. They do very well for target practice because you can hear when you hit it

About 180 pounds.

Ha ha, I am sure it does. Hot steel usually does not run away

Nice, make sure you post a pic when you clean it up How do you like this vice? No need for an anvil with this one

I can't help but associating this hammers with Wile E. Coyote constructions ...

Mm ... I am afraid that the difference between Girder and Joist is not to be found in ancient literature

Are you going to make a tsuka for it?

Nee Arkie, that was not what I meant. Every case of culture shift in any country you care to think of, has good and bad aspects to it. And don't forget that it is very difficult to make cultural/historical adjustments to be fair to all parties. What is happening today is very recent and those pushing the "green" line are not representative of the majority, they are just louder and have a lot of time on their hand. Slag, 85% of fires are started by human hands, half with criminal intent and the other half accidentally. By the way i believe that is more or less the same in other western countries. The saddest part is that they get a slap on the wrist by the " avant garde" judiciary that are oh so understanding ...

That anvil can be perfect for some jobs and useless for others. I would confidently use that for hand cutting sheet metal into figurines and then shape them with little ball peen hammers and miniature punches. You can make a chess set or a nativity set that way on that anvil Forging a 3/4" round bar into a knot will not work on that anvil.

Sorry Arkie, that is a 6 month old photo, taken in our winter. The trees are cottonwood and look like that in winter. The fires spared us so far, they came all around us as close as a few km but not closer. My eldest daughter that moved in her newly acquired acreage only a few month ago, had to evacuate for the third time, the last one last week. Packed two girls and 4 chickens in the car and came to stay with us. Husband that is in the fire brigade stayed back armed with pumps, a pool full of water and lots of determination, to put out embers. At the last minute, when the firestorm seemed inevitable, a change in the wind direction saved the house and pushed the flames back. It has to be said, that bushfires are part of the Australian landscape and have been for millenia. The aboriginal population that arrived 50,000 years ago, managed the bush by burning the fuel that accumulates naturally from trees and grass growth, every year in order to make human existence compatible with the land. European that arrived only 230 years ago, adopted the local practice, however as recently as 30 years ago something changed. Some "eco" groups, produced and promoted successfully a new set of ideas, plucked more or less from thin air. Namely that fuel levels stay "constant" and that therefore essential fuel reduction burning is not necessary and that it is in fact harming local flora and fauna. Ignoring decades of scientific data that shows leafs and branches accumulating for 15 years before leveling out and bark as much as 30 years, local councils and state legislation started to block farmers from doing their own fuel reduction. Things escalated for decades with fanatical determination worthy of a better cause. The severity of this years bush fires are due to simple factors. Higher than ever levels of fuel, triple the population since the sixties and therefore triple the number of arsonist that account for 42.5% of fires, the other 42.5% go to human negligence, and the last 15% are natural causes we have no control over. This year back burning operations in winter saw the local councils hamper the fire brigade efforts by limiting the areas severely and demanding it be done short section at the time, as short as one meter. Most catastrophes that overcome humanity can be traced back to our own selfish motives and stupidity trying to run hidden agendas for personal motives. Nothing new really. Sad that so many pay the cost of the deranged agenda of the few. If you happen to know someone who is in the USA fire brigade and that has come to help, let him or her know that i am very grateful and thank him from the bottom of my heart.

How about lightning arrester pole end thingy? The eye is to hang a chain from it.

ha ha, your description of one hand swinging a large hammer is spot on. I had to do it a few times and all I had at hand was a 5kg sledge. what is that 10, 11 pounds? Boy was that not the way to go. Ok I smashed what I was doing well and good but ... don't try this at home I don't get wrist pain, more tennis elbow if I am careless with weight and handle grip ... but you're a spring chicken compared to me

My father told me to, stand in front of mules, behind cannons and far away from superior officers. That dude standing in front of his cannon did not get the memo ...

Hi DD, when the above advice is in theory correct, yes pine burns easier than Iron Bark ... you can stop this from happening by charring your stand intentionally with a roof plumber's torch aka propane blow torch, flamethrower or similar. Once you get a nice black surface, most of the flammable materials is used up and you will need much higher temperature for the wood to start burning again. And the stand will look real cool ! Don't worry too much about the armchair specialists you hear on tv or radio. Make your own experience.

Interesting you say that Charles. I used relatively shorter handles on cross peen hammers 2 to 4 lb, slightly longer on 22-28 oz ball peen and recently switched to longer handle and rounding hammer also 2 to 4 pounds. Yes you can go half way on the long handle. I find that going back to short Hofi hammers needs a bit adjusting back to and what seemed to be the way to go, is now an annoyance. For me anyway. We do change and adapt, but my point was more to the original question of how to avoid injury. Shoulder and forearm strengthening exercises are paramount. By the way, I had a 40 years old shoulder injury that did not want to heal. tried physiotherapy, osteopath, acupuncture and other methods to no avail. Only this year I discovered an exercise physiologist who fixed it in a few month twice a week sessions of active exercises. The key is active as opposed to passively expecting someone else to do it for you I would probably embarrass myself trying to make a horseshoe at the speed you guys do it let alone fit it.

Ha ha, possible. Or may be the privilege would be percieved as wrong or unpopular if disclosed.

Flag pole topper?

What is the advantage of the heel being so thin and backwards?

Hammer handle length for one handed forging hammers is one area that the beginner and the occasional blacksmith must keep an eye on. In order to move more hot steel it is a temptation to increase handle length. This comes at a cost. During the upstroke, the longer the handle the harder it is on the extensors in the forearm. A short handle Hofi style is easier to turn up with a wrist movement. If the arm is not strong and fit, a longer handle will result in pain. Of course this can be overcome by holding the hammer in the center of the handle to allow it to swing/rotate in your hand freely, ergo the advice not to cling to the hammer. But the temptation to grab it by the end of the handle and give it all you have is always there. Best thing for a person starting is to use small hammers on small stock, and avoid striking hammers if you value the integrity of your back.

You are probably right. I also was surprised at how relatively recent the song was. The reading of the history fo this society is rather laborious. All the legal terms and their significance and value are alien to me. One section that seem odd, is that they claim to be there to protect the consumer, the apprentice and regulate commercial activities, yet no mention of any protection or privileges for the blacksmith himself, something I find rather difficult to believe since this kind of societies ,secret or otherwise are notorious to work for the members and no one else. .

Hi Miro. The answer to your question is well addressed by Jenny (Jlpservices) in her answer above. Most important thing to remember is that we are all different. Hight, weight, fitness level, age all play a role and what works for me will not necessarily work for you. In my days of gymnastics competition we observed that those that started training and were naturally built like a tank, did much worse than those who had a slim complection and worked up to the fitness level required through specific training. Forging is an uneven and anaerobic exercise. Repetitive movement, shock and vibration add to potential injury. Small hammer and small stock to begin with, and as far as exercise, I keep in shape with a bar and rings hanging under my veranda. My neighbours think I am a lunatic hanging upside down at age 70, but ... who cares right?