Marc1

Yes, it is cast, as the line down the middle tells you. Material? Who knows, but it is rather irrelevant, at 10 lb it is a toy. A jeweler anvil would have at least a nice flat face to work on, this one has the rocky mountains down the middle. Clearly not made for work. I agree that It would be interesting to know the real purpose for such object. It is too big for a salesman sample, not fit for working on it ... I got nothing. If there ever was an anvil that would benefit from grinding the face and horn to hide the seam, this is one. At least such work would make it look like an anvil, not a better one just a better looking one. In my opinion only of course.

You can see that we actually agree on more than you think. We just use a different language. you use a socially acceptable approach, useful to talk to friends and family, I tell it how it is. Culture, religion, political confessions, socioeconomic status, everything plays a role in the coining of the "values" passed on or rather imposed to the innocent who grow up with their parents, relatives and peers' baggage. It is a minority, generally accepted to be just 5% that is able to recognise the anti-values that are hindering them and replace them. Just accepting that there is a problem is in itself a big hurdle. But anyway, nuff of that. Sure, artists are by definition bad businessman that is why they have agents that bleed them dry craftsman probably a bit better and tradesman better still. Generally speaking of course.

Ha ha, cheddar cheese for cutting compound? Must try that, if anything it will give a pleasant smell in the workshop once it comes up to temperature. Any recommendations on the ideal pressure to drill without burning the cheese? Well Frosty, you may be surprised to know that I am not out to 'get' anyone, only interested in having a pleasant discussion (not a "discussion") Most of the time I have great debates with my little Spoodle. He mostly agrees with me

On this topic, there is help at hand ... the NSW government has just triumphantly announced today, that they have adopted new technology to fine drivers who use their mobile phone illegally. This new radar thingy, can establish that the person is using the phone and issues a fine automatically. How does it determine that the person is not using the phone hands free I don't know. I hope it will not be a matter of issuing the fine and let you deal with the matter in court because you actually never touched the phone ... Ifthat is the case 80% of people will probably just pay. Easy money! As for texting in general, i heard the great news also today ... must be some special texting Monday today ... the Saudi Arabia government has just announced that husbands who want to divorce their wives, can do so by texting their intention to them. Easy peasy! As for the serious matter of using text instead of voice to communicate, there is an obvious advantage to text over voice. You have lots of time to think what you want to say and what you don't want to say. You don't need to answer. You can circumscribe your message to one topic and avoid unnecessary chit chat, or unwanted questions or confrontations. U can abb saying f e .. W R U ? saving your thumbs joints unnecessary stress. I love to send the same message to my 4 daughters, saves me a lot of time. For example :"What time today?" sent to 4 recipients, a few seconds compared to 10 minutes each call, 40 minutes on the phone. Can't beat that

George ... we agree on one thing, this thread was about Craft vs Art. I was very interested in those two concepts and the various personal interpretations. We went on a tangent because the business side of things was mentioned and then came the lack of business inside etc, ergo my take on the reasons for low achievement on the money front. Your reply is a full frontal confirmation of what is the thinking of the cross section of society today. I don't want to go into replying point by point what you just said because I don't want to either offend you or come across as judgemental ... yet every sentence in your reply says ... rich are evil ... and there is virtue in poverty. In different terms and with intellectual camouflage. I used to coach business owners and they paid to listen to me ... a long time ago. It was a lot of fun and I was happy to teach others the bit I now about what makes us tick ... and what makes us stop ... and how to overcome the cultural baggage we have been saddled with since birth, through no fault of our own. One thing I learned George, is that this "anti-values" that harm and sabotage people's lives every day, are so deeply rooted and are so widespread and in every little thing you see or hear, that any unsolicited challenge from a stranger is met with anger, and everyone becomes defensive and runs for cover. So let's say it is not the theme for social entertainment. So I usually keep things for myself this days, and only occasionally let something go out, in the hope that may be someone can review his or her beliefs and toss out what is pulling him down. Let us coin another phrase that your father may have liked ... "The lack of money is at the root of all evil"

Very true and the reason is rooted in our individual set of values. We all adopt our values before age 10 and before we have any say in what this values do for us. They are inherited, imposed forced upon every kid. The underlying theme of most if not all so called values, stamped on every kid's forehead is "rich are evil, poor are virtuous". Sure not necessarily with those words but that is the underlying theme. From socialist ideas to misinterpretation of scriptures to guilt, plain ignorance and many other reasons, parents impose this anti-values or poverty makers all around the world on their unsuspecting offspring, with the best of intentions. The kid grows up and goes through school, high school and even university, thought by teachers who themselves have no idea how to make money and themselves hate success and prosperity in others. Mostly unaware of their singularity and would vehemently reject any suggestion of this nature. The "new" values acquired consciously, do not override the old values inherited as kids. In fact the old one rule the new one. The outcome resulting from this state of affairs. is that every person has a figure in his mind they consider OK to earn, and also that above that figure it is no longer OK. Not that anyone has this very clear, but all you need to do is ask your friends, be them highly paid professionals, business people or on low wages. What is a fair amount for a person to earn? You will be surprised of the answers you get. folks would say that earning between $50k to $100k is OK, that earning $200k is excessive, and that earning $500k is obscene. Mention a million or two and they will scream you out of the door. That business person you are talking about that "founders on the necessities and economics of business" is in fact someone who was never thought how to make money, is intimately convinced that money is dirty, that rich people are evil, and that struggling has some virtuous aspect to it. At the first chance of potential success, the person will subconsciously avoid it or sabotage it because he does not want to become evil like all those rich people out there. Yet don't tell him that, he will tell you you are bonkers. Surprised so many business fail? Not for a minute, it is in fact a natural consequence of a set of values that is sabotaging most people's attempts to make money. The day prosperity and economic success is celebrated and thought in homes, schools and university, things may change. Meantime, whilst money is "dirty" and "at the root of all evil", things will not change one iota ... unless you make a conscious effort to replace those values that don't serve you with new ones that do ... or were born in that 5% of society that has cultivated the right set of values

That old girl has seen some abuse but took it on the chin and is ready to do more work for you. Hope no one decides to "repair it". Use it as you would any small anvil, and use the size hammer that is proportional to her size, not sledgehammer as they used on her horn and heel in the past. The face is likely to flatten and polish a bit with work, but it does not really matter. For 99 % of blacksmith work a flat smooth face is not required. If you are tempted to grind her flat, look yourself in the mirror first

Magnetic North pointing is a must, and so is invoking the help of Vulcan 3 times whilst turning left. Pinch of salt over your shoulder is optional

It happens to me on occasions that I go somewhere else, or my old laptop battery carkes it, however, if you come back to posting a reply and you see the reply window empty, as soon as you start typing in it, the old post or unfinished post comes back. At least that is what my Mac does. As for shaping rings on a cone mandrel how do you get them all the same size?

Nice little PW. Well done. They are good workhorses. Yes, most people ask for brand, provenience and what surprises me more, about its value ... after paying for it. ... but that is OK. Human nature and the curiosity that perhaps, just perhaps it is much more valuable because it is an antique and a museum will pay for it ten fold ... only kidding. It's a great anvil and will serve you well. Now go and look for a 250 lb one to even that one out

In the first picture that shows the whole vice, it is obvious that the screw is not horizontal but is going up towards the moving jaw, and also ... in another picture that shows the jaws meeting, they do so perfectly flat so ... my reading is that the moving jaw is not bent back but is too high most likely due to a worn out bolt or hole or both. It goes up and not down with gravity only because the spring wedges the jaw upwards. If you put the vice back together and compress the spring with a clamp, the moving jaw should drop down most likely past the level and too low, indicating pivot to be worn. Easy fix.Thomas has described how to. Hardest part will be to redrill the new hole in the correct place for the jaws to be levelled. if everything fails, you could get a machinist to turn a bush out of center so that you can try different positions until you have the jaws leveled.

Mm ... just thinking about it ... if it is a 2 man operation, one could weld the end of the bar to a pipe, and whilst one heats the bar with an oxy and slowly turns the pipe, the other works it with a hammer. a bit more costly but faster that walking to and from the forge. Is it cheating to use the oxy ?

Nice firepot, 12mm (1/2") thick? wow, good one. Now the dimensions seem a bit too deep for coal. at least 50mm too deep. I believe it may be just right for charcoal ... but don't quote me. I never worked with charcoal. Have a look at this dimensions www.blksmth.com/mild_steel_firepot.htm As far as your forge table, I don't think you need such high edges. They are not wrong and will keep the fuel on the table, but you will struggle to heat up longer material. You can remove part of the edge on each side of the firepot so that you can have the steel bar low against the table sticking out past the edge on each side and so inside the fire. Some people make their forge without any edges at all. A forge made with such high borders would be OK if you fill it with clay upt to one inch of the edge and mold the firepot in the clay with no steel at all. A cast steel grill from a plumbers supply and you can blow air through it at your heart's content. With that nice thick firepot, once you decide the depth you want, don't forget to make a good clinker breaker. Makes life easier.

That seems like a good way to go for lots of rings. How do you heat such long coil?

Interesting as usual Rocky ... I worked in a government office that went from segregating the public from the office with riot screens to "open plan", completely ignoring the safety of the workers, in a bid to "keep up with the times" or words to that effect. The end result was a spike in aggression incidents and a total loss of privacy among the workers who now, deprived from an office space, had people wandering behind their back, strangers asking questions at random, workmates volunteering stories and more questions, in other words, chaos and a frontal attack on productivity. Open plan stinks. It is inspired by socialist dreams of equality and a clandestine desire of incompetent managers to micromanage behaviour because of their lack of imagination to do it in a way conductive to better and more productive relationships. As far as collaboration in doing business, it merits to discuss a business model that is all the rage. Someone becomes good at doing a particular business, generally on line. All of a sudden this person opens a school of business where he teaches others to do like him for a fee of course. What appears to be a honest collaborative effort to make others succeed, is in fact a slow and effective way to sabotage the original business model that the originator was so successful in doing, by multiplying the number of competitors exponentially flooding the market with same model business and eventually killing it. To me, if you are talking open plan in an organisation, such has a negative effect in robbing people of privacy, and adding unnecessary background noise to the thinking process that is all necessary to do business. Collaboration between business is by definition bad unless it is limited to service each other with your own products or services.

A picture would provide some information as to how to proceed. Welding something to a cast anvil would most likely end in cracks unless you heat the anvil and the feet and use appropriate rod. Take a pick or two of the anvil and the added feet and cracks

Hi Sawbones ... (more a butcher's nome the plume than a blacksmith one) ... Congratulations on choosing a hobby for yourself. At your age my hobby was gymnastics and my job was blacksmithing. May I ask why you chose it? What would you like to make? Any hobby is hard to start with little money, and the lack of money is usually the reason quoted for giving up. The reality is that yes, you can forge steel with improvised tools and get good at it. What will make it happen is enthusiasm, imagination and a vision of what you want to achieve. When I was 15 I started to work in a smithy run by an Italian smith. To me it was just a job to make some pocket money. The guy was friends with my father and when it came to my mother's birthday he forged an ashtray as a gift for her. Ashtrays were a common theme for a gift 50 odd years ago since most adult smoked and smoking did not have the social stigma it has today. Anyway... the ashtray was a representation of a grapevine leaf very detailed with it's veins and curves and was a real piece of art. Strange to say but in a smithy that made architectural work, this little gift was the reason I decided to stick around and learn, rather than just do the work until knock off time. So what I mean is that you need some sort of inspiration to spur you on to a goal in whatever way possible. Many times folks here post videos from youtube showing african tribal blacksmith and their primitive methods. When I deplore every time this display of appalling condition that shouldn't be necessary in 2018, their goal is survival and they achieve it with nothing in the way of money and it is that determination that is worthy of praise. Anyway, that is my rant for the day. Hope to see and read more of your new adventures. All the best. Marc

Reminds me of the local Subaru dealer who sold me a "new" car this year at a great discount. When I checked the compliance plate it stated 2017 as year of manufacture. I complained and said i wanted to buy a 2018 car not 2017 ... so they said "but it was registered in 2018! My answer was to pull the other one and to order a new car from the factory. Anyway, I suppose anvils did not change much from one year to the other and their action of altering the manufacture date was more an honest way to allow for that extra year of warranty.

Well Frosty, I take it you were joking ... I concede that English is not my strongest language ... but I believe that if someone says "It is NOT a lubricant" there is no room for misunderstanding, let alone deliberately. So is it settled that cutting oil is a lubricant and needs to lubricate the cutting tool as it cuts the steel? I hope so. You quiz question brings and interesting point to understanding the drilling process and why some folks answer that they don't use lube ... implying perhaps that lube is not necessary (?) The thing is that if you drill a 1/4" hole in a 3/8" flat bar and your drill bit is sharp and you have a slow drill setting and you push the drill hard enough to produce a steady and thick enough swarf, it is the swarf that carries away the heat and spares the drill from overheating. Enough pressure to keep a good contact between drill and metal will assure the transfer of heat. Therefore if the drilling process is short lived, the little heat produced has ample time to be dissipated without cutting aid of any sort. Repeat the same process and drill a couple of inch deep into a bar and watch your drill bit disintegrate. Anyway it was fun as always and I hope no one keeps a grudge due to my antics. Always lubricate and cool your drill bits if you want to keep them cutting well. Yes, doing so 3 meter up a ladder with a hand drill is probably not a proposition. Having said that, when I need to drill big holes with a magnetic base drill and a broche I always use the lube container and make sure it pumps even when the drill is upside down.

Jig takes you close and you finish by hand. that is the way to make it look good. You can bend cold in a bending machine but it will not look the same and you can always tell. Did you tack weld the ends together?

https://www.axelstenross.com.au/

как ты сделал перья Hum not sure, try a different way изготовление перья, как Kak is how ... перья is feather and изготовление is making, of course I don't know how to shuffle them to make sense in a sentence, but Zverev may get it anyway

I agree. Triumph, Norton, BSA, AJS were the real bikes for us in the 60ties. The much tooted Harleys no one wanted them. We called them straight line bolids, no handling no braking abilities and heavy as a tank. The police in those days had changed from 40ties and 50ties Harleys to BMW and very happy. The harleys sat in warehouses in the hundreds, awaiting auctions and the rare interested party who could buy them for a song and a dance. The BMW were good but too expensive and they had this bad habit of seizing up on the highway if you loaded them up.

You should try your hand at smithing ... words. Your writing tells me you have the knack for it. Or so i think anyway.

Tomco ... apparently Alex Stenross, a famous Finnish boat builder used a Tomco anvil up to 1980, or so does the maritime museum say https://www.thecollectingbug.com/axelstenross~objectsartifacts~1993279/item;jsessionid=989D2774C8273928650688D012897CBD?0