Marc1

Have a look at this video, it may give you some ideas. And no, it is not your ordinary railroad track anvil, far from it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwg_h49VAPU

Hi Gools ... Welcome and wish you all the best in your quest to continue in your grandfather's footsteps ... or should I say hammerblows Just to contradict the locals, I'll say that "knowledge" is not in any way as valuable as once believed. Anyone can gain knowledge, but you need a good attitude to achieve that. So it is attitude that counts and that is hard to change if it is of the wrong kind. i would start by not calling yourself dumb. There is no value in being the underdog. Much more value in eagerness to learn and good attitude. In my personal opinion anyway

Possible ... and a sign with a tong may seem advertising for a dentist ...

Brian has an account on instagram and one on youtube with the extension brianbrazealblacksmith

Ha ha folks. Some good answers and some ... ahem ... just like in life. My father used to say ... one shovel of lime and one of sand. “If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; but if you really make them think, they'll hate you.” ― Harlan Ellison And then there is the quote on irony by Oscar Wild ... but you can google it.

Precisely my point. You can excuse a bit of obsessing over makers and dates from those who have 40 years in the trade, and also a bit of contempt for so called ASO. Yet for someone starting, nothing better than spending $50 on an ASO to start learning how to shape something into something else and not having to worry about their new ASO getting a beating. Instead we seem to encourage buying highly overpriced beaten up wrecks just because they once were anvils. I was recently told off for suggesting a new person to use his already purchased ASO rather than looking for odd substitutes. Anyway. Not interested in starting another anvil vs railroad track thread. Only surprised at the "anvil obsession" that could be excused for old timers but seems odd for newer folks. Note I say odd not wrong. Instead it seems that folks already in the trade for years have less interest in showcasing the latest and best anvil yet those who have decided yesterday to have a go, want to buy the most expensive anvil they can afford before even buying a bag of coal. And experienced blacksmith do not help much in this area. I remember once i poked my head in a blacksmithing forum on facebook and joined a conversation about old vs new anvils. Oh my! what a mistake. I was in the camp that said new anvils of reputable origin are in general better than the older one you can find for sale and better value. I think that if this was face to face and not online I would have been lynched by the mob, headed by the master forumite himself who would have placed his 700 pounder columbian on my chest to prove it. I have no time for fanatics and wish we could promote our trade without passing on our shortcomings to the newcomers. They have to contend with their own motivations, most likely spurred by a TV show that is biased and unrealistic, and focuses on one small specialised area of blacksmithing and ignores everything else at the new persons loss.

I find it very odd MC. if you like I do, only look at the latest post, the flow of "I bought an anvil, how much is it worth ..." is massive in comparison to anything else. Any trade you care to think of, will have new people interested that will start by asking "how to" questions and never "I bought a cordless drill" Nothing wrong with wanting to start a collection of antiques or even making a profit with a purchase. Just that it seems someone starting a trade or even a hobby would be more interested in how to do things than in a display of pristine antiques. May be I am getting old.

I have an on and off switch and a gate. Being forced to hold onto the switch to keep the fan blowing seems like counterproductive. May be a pedal that switches off as you step off it? Still same thing only hands free. I wonder if someone could adapt one of those fancy light switch that work with voice or clapping command. Scream one, two or stop ... worth a try

MIG. Next time I'll twist the side bar 90 degree at each point of attachment. Only thought about it when it was too late

Inspired by a gate in Ukraine. Making this for the top of the stairs you can see in the background.

Something different from the usual straight bars. Next is the hinges and lock. Stock is 2"x 1/4" and the sides are 2"x1/2". The hinge side bar is forged down to 3/4" round and the bottom pin goes in a socket and the top will hopefully be a hand holding the top pin. The latch need to be kid safe. I'll figure it out as I go. Another hand would be nice but only if I can actually make one that does not take me too much time. Rivets are round head 1/4 x 1" mild enough to rivet cold.

After yet another volcanic thread about anvils, I was wondering about this phenomenon of ... lets call it anvil obsession. Sure tools do draw a bit of passionate opinions from their owners, however I have yet to observe such exchange from carpenters about their vintage chisels or planes, or electricians about their multimeters, musicians about their instruments and honestly not even from collectors who by definition only accumulate collectables and do not use them. Sure, there is an inordinate number of new people drawn to the trade, however it is strange that just one of the numerous tools required to forge something is the object of such veneration. One would expect that a new person would be more interested in 'how to' debates, rather than the tired, repetitive exchange about the value of the anvil just purchased as if it was an art piece, or the need for repairs, the appropriateness of such move or ... the preservation of its "patina" ... God help us. Trade websites are overwhelmingly about ... well the trade in question, what else. How to do this or that. Look at what I have done, how could I make the other etc. We seem to attract a massive number of post related to a tool, one tool that, when at the centre of forging, is by no means the only one and will in itself do nothing without a large array of other tools and the skills that go with it in order to produce something pleasant. When I started forging I was interested in learning the ease the older smith displayed in making things, their eye for aesthetics and how they could make an art piece out of a dull piece of flat bar. The anvil they used was always inconsequencial and of no interest to me. In fact for years I did not even know about brands or country of origin. I suppose we are all different but I always wondered how is it that there is hardly an interest in what we do and how we do it, and all this obsession about anvils.

Pilgrim ... must be a TV series? PM ... yes, the obsession with CO2 .The entire world is in a CO2 frenzy. This last 20 years will go down in history as the era of pointless inane asininity.

Or phenomenally pantagruelian That's better

More effectual than dynamic ... lets say paraphrasal obscurantism ...

Perhaps ... historically the archetype of a blacksmith in ancient folklore is pagan, so a nye of purple pheasant offered in a philanthropic gesture for the plebs to phagocyte in a pageant procession of confused pharisee ... would be certain to precipitate the perception of a phantom phenomenon of collective and cacophonic philarmony ...

Aye ... A nye of pheasant can be a pleasant surprise for a peasant seeking an antepast for a pageant ...

Is the brand a known one? I only know the vintage motorcycle by that name. Collectors item and highly priced down under ... 1931 is my favourite

The peasant may be revolting but the pheasant are rather nice ...

For a forge you need not only flow usually expressed in CFM but pressure to push the air through the coals. An axial fan, that is one where the air flows along the motor axis, is designed for high volume but low pressure. What you need is a centrifugal fan that can impart some pressure to the air and where the motor is at 90 degree with the air flow. The CFM required by a forge depends very much of it's construction and how big of a fire you need. In general a side blast forge needs more volume than a bottom blast forge and just to mention a figure 100 CFM would be adequate for most forges, but what is adequate? People forge with hair dryers and axial bathroom fan built in a plywood box. You will need to experiment. Fortunately those Dayton fan are, some of them. 1/3 of your budget.

If you are in the US, a Dayton blower is the way to go. They have the largest choice of blower with very affordable prices. if you are in Europe, there are blacksmith supplier in UK and Poland that have decent blowers for low prices. If you are in Australia, you are better off buying a Dayton and importing it via a fright forwarder. As for models, if you search on the "electric motor warehouse" for Dayton blowers, you have most of the models.

This sentence should stick to the top of the anvil section in my personal opinion

For the lovers of railway tracks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwg_h49VAPU

Is this the French revolution all over? Paysan in French is not necessarily derogatory as it is in English. It could be if you really want it. In English it would be hard not to interpret peasant as pejorative. Yet coming from someone that is French, or worse Scandinavian, you must be a bit less prone to offence. In Italian for example, paesano can be used as an affectionate term meaning from the same region. As for the anvil repair, I am more interested in the method used by Lars for this repair. Sharp edges or rounded, is a personal preference. After all it is easier to grind edges round but very hard to go the other way. Come on Lars, gives us a run down of the method and materials used.

If the vice and the blower don't need repairs, and if the anvil is not soft, you are getting almost all you need to get started. If you don't have anything yet, it seems a good deal. If you don't need forge or vice ... then may be a bit pricey? Try a lower offer. Remember that if are not ashamed of the price you offer, you are offering too much