Marc1

Nice anvil ... and ... why are you scaring the kids?

It seems that the BIG anvil sensitivity is still surfacing. Sensitivity to BIG is not limited to anvils. Recently we were shopping for a car for my wife. Just a little hatchback. Shortlisted Toyota, Hyundai, and Subaru. The salesman from Hyundai was very ... how to say ... dogmatic in his opinions and wouldn't consider answering question from me about other larger cars. Eventually he chose to attack with the answer ... what do you drive? My answer that I drive a Humvee got him in a frenzy and he started to jump up and down stating that no one needs that size car and that it sucks so much fuel and the environment and many more nonsensical personal opinion ... we bought a Subaru. Personal opinions are like navels. Everyone has one and they are harmless until we think we have the right to impose our personal opinion on others because ... well because. When it comes to anvils, I would like a 1400 lb anvil and If I find one I would teach my Spoodle to sit on it, and watch me work. Would paint it green with yellow stripes. Will have to wrap it in a towel or he gets a cold behind I suppose.

900? wow ... now we are talking ... what's that? 400 kg ... mm somehow in pounds it sounds bigger Do you have a photo?

Very funny. Carbon is the main "ingredient'" in petrol. Somehow the servo will not fill the tank with carbon if I ask ... But if you think that cleaning with Tetrachlor or bleach is the same ... you have something else coming. Then again ... there are scores of people who think that "carbon" is real bad and we must de-carbonise to reduce our "carbon" foot print. Go figure ... yes chemistry is interesting, sarcasm is not.

Actually ... size does not matter ... as long as you bolt it down is't all good ... or so I was told

Do you have a chainsaw?

There is a 6500 lb anvil, but more for show than for forging.

You are correct, Carbonyl Chloride not Cobalt Chloride. My bad. (Co ff Co ff ) 1) Lubricant. Not safe to breath fumes. 2) Tetrachloroethylene (industrial degreaser) not chlorine

I didn't know what Rapid Tap is so had to look it up. It seems that it is just a lubricant and has no relation to brake cleaner. See below the link to the safety data sheet. Having said that the safety data has a few holes so, clearly not recommended to inhale fumes from combustion. As for Cobalt Chloride aka Phosgene, it can form by burning Tetrachloroethylene, an industrial degreaser also used for dry cleaning. (I think it is banned now but depends from the country you live in) A comprehensive study by Akio Yasuhara in the thermal decomposition of Tetrachlroethylene is available with a Google search. Hydrogene Chloride and Phosgene is formed between 300C and 900C. There is no antidote to Phosgene poisoning. Phosgene can also form in the combustion of refrigerant gases in fires that involve air conditioners or fridges. https://relton.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SDS-NRT-2015.pdf

Agreed. Looking at my workshop I am sure I can put together a couple of beginners kit from the stuff I never use and wouldn't miss if I sold it. As to actually doing it ... that is another story

You use fish and chip oil with chips still in it?

It stands to reason that an increase in demand will produce an increase in numbers of workshops created and therefore a larger number of people in the market of used tools. A market is never one way only. Folks change their mind, neighbours or family members complain about noise, people burn their fingers or drop a hammer on their toes and lose interest. A natural process. i wouldn't read too much into it. it is simply the result of a larger pool of tools from where a percentage is sold, and a larger number of new smith brings inevitably a number of people giving up and selling the lot. Considering that a large number of new blacksmith ... perhaps a very large number, take it up as a hobby and not as a living not even part time job, blacksmithing as a hobby is a luxury and as any luxury it depends heavily from the fluctuations in the economy. People lose a job, move away and a metalwork shop is heavy to move.

Reminds me of a piano player I knew who was giving a concert and his page turner failed to come. He found someone who did not read music. He told him, don't worry, I nod when you need to turn the page. Unfortunately he nodded all the time in the heat of the performance and I was watching in horror how he struggled to turn the page back, time and time again.

My brother wife and family had to evacuate. They are stunned by the speed of the fire that is only 3% contained ... that is to say is out of control. I don't want to comment on the reasons that created this situation over there, but going from some of your comments it is no different from our bushfires. Extreme green policies of "do nothing" build up fuel. Add to that the ubiquitous lunatic and perhaps even malicious groups like it is rumoured happened in Greece. We can only hope for rain and a change in the wind direction. PS what is 2017 in the thread title?

Image sent by my brother from Reddings

Search on you tube for: Metal Inlay Techniques Part 1 of 2 by Matthew Parkinson, AP or : Hammer & Chisel Engraving by Sam Alfano for some more professional engraving

I can safely say that I have never set fire to my bra ... however ... I did set fire to my flannelette shirt. Unfortunately flannelette is not what it used to be and is now made with synthetic rubbish. It only takes a spark and the wind created by the disk will fan it into a fire. I was cutting a large H beam with a 1mm cutting disk and was leaning over the beam on the ground. The shirt was hanging away from my chest and was well on fire before I even realised. I remember thinking ... why is it so hot? ... suffice to say the shirt in question and the rest of the flannelette shirts in my cupboard ended in the bin.

Those videos of primitive forging are always fascinating and horrifying at the same time. Perfectly adapted to the culture and the need, it is admirable and frightening. What I could do without, is the laconic comments of a person who is adamant in telling the viewer that that is the best way ever. I must be doing something wrong for sure.

Your lack of insight is astounding. No point replying to this. The thread is called why does size matter ... and it's not about you.

Only kidding Stevo ... have you done a spark test? Get someone to take photos and post them. At lest we could possibly tell if it is ok to make tools with it.

Well ... you tricked me to look at this using the word "giant" ... I thought someone had found a ship anchor or an equestrian statue natural size. You could make a few chisels of different sizes. You always need chisels

Interesting and predictable. Someone asks the question "Why does size [of anvil] matters" After some attempts by others I posted a few reasons and supported my answer with some basic formulas. For my efforts I was called smarty pants by elevation and the idea of expressing concepts in formulas disregarded as a waste of time. Don't get me wrong, it takes much more than that to rise one of my eyebrows, but you seem intent to hammer your numerous point across with a large number of words and like to explain in much detail what is your position. A bit more care in how you refer to others is probably a good idea. I would never say about a third person that he or she is "supposed" to have done something, when he stated he did. As for the quote below, I have no idea where that belongs. More 'supposed skilled' or words to that effect ... and "touting formulas" ? ... Why the aggression? And what relevance does it have, the weight of the anvils I use? I don't present myself as an example for anyone. The whole point of the original question is to understand how the mass of an anvil works in relation to work and hammer weight. Nothing else. I don't write nor post to show off. I made it clear that a small anvil is useful for small work, a bigger for bigger work. Not ... that bigger is better, and not that a smaller anvil is useless. If anything you disappoint me greatly.

That reminds me the time I worked at Qantas. The baggage master office had a door stop that looked like a brick all wrapped up in newspaper. For years we kicked it back and forth to keep the heavy steel door open or close it. Eventually someone kicked it hard enough for the many layers of paper to come off and show what was inside. it was not a brick but a large gold bar. It was common for gold bars to be transported in a box bolted inside the baggage container. One must have come out somehow and whoever found it hid it in plain view but was then not game to take it with him. It was a door stopper for us ...

Hi Greg from Holland Anvils ... I am soo glad that another modern manufacturer of quality anvils is swelling the numbers of good quality anvils that bust the myth of "Old is better than new" There is so much busted and abused ex anvils, sold at extortive prices that a new anvil of high quality is welcome anytime and anywhere. Keep up the good work.

i am afraid it is not that simple. I have used large drill bits to countersunk a predrilled hole, but a drill is not a countersink tool, and the fact I used one for that purpose does not make it such. Why? it's all in the angle. Real countersink tools come in a variety of angles and consist of a conical cutter with several flutes. The idea is to either clean the burr left by the drill, or to allow for a screw head to be flush with the surface, sunk in the counter ..., hence the counter-sunk name. The process of drilling with a drill bit and cutting a conical hole to allow for a screw to sit flush can be done with a drill and countersunk combination tool. Most have a drill bit that can slide for different depth and others have fixed drill bits. Your picture shows a tool that has a different purpose, and that is to drill a shallow hole and a conical recess to accomodate the centre of a lathe. A lathe cone has 60 degrees and rarely 70 degrees angle, A countersink screw has angles that range from 80 to 120 degrees. Drill bits have an angle of 118 ( or should have) If that tool came with a pop rivet tool, it surely can perform the task required for a pop rivet operation ... that is besides drilling the hole ... well nothing! A pop rivet does not need countersinking, just needs a hole. Scratching away the burr is usually a luxury when it comes to pop rivets, but even with that in mind, the tool is and remains a centre point drill for lathes. it can be used for a multitude of task? ... sure.