Marc1

if you are using it as a slasher, and if blades are truly spring steel, I would leave them alone. If you are the inquisitive type and want to experiment and have the time to do so and cut in an area where there are no innocent bystanders, you could take one blade, mark it with a grinder in the back edge, and attempt to harden it, write down the process and temperatures used and then compare the performance with the other blades. In time you may get good at it and get just the right hardness ... or you just buy another set

Yep, hot steel, instant oxidation, black stuff will stay put. However heating up a beadhead to apply oil to it would be a challenge

Raw or boiled, not a particularly good thing to apply to your finished product. The difference between raw and boiled is the drying speed. Heat starts the oxidation / polymerisation process so boiled will make a film quicker plus they add drying agents (oxidising agents) to it. Raw dries slower but eventually will dry too, and eventually will come off the steel and peel. Best is to use beeswax, candle wax, paraffin wax and you can soften them up with a solvent like turps. that stuff will never solidify (as in harden polymerise) and can alway be either removed or another coat applied or if you leave it in the sun and rub it with a rug will come back as new. Or you can use something better like plumbago.

Anvil purchase can be an emotional business, if you add the pressure of an auction things get easily out of hand. Not saying you paid too much, since it depends where you are located. There are folks who would sell 200 pounds anvil for $2000 in Australia, and a quarter of that price in the UK with a bit of luck. You paid $4 a pound, sort of average price I think. I once bought an anvil on line without looking into it much. It is a Kohlswa and it was listed as 40 kilos yet when I got it it was 40 pounds It's my smallest anvil and I like it a lot.

How far away is it? Not worth the trip?

Interesting. An anvil collector would know what he is selling. It's s dud, forget it. Pitty though. In German you say Katze im Sack not Schwein im Sack... Different animal same idiom

I see, just looked it up, it's a pull behind slasher. Yes, those blades sure take a beating. Are the blades expensive?

Wow that is some mower! What do you cut with it, nice lawn or just scrub?

Hi Jeff, don't mind the squabble over knives. As for your mower blades, best you can do is sharpen them carefully cooling them in a tin of water so they keep their current hardness. You don't want a hardened edge on a mower blade or it will shatter when you hit a stone. Mower blades are disposable, and some are not even meant to be sharpened. I have a small ride on mower with a single 54" deck and I used to sharpen the blades until I realised it was a waste of time. I had 4 blades and removed 2 of them and now it cuts better and when the blades are worn out I replace them. You say your mower is a 14 ft mower. What brand and model is it? How do you measure a mower in foots? Is it the deck or the whole thing? Just curious, anyway, my take is leave them alone, sharpen them if you want, keep them cool and forget heat treatment. Nicks in the blade will make no difference in performance unless you are cutting a green on a golf course. Mower blade cut mostly by impact PS I remember making a mower blade from spring steel. It was so long ago that I don't remember the benefits, but in my view today, I wouldn't spend any time making a mower blade. Better make a gate or a bottle opener

Ha ha, was thinking the same ... I would dunk it in the sea for a couple of month ... that will age it allright

It looks very similar to a Refflinghaus, but even if it is not, it's a bargain at $3 a pound. As for the ebay add, that is more than a brand new Refflinghaus ... price

PS PS ... just checked that Gumtree post in Brisbane ... he actually sells his anvils for $10 A POUND And your stand may also be worth something

Use a piece of old gutter to make a long container and dip it in a few litres of vinegar. That should clean the galvo off.

PS Dig around the yard in case there are more treasures buried. Thinking of blacksmith tools like hammers or tongs.

Yes, yes, all very funny. The fact remains that to reply to someone that posts a larger than average tool with "that is not large, mine is larger", is clearly dumb, contributes nothing, is a deterrent to others and this regardless of attempts to be witty after the fact. If you guys can not see this ... well, I can't help you.

Nice anvil. In order to estimate a price, please post photo of face and edge to show condition, and very important, ,post the weight. If such is not possible weight can be guessed from the size, that is length, width and height. The price of anvils depends from condition, brand weight and location, not necessarily in that order. BK Sydney and Peter Wright are the brands more commonly available in Australia and prices are comparably the highest in the world. There is an old anvils dealer advertising on Gumtree right now selling anvils at $10 a kilo. At a wild guess, your anvil is in the order of 60-80 kilos (?) And as Frosty would say ... add your location to your profile

Mm ... nice job ... good enough to eat

I have an old transformer welder like that one. I think it's a 180 amps 240/15a supply. I only use it on occasion to take on the truck because my other welders are too large to take anywhere. It welds well but needs a bit more practice than a modern inverter. Up side is that it will probably never break down.

Interesting shape ... is that to have the bending fork on one end and still plenty of work surface left in the centre?

You are stating the obvious. Tong is proportional to stock size. If the blacksmith forges large stock he needs large hammer/power hammer and large tongs. That changes nothing, it is still the exception and not the rule. Most blacksmith use average size tools. Some doing sculpture or industrial stuff use large tools. Not sure what your point is short of a size contest. And just in case, the size of the stock does not make for a better professional. Just like you wouldn't use a 3" tong to forge a rose, you don't use a 1/2" tong to manipulate a 3" shaft. Is the blacksmith that forges 1/2' stock a beginner, part time or "hand forging"? Says who? Is the one forging 3" a professional? Not from what I can see forging in China. All is relative and size contest is ... well ... not very interesting.

Oh my ...

My wife's grandfather was a gunsmith and he used to make flat and round wood carving chisels with bearing race. worth looking into, the prices of round chisels is outrageous ... still have a few in the tool box. Those bearings are on the larger side, (won't use the adjective enormous for fear of pictures with one meter bearings showing up) ... may be you could make wood turning tools with them. As far as making knifes, I don't make knifes so don't know if they would be ok for that. Probably would ... with appropriate tampering and tempering

Not at all, yours are enormous as in way bigger than normal everyday tongs, and most people would only use them for decoration. The one in the photo at 5' long are truly gigantic and only a few blacksmith with very strong arms could consider manipulating (not lifting) something by hand with them.

Come on guys, those are big tongs! what's the matter? Industrial meters long manipulating instruments are machines not tongs.

Wow, that is an awesome 'post' for your vice. Does the hight work out OK? If you have concrete floor you can epoxy a couple of 1" anchoring bolts in it and that thing will go nowhere fast. Good find ... do you know what it was intended for originally? PS ... never seen a double screw post vice before. Is the moving jaw supported somehow or only by the screws?