Marc1

Wd40 has many uses, I use it as a bat repellent.

You can make a stand out of 3/4" plate and bolt the anvil down, or you can make a box with 3/16" and fill it with sand. Both will work in their own peculiar way. That timber stand will work in keeping the anvil from rocking and the anvil will absorb the hammer blows purely with it's mass. Nothing wrong with that.

Would like to see a picture of the roof cavity. Ceilings are not made to carry extra 200k without any modifications. At the very least and providing the roof structure allows it you would need to suspend the center of the ceiling from the roof trusses with a cable or chain ... worst case scenario you need an additional beam across the room and over the ceiling rafters supported by the walls. That sort of load may seem to be ok at first but with time it can bend the rafters down. A builder can give you an idea. Access for the beam if one is required can be as simple as lifting some tiles and slide the beam in the cavity from the outside. As far as the chandelier itself, anything you design must take the existing or modified structure into account. No point making a chandelier with support points that have nowhere to anchor to. And yes, I too buy some pre made stuff from Venice when the going get's tough and I need hundreds of little thingies. Their prices are as low as can be even when they are mostly made with a hebo machine or similar. arteferro dot com also sells glass flowers and ornaments but they are not cheap.

I like it!

Sad how an anvil can get to that stage. As it is I would pay $20 and use it as a counterbalance to keep the tension on the mooring line. And I bet you that someone will ask me if I want to sell it ...

A smaller diameter blade would have a much lower tangential speed and with the right (higher) number of teeth and the lower rotating mass of an air tool, compared to an electric motor, it is clearly a better proposition.

There are a couple of angle grinder looking contraptions available, that use a geared down dual blade counter rotating thingy to address the kick back issue but they don't go past the hobby market. And they have a handle similar to a circular saw that makes them safer. I like it but that is a chandelier not a ceiling fan

It is not a matter of a dangerous tool that needs to be used with care. It is a matter of a modified tool that is using a circular saw blade not designed for it. A grinder spins at 12 to 13,000 rpm, a circular saw at 4 to 5,000 rpm. The blades are designed to spin at 5,000 not more. The blade at that speed and with that low number of teeth, will invariably kick back and maim the operator that is so foolish to use such contraption. What is next? A chainsaw modified to spin a ceiling fan? There are attachments to carve wood that look a bit like a circular saw but the profile of the teeth is different and we are talking wood not metal. For metal the teeth count should be about 4 times higher and the profile of the cutting edge different. Plus the blade will have to be engineered for 13,000 rpm. And that is used in a shipyard?

There is no "correct way" to use an angle grinder with an attachment that is not designed for it. A circular saw and an angle grinder are not comparable tools by any stretch of the imagination.

Semantics. Plenty of "collectors" on line trying to sell, and they don't buy unless it is at the right price. Anvil on the Titanic ... hopefully of better quality steel than the hull

Nice anvil, well used but not abused. Nice size for small to medium stuff, good size to justify the purchase of 2 more anvils, one in the vicinity of 200 lb and another 300 lb Anvil purchase seems to bring up a lot of buyers remorse. Almost every post of an anvil purchase comes associated with doubts about the price paid. Sometimes disguised as a question ... how much is this anvil worth? ... I say it is worth what you paid, not more, not less. Negotiating skills particularly for items like an anvil that are a cross between a museum piece, a tool and an emotional decorative item, are probably worthless unless you decide to become a collector and acquire the hard nose to go past anvils that are overpriced to score the one that will make you a profit. As a one off buyer, how do you reconcile the conflict between "I want that anvil" and "I want to pay much less so I don't feel bad about spending" ? A hard balancing act. Price paid is soon forgotten, the quality of the tool is what stays with you. Next time, if you really want to learn to negotiate a price, remember this ... if you don't feel ashamed of your offer, that means you have offered too much ...

I have resident animals, namely geckos, swallows and little bats. I talk to them sometimes

Best home made hand's cleaner is washing machine powder mixed with sawdust. Rub your hands in it dry, then add a little bit of water at the time and keep on rubbing.

You are talking about you tube. You tube as it's name indicates is for "you" or in other words for people to see themselves. Probably 10% is useful and that confirms the 90% rubbish Sturgeon referred to

Talk to Bruce from Anyang Australia before you spend that much money on a museum piece. They are running a bulk buy until the end of this month, check them on facebook

The important thing to keep in mind in this cases is to avoid polarized thinking at all cost. Have you ever seen that image of a white cup were the black background resembles two people looking at each other? Our brain can only see either the cup or the profile of the two people, however to ask what is it? a cup or two people is the wrong question. The picture is both, and neither of the 3 possible questions is wrong. Is it necessary for a beginner to make his own tools in order to get started? I say no, but someone else may have this image in his mind of a blacksmith that starts from scratch in that particular way. Wrong? Not necessarily, just like it is not wrong to buy everything you can buy ... or ... to buy some and make some. The important thing is missing here. It is not that you are wrong or right by making your own tools, or it is wrong or right to encourage beginners with perhaps a tad exaggerated congratulations, what is important for the beginner or rather for everyone is to understand how our mind works and make the best of the learning journey that, by the way, never ends. Everyone learns all the time even the accomplished artist do. And, surprise surprise, we all learn in different ways because we are, yes, all different. Is it right to be like me or is it right to be like you?

I wouldn't even consider changing the common usage of a technical term that was established who knows how long ago. It would be nice to know when was it that the word tempering shifted its meaning from hardening more towards annealing. But only as a curiosity. Many such curiosities in the English language. When tempering, temperament, temper and related words are used as a simile for the human psyche, it pays to dig the original meaning to make sense of such simile that in today's terms is no longer a valid metaphor. When in Rome do as the Romans do ... sure. In Rome it is full of Moroccan street merchants that run after you saying "vuo compra?" ... the analogy is invalid today. But it is still nice to use it even if it requires a bit of an explanation.

Obviously you are thinking in using the cast gearbox for a gas forge. Hum ... will it take the heat without cracking? May be ok. Must be from a large truck. A picture would help, but I think you are making a rod for your own back. Why not using an LPG tank? The gearbox will smoke a lot the first time you fire it up. Of course a gearbox turned into a forge would be a talking point particularly if you leave the gear stick on at the top.

Not yoking ... hard to tell the size from a photo but if you had a raincoat to hang in the shed, you could use a contraption like that for it.

I fixed a 40k cast steel anvil that had a few cast defects about 10mmx10mm and 5mm deep with the mig and I use that anvil all the time for smaller jobs. Nice little anvil that one Wrought, is it the photo or the step is at an angle?

"Little yoke" could be a coat hanger?

Interesting you mention it, was in the back of my mind for a while. Making tools, make a forge, make an anvil (make your own charcoal :( ) are not for the beginner. And may I add it is not a badge of honour to have made your own tools either. I have yet to make one single solitary tool. Plenty of jigs but not tools. If I need more tools I go and buy half a dozen. And If I had no money I would buy second hand, auctions, garage sale, just like you find old anvils. I am sure I can make a pair of tongs, I just choose not to because to me it's a waste of time. If someone enjoys making them, all power to him, but don't tell the beginner that he must make his own in order to be a good smith because that is not true. In my opinion anyway.

I like it! Now you have to polish it with some hot iron ...

How is the knife maker liable for what a third party does with his product? Sounds like a bit of a stretch

I use gloves in the shop. Put them on when I start, take them off when I leave. They are leather fingerless gloves. Used to buy MMA leather gloves but then they started using synthetic stuff so had to change. Same with weight lifters gloves. Tried the bikies gloves and found them useless, lately found a supplier in the UK that sells fingerless gloves on e-bay for wheelchair guys. Work like a charm. Strong yet not bulky. I still use the big leather glove for forging or welding on the left. I do a lot of welding with MIG and use a long leather glove on the left, all the way to my armpit. Short thick leather glove for forging, the right hand is always only with the fingerless unless I have to manipulate a large hot piece. The fingerless gloves allow you to get in and out of the big gloves with no issues and when you take the gloves off you still have gloves on. Hammer handling with the fingerless glove is never a problem. Of course you still get dirty fingers and can burn yourself if you are not careful. To clean my hands I use citrus hand cleaner.