Marc1

There are some real good knifes out there, real works of art made by skilled artisan with very expensive machines. My thought is this: The time I would have to spend making a knife that I may or may not sell for $100, I can make a gate that I can sell for $1000 ... and I don't need any super dooper equipment.

I admire your enthusiasm for this type of experiments. There are wood work enthusiast who make their own hand plane out of a lump of wood and the blade from a flattened outer bearing ring., or turn green wood under a tree using the flex of a branch to power their woodturning lathe... oh my ... not for me. Sure it can be done ... you would probably enjoy the movie "The Mosquito coast" ... "Old anvil" and polished T beam merit no comment.

The glare is hard on the gnome, put a pair of sunnies on him.

Machine or handmade, is probably not the right proposition. Older machine replaced the hand of the operator only in that they made things quicker, but a bolt of that nature if made by hand or by an old machine would look almost identical since both would use a jig to make the bolt and the nut and the thread was cut the same way in both cases. If you spent the time to make a jig or rather jigs, you could make the bolt and nut very easy in a few hammer strokes.

Now you are pushing it. Besides the technical aspects of tuning a keyboard instrument like a piano or a clavichord that involves compromises in the tuning in order to play with other instruments in any key and sound reasonable in tune, (that is why the piano has 3 strings for each note, each tuned slightly different), the term used for this modifications and slight compromises namely tempering is not surprising. Once more the hardening process of heating steel and quenching it in water, a picture that must have been very common, is used as a simile for making something better more useful, more in tune with the task at hand ... Or that is what I read in it anyway.

I admire those who bother going for demos. The comments you have to hear are enough to put you off them completely. Never been told you are "choking the hammer"? , or that you are slow, or the iron is cold, or the hammer too small ... or too big ...or too old ... forget it! ... you can have it

Supply and demand in your area. If you say $5 a pound, then pay $3 a pound and you are good. You can sell you vice for $300 and you are still some $100 in front ... I can't believe I am saying this ... just buy the anvil and keep the vice and keep on looking for more anvils. Stop when you have 23 anvils

When I started learning English as my 4th language, I was a bit surprised at the use of the word tempering. In Italian, French and Spanish the word Temperare, temperer or Templar means hardening and what we call tempering has another word to describe it. If for a moment we consider the word tempering meaning hardening, then it makes perfect sense to say that to be a tempered person is being flexible and accustomed to difficult situations and that to lose one's temper, is to become less effective and to fail rather than to spring back. A hardened person is one that has been tested by the fire of many experiences. The answer probably lies in the origin and history of the use of the word that comes from latin meaning temperature. How did a word that refers to a metallurgic process turned into a word that describes character and mood, is interesting and has to do with the familiarity that most people had with fire and steel in times gone by. There are a lot of figures of speech, simile and illustrations that refer to fire and steel and temper in relation to our character and how well or poorly we react to circumstances. And when did the word tempering turned from meaning hardening to meaning ... well, what it means now?... who knows!

what about offering $150 and take it for $200? Beats the tripe out of a peace of rail!

I was just imagining concreting a transaction that would actually land me an anvil that size in a concrete and actual manner ... haha

That is not an imaginary anvil. at one meter long it's ... well ... very actual and concrete

Is trade the only option? What's the asking price for the anvil?

What is the asking price is all it matters ... it's the right size for a first anvil and the rough surface will soon look polished when you use it. Certainly not a new anvil nor ideal, but if it is cheap enough ... your call

Yes ... well ... Thomas ... lets say that wandering anvils are not the norm. You could use one of those industrial pneumatic clamping devices. On or off

Best way is to make two brackets with 1/2" flat bar or angle depending on your anvil legs shape, and bolt them to the base. Chain will be hard to tension unless you include a beefed up tensioner. Every fixing method you can think of will manage to work itself loose unless you also glue the anvil to the plate with roofing material.

I would make the spear and the cone separate, and the cone I would forge out of a pipe and then forge weld it onto the spear

No, sorry, can only guess that it is some sort of display or museum. I get a lot of eastern european blacksmithing stuff in my facebook account, mainly one off pictures most are amazing works of art that require hundred of hours work. No idea who the authors are.

I am confused ... Which one is the anvil and which the base? Is the wheel and pipe and plate the base and you want to weld an anvil to this base? Or is the plate the anvil? What sort of anvil do you have? If it's cast the weld may break off. I would bolt it down. if you are making an anvil ... nee, can't be

Different forums have different strength and weakness. People get used to one forum's format and when trying another it feels "wrong". I have been of computer conferencing, later message boards then bulletin boards and forums since the eighties. Must have posted 30 or 40k post and seen almost everything that can happen on a forum. The disgruntled member that leaves making a scene is rather common but usually not in the early stages. Unfortunate but part of our own human nature. Considering that a forum is ultimately a conversation among a group of people, in writing instead of verbal, the setting or the background is more or less irrelevant and it is the content that matters. I find the content on this site of very high value and I get way more than I contribute. Let's find 10 more people that are interested for each one that is not.

Where did everyone go, is a valid question, but far from having to do with the site itself it is a worldwide phenomenon. Forums are on decline for a number of reasons. One is the surge of facebook, instagram and twitter, another is natural attrition caused by the personal nature of a forum. Eventually and inevitably someone steps on someone else's toes. Couple that with an unrelated personal issue and you lost a member for some time or forever. It's human nature and no reflection on the site, any site. There is a way anyone can contribute to counteract this natural effect to a certain extent, and that is to be friendly and helpful to one another. Not saying this does not happen here. This is a very friendly site, just saying that by doing so you can slow down exit and even encourage new members. Facebook groups are completely impersonal and have zero engagement, can be described as a "look at meee" exercise, and will never replace a forum that can be better compared to an interactive specialised encyclopedia. It's up to the members to keep the site in the swing of things.

Yes, makes sense. Core drills for sandstone do look different... and sure ... you wouldn't want to use them free hand

Yes, concrete core drill is yet another thing. As far as I know they cut through rebar and you don't even notice but need a lot of water at some pressure. They can jam if you are not careful and brake your arm, if not mounted on a bracket. Annular cutters using compressed air? Never tried, I would be scared to burn it and would make a mess of bits flying everywhere. We do get good stuff down here but at about 400% of your prices.

Nice PW, hope you will enjoy it and beat a lot of hot stuff on it. I have a PW but it's a bit larger. Nice anvil, a bit loud, have to wrap a chain around it, and slide a luggage strap over the horn to keep it quiet. Magnaflux ... wow ... how long since I heard that term. We used to take crankshafts to the magnaflux to check for cracks. Big things 2 or 3 meters long. I wonder if they still do it or have invented another method. There is a way to do it yourself you know. Wrapping a welders lead around the shaft to create a magnetic field and applying the fluid with fine steel filings. Seen it done many times. For an anvil may be ... just might be ... you could try magnetic powder and a fixed powerful magnet bridging the area.

Yes ... terminology even in the same language tends to get confusing, nothing like a picture. Core drill is another term. Those things are gold for drilling large holes. No need for pilot hole and you can even cut at an angle if you have the right machine. Go slow, plenty of coolant and a 2" hole in a 3/4" plate can be cut in minutes. Try doing that with a twist drill ! May be if you use a mill do drive the bit. Holesaws are a hateful contraption. A necessary evil. Built flimsy by nature, needs a pilot hole, only good for sheet metal, plagued by poor quality, costs a bomb if barely adequate. Well you get the idea ... I dislike them ha ha

It seems more like a show piece than a work tool to me, but yes I agree a lot of detail in it. There would be a bit of getting used to have the vice right there ... Here is another one. At first it seems the anvil is small but in this one you can see an A4 page on the pin board for size comparison