Marc1

I am tempted to say neither, but for the sake of the discussion ... it depends what size forge and therefore for what sort of work you are building the forge. To me, if that is all I can choose from, I would take rotor number 3. The others are either too shallow or too deep. Having say that, I am sure that all of them can be used more or less successfully with some modifications for a bottom blast forge. Side blast forge?

That is 100 times better than any rail track contraption you can think of. Makes you wonder why home made anvils with all their limitations "need" to have a horn ...

Well ... my point is that rail anvil are useless basically. Good for very small things and very noisy. However something that I have never seen is comments about the different rail tracks. I remember a steel merchant that had an old pile of crane tracks that were massive. Those would have made an almost decent small anvil. A rail on it's end is precisely what I am saying, only topped by a short piece or rail without the web and base, welded along the vertical section's web from the head to the base or a bit longer cantilevering at both ends. Not my idea by the way. This vertical 'anvil' will have to be bolted against a log, post or similar. The work are is multiplied by 4 or 5 this way as compared to the rail on it's end. Such arrangement will give the satisfaction of homemade and be way more efficient than a horizontal section and surely quieter. Not that I advocate home made anvils, but there is such a push for making tools from scrap that I will not stand in it's way. I once found a rail anvil in a second hand shop and since I buy everything to do with metalwork I took it home. Someone spent a long time on this rail to make it look like an anvil but as soon as I put a bit of hot steel on it and hit it with a hammer I took it off the log and under the bench. Once I was making a gate for my daughter I took it with me to flatten the hinges and left it in their garage. It will most certainly continue it's journey from garage to garage When I need a small anvil I can lift with one hand and put on a bench or table for a small job, I have a 14k Kohlswa that cost me peanuts and works like a charm. Small anvils under 20 kilos are cheap and there is no need to work that hard to make a useless rail anvil in my opinion anyway.

As much as a rail anvil seem popular and many people invest many hours into making one, to me they have very little value. That particular sort of rail and made in that way, Almost no value at all. If you can find a larger section of crane rail, some go as far as 100mm wide may be it is worth the effort. Might be. Particularly if you forego the horn altogether. There is however one way to make a rail anvil that has a larger mass under the hammer, and that has some value. That is by making a T with a vertical section of rail and the horizontal section from the head of the rail, welded at the top of the vertical section along the web ... if that makes sense.

Homemade rivet forge certainly unusable, but I am with Tommy here, keep on scavenging, you may find something real good.

I will throw another spanner in the works. i think that what was said may have been well intentioned but was rushed, harsh and unwarranted ... no need to, at least not before some further questions are posed that would dispel most of the concerns. What do we call that? The benefit of the doubt? works most of the time. But the reason I wanted to comment, is the above post by Templehound. He is a professional bladesmith. Learned the trade formally through 4.5 years of apprendiship in Germany. So let's say he knows how to forge a blade. But he also candidly declares that he is not a blacksmith. he did not learn to make hooks then scrolls, than window grills and gates to then progress to blades ... not for a minute. He learned to make blades ... that's it. May be we can remember to let newbies be, that want to start making blades before anything else. i always thought there was nothing wrong with that and that there is no need to make a hook or a scroll before making a blade. i suppose it works also the other way. If I make gates and railings, i don't have to do a master in blades afterwards. It is actually a sort of relief ... boy oh boy so I am not second fiddle because I don't care for blades

Hierro dulce, is a generic expression to refer to mild steel or iron of any description. It's not a technical term but a colloquial term. You can not do a literal translation into sweet steel. Such is meaningless in English. Literal translations are the death of any language particularly Spanish that is littered with anglicism that the gate keepers accept and place in the dictionary with an alacrity worthy of a better cause.

This topic generated hundreds of post on dozen of pages in a metalwork forum I used to visit. The simple answer is ... it depends how much oxy/acetilene you use. If you use a lot, say a cylinder a month, you are better off renting. The rent is offset by the cheaper gas. if you use a couple of cylinders a year, you are better off buying the cylinder and get it refilled when you need it. You will pay dearer for the gas though. This second option is a novelty in some countries, in others, the gas company still has a monopoly like BOC had in OZ until recently. Now new gas license have been issued and the monopoly is broken. The alternatives like oxy propane, propane compressed air and the others, are a compromise that don't always work for intended purpose. Forget black market or stolen cylinders. You open yourself to all sort of trouble that is clearly not worth it. We had a cylinder black market in Sydney not long ago, from people closing metal work or panel beater shop and selling the rental cylinder full or half full for the value of the content. Definitely not worth it.

Scaffold jack, of course! ... a bit of an overkill and a piti to butcher it but those will certainly work. Cherry picker ... wow Thomas, a cherry picker wouldn't fit in my little shop, not even a forklift and I stopped selling bobcats so can't even borrow one of them. Nee ... still thinking about it and considering I'll probably adjust it only occasionally, don't need it motorised. Screw action seems good enough. No lifting? I agree! Thomas, do you have students in your shop? Tell more about it.

Hi Ted, hope you can get out of there soon and have some rest at home. I am an old/new member here but from other people's post I can guess a little bit of your character. Make the best of everything and hope to read many of your post. Hooroo from down under Marc

Yep, that makes sense for a school. Mine was just one of those ideas ... rather than occupying permanently prime real estate with multiple anvils, I would prefer to make a variable height stand that does not require to lift the anvil. Actually not that hard at all come to think of it ...

Mm ... so ... what is adjustable? The tension on the chain? You will have to lift the anvil, slide a board or take one off and put the anvil back on. Nee ... try that with a 200k anvil. I am thinking in an adjustable stand as in ... well ... adjustable. Something were you pump a lever of turn a handle and the anvil comes up or down as by magic ... ha ha. 3 large bolts one at each leg would probably be a good compromise, say 2" bolt or similar that you can turn with a spanner. I like the idea of 3 car jack only because they take a ton or two, so some severe whacking on the anvil will surely be ok on the jacks' thread. PS Ted, I did not read your post before posting mine ... so ... sand, boards stacking ... not adjustable in my books, that is more like repositioning the anvil with a lot of effort and some risk to one's toes. I like adjustable like the dentist chair.

What's the purpose of the threaded rod on the left and how do you adjust the height?

how bout ... Forged in God's fire by Christopher Lawrence (?)

I must agree with Rockstar yet I understand Chris motivation. Chris has explained in detail the purpose for the name of his shop, and it is obvious he is a Christian and wants his work to become part of his testimony. The question is, will a Christian name help or hinder your testimony? My personal experience of 50 years of church, conceded in a different country, is that Christian business, from bookshops to mechanics, solicitors or psychologist, make their faith public for either of two reasons. One, to cater exclusively to those in the same faith. Two, to grow their business and increase their customer base with those in the church. From my personal point of view, both are incorrect motivations from a biblical point of view. I suppose I can't go into the detail of why this is so here, but perhaps I can generalise that a Christian testimony is primarily a personal one. As such, a name that attracts people of all background, or rather that will not deter people from a different background, would be a nice bridge to reach out to others that would otherwise never hear from you, what your beliefs are. Todays mission strategies are based on this very concept and rather than march to convert the unbeliever, todays missions send professionals and tradesman to mix with the population and help. I suppose that this is as far as I can stretch this conversation, so perhaps a completely secular name that would attract people initially because of your talent as a blacksmith and as a nice guy, will then give you the opportunity to testify to them. My 2.5c

Lovely video. He says he can no longer find round head rivets and that the reeds he needs to seal the top and bottom are protected.

Love it. It has been used extensively, my guess is riveting leather or heavy canvas belts (?) ... but only a guess. love the idea of having a hardy hole tool shaped as a miniature anvil ... definitely an excuse to find something to hold your little anvil ... absolutely! I suggest 350 lb as an ideal base

I think that the worker who forged it would stamp it as in "another one made by andrew" Ah ah ... Notice the chisel test marks on the edge. What a nasty habit!

http://www.rivaacier.com/items_RivaFE/430/allegati/2/HotRolledConcreteReinforcingBars_K500B-T_K500C-T.pdf

The video states that ordinary nails can be made with a machine but "zwecke" nails (a short nail with a wide head) have to be made by hand. A nail maker needs 30 to 60 hammer strikes for each nail and strikes 5 million times a year. [Those nails give more traction to the shoes in snow or ice but make it very hard to keep the shoes water tight and also drain the heat out of the shoe fast and lead to frostbite.] Check how the nailmaker holds the hammer and remember next time you hear someone talking about "choking the hammer" as a negative.

This is a pretty good deal, not a giant anvil but good for most hobby workshop Made in the U.S.A.Cast entirely of H-13 tool steel(hot working impact steel)Heat treated to Rockwell C 50 – 55Weight: @ 110 poundsTotal Height: 9 1/4 inchesFace: 4 1/2 inches wide 9 1/2 inches long Horn: 4 1/2 inches longHardy Hole: 13/16 inchesPritchel Hole: 3/4 inchesFace ground flat after heat treat.Cost: $845.00 without shelf$875.00 with Shelf extension

To buy a new high quality anvil in the 150-200 pounds size you will have to spend around $2000 more or less, more for larger sizes. You should be able to find old anvils within your budget but like others said, you will have to ask everyone you come across. most mechanics, metal work shops and farmers have anvils and hardly ever use them. We have a local manufacturer advertising on ebay new cast tool steel anvils for around $11 Australians per kilo ... that's $3.75 a pound for you. They are much better than the chinese cast, sold in hardwares. However, if I only had a piece of rail, a ASO from a hardware would be an improvement. Once you find a better one, your ASO will be all bashed up. So what? It will be part of your history ...

Don't simplify that. If you are comfortable making them, they look very nice to me. Particularly the left one. The heart needs a bit of detail. One observation ... if you are selling this, I would supply the fasteners with it. A bright new phillip head screw will look out of place and ruin the piece. Ideally you can make the nails for them by hammering the head of a nail with a ball peen hammer carefully all around in the vice, or supply a blackened slot screw with it.

When you make something to sell it, you take a risk, you are not being commissioned to do something at an hourly rate, so there is no point in quoting an hourly rate ... much less invoque honesty for charging less. You are not a tradesman on call, you are a salesman with a product for sale. yes you also happen to have made it yourself. No one really cares. You should keep a record of how much it costs you to make something, time, materials, tools, fuel, electricity and everything else. Sure. but if you invest $200 in a knife and then find you can only sell it at $150 you are not being honest, you are being foolish because you did not know your market. If on the other hand you are good enough to make a lamp in 2 hours and it sells at $200 you are not being dishonest and definitely shouldn't sell at $15x2=$30 The price of stuff we make is set by supply and demand, certainly not by you or your hopes. Even individual unique pieces price, is set by the consumer, their education, idiosyncrasy, taste, fashion. You have to learn that and see what you can make to maximise profits and to have repeat sales. You think you set the price but what you are really doing is put up an asking price. Only when someone agrees you have a sale. And that is not necessarily the market price. You may have undersold it badly and the locals may be willing to pay $2000 for your lamp. Only experience in the market will tell. If you go to your local furniture place and they are selling steel lamps banged together cold with 5 hammer blows in the philippines for $200, it is not guaranteed that your hot forged lamp with lots of artistic value will sell for a lot more. But it's a good start. If your furniture store sells said lamp for $20 ... well you are in trouble. Make something else.

Has anyone ever made an adjustable anvil stand? I picture a 3 legged stand on 3 upside down mechanical bottle jacks. (?)