Laertius

An I will keep both!

Thanks For the information guys! I will let you know how it works over the coming weeks, but I am quite happy with it overall!

Checkout my post 'tale of 2 anvils' below-- I also just acquired an atwood anvil....

Thanks -- I hope to get some more use out of this week!

As I said In my post in the solid fuel forge section I am new and just in the 'setting up' phase. I have learned a lot from this and other forums and look forward to your comments / suggestions. So here is the story: I started out with a couple pieces of crane rail-- not the most fun, but workable. Then I got a nice piece of 'real' rail, already cut roughly into the shape of an anvil - so I thought score, now I can make one like the one on anvilfire (vertical peice for mass under hammer + horizontal for lighter work.) You can see this one in the first couple of pics, I like it cuz I built it but in all fairness, it is not half as functional as the one I just bought. The second set of pics are my score from an older gent who was selling off some stuff. They were not his, but came from his property -- 40$! with the stand! It is a 'attwood stourbridge - best - 84 -h k - At least those are the markings -- ANY INFO ON this anvil would be greatly appreciated: Date, weight etc! I think it is more than a hundred lbs.....but I may just be overguessing as the stamp that says 84 could very well be the weight.... I have done the ball bearing hardness test on both (1" ball from ten"): The rr horizontal is around .25 or 30, the vertical section is about .40 and the Attwood farrier's anvil is about 75-90 depending on where I hit it -- IT has a great ring and no visible cracks.. So DO I keep'em both? Will I ever use my creation now that I have the 'real' one?

Here are the PDF's as pics.....still cannot figure out how to reduce my file size easily...

Hello all -- Been on here for a while checking out posts an soaking up as much as I can as I read through all the posts. I got into this with the intention of making a few tools and playing with fire -- and also the appeal of doing something creative as opposed to maintaining systems like the house, car, day job, family etc. There is an appeal to working with metal as the blacksmith does -- play doh for pyro.... So here is my forge. It is an old steel school desk that was originally restored for my girlfriends daughter by her uncle - Once outgrown it collected dust for a while I was just beginning to research this trade and became interested in the brake drum forge as a starting point. I thought sure-- I have a little mig welder to make a base, a few old drums and rotors, and I can hit get the pipe from a local plumb shop. I knew the limitations of the drum set up, but hey, the plans, parts and ideas are abundant, and it was fun and easy. Then I thought why build a base when that desk is just sitting there? Anyways- You can see the pictures but here is a rough parts list 1 old kids folding lid kids desk 1 rear drum rotor from a 2005 maxima sheet of 3/16 mild steel cut to fit the desktop with a hole for the bottom of the fire pot used bathroom exhaust fan, empty chilli can with make shift damper length of shop vac hose 2 2.5''x8'' ish pipe lenghts 2.5'' pipe flange 2.5'' pipe t 2.5'' plug 1 small tub of refractory stove cement to shape the fire pot and hold grate I have used it a few times with success, charcoal as fuel. It provides a good even heat and the base does not get too hot. Looking forward to trying it with coal. Some limitations and future improvements: the fire pot is not deep enough for a really hot fire so some fire bricks that I can move and stack will help. I will also need some kind of a half hood to help contain the mess and fire fleas, finish the wiring, cover the motor, and lastly wheels on the front to level it off and create easy portability. I may also rig it up to accept the old blower in the last pic....pretty cool find and it still works, but I would like to clean it up and change the oil. I look forward to comments, this forum has so many fine craftsman and artists! forge.pdf forge 2.pdf

Thank You George, Not too often someone on the boards recognizes where Thunder Bay is! And yes it is beautiful with very harsh winters, but they help you appreciate the spring that much more! btw-- most of us around here still think of it as Port Arthur (the Good Side) and Fort William (The Dark Side) lol -- I am a little biased.... Jon --

Not that I want to 'jack this thread'.......BUT I will ask a little side question: I am in Thunder Bay Northern Ontario, and hoping to learn from some proffessionals. I am just getting into things: forge just built, RR anvil, first projects include fire poker, tongs and a couple of punchs....pics are coming and I'll start a new post! Long story short, I enjoy it and want to learn more. Thunder Bay is close to the Canada/MN border and I could take a course at the North House Folk School -- Has anybody heard of this school, or any experiences from there? The instructor is Dave Hanson of Duluth......Any comments appreciated!