George Geist

I've had coal sitting around for years in various places. Never had a problem. You may want to keep it stored in some kind of container, buckets, whatever. If you have it in a pile at least throw a tarp over it. Is perfectly safe to store and transport. I'd say about 10x safer than propane.

Yes and No. Forge welding requires a clean fire. No impurities, no clinkers etc. This is why you copper braze either as last thing that day or whenever not planning on welding anything. Back in the days when horseshoers had to pass tests to get racetrack licenses and/or gain admittance to the Union, a dirty trick used to be to throw a penny in somebody's fire ensuring he wouldn't be able to weld that day. It does ruin that particular fire but it doesn't ruin the forge for the rest of your life. After cleaning out and building a new fire you're good to go again. George

I'm sure the railroad employs guys in their shops in Jacksonville. Keep an eye on the CSX website. That'd be a great place to get experience. Problem is getting a railroad job is something that isn't easy. Their HR people are tougher to impress than a potential mother in law. If you're a good businessman that will get you far. With that as an advantage being good can often be overrated. You may want to take a look at this thread: http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/31808-big-shops/ You might find it interesting.

If being self-employed is what you really want then this idea will be of no use to you. However, if you'd like a really good job with a secure future try to get an apprenticeship with the boilermakers. Their retirement, benefits, pay etc are as good as you'll find anywhere. To be a construction, railroad or shipyard blacksmith you may have to move, but it'd probably be worth it to you if it was what you really wanted to do. See here; http://boilermakers.org/ George

Galvanized shouldn't be any problem for what you're looking to do. What you DO need to do though is make sure the top of your chimney or smokestack is at least 2' higher than the highest part of your roof. That will ensure that you get a proper draft.

Looks like equipment used most often in sheet metal working. Is quite handy for guys who do armor making as well as auto body work etc. Good score :)

Those of you that are into this kind of thing I'd recommend a trip to the Dixon Gunmakers Fair. It happens every summer here in Pennsylvania and is a great thing to see. http://www.dixonmuzzleloading.com/

The continental pattern is growing in popularity amongst horseshoers as of late. In that trade anvil styles go in phases with time periods usually measured by decades. Because it's the first major tool purchase of most guys that they tend to keep throughout their careers, It's pretty easy to know at a glance how long a guy has been in the trade by looking at his anvil. From the mid 2000s on you see a lot of new guys using Scott anvils. Before that everybody used JHM. Before that was NC, Mankel, Before that was Centaur, Multi-Products AP GE etc. And before that were the good old classics Hay-Budden, Trenton etc. Although all of these anvils have been around in some way or another throughout the decades, there were certain periods that they rode the top of the wave of popularity. It looks like continental pattern anvils are rising fast in popularity right now for horseshoers which is a market that never really had any interest in them before.

32 bids, not 32 bidders. I can assure you of one thing. None of them were me. Now that's certainly contradictory to say that isn't it? Isn't that also making it functional for it's users too? I'd say it's exactly the same in comparison. Look guys, I told the OP I was done with this thread. For some reason nobody wants to let it die. For those who say it's just a horseshoeing anvil and very available and plentiful I'll say this: Just a FYI in case anybody cares. Bill Pieh of Centaur Forge fame as I understand it, gathered together abunch of the best Standardbred shoers he could find back in the '50s.After consulting and putting their heads together they came up with what they thought to be the best anvil design for shoeing. For the most part I think they pretty much did it. I'd say the real herculean feat for the project was getting a gathering of horseshoers to all agree on something He contracted with Kohlswa of Sweden to make this anvil. He had a whole boatload of them shipped over sometime in the late'50s or early'60s. As I understand it that shipment was the only one. After he sold out of them which took about 25 or 30 years that was it. No more were made or will be made. I did see a couple extremely rare ones made in the BruceDaniels design. Those are scarce as hens teeth as I think the production run on those could be counted on one hand. Is still a top shelf anvil and a good score to anybody who can find one. Better than any of the contemporary stuff made today. Aside from that, I'm all about innovation and necessity being the mother of invention and all that. It has it's place and is a good thing. I'll also say that I've had more than my share of swaging. I certainly don't profess to know everything, but in the trade of horseshoeing there is no reason. I repeat NO REASON to ever have to do anything like that to an anvil. Not any time for any reason ever. I certainly have no ill will towards the OP or anybody else on here and I hope he gets the money he wants for it but I'll not lie and say the thing doesn't hurt my eyes. Now I'm done..

That's a horseshoers anvil. It would certainly be better than a piece of railroad track but there are things about it that would be a bit annoying to a general smith. 1) The clip horn. Although it's handy for shoeing horses it really serves no other purpose and might be in your way. 2) The turning cams in the heel. They serve no useful purpose for much of anything. Are popular amongst cold shoeing iron hanging cowboys. I'd pass on any anvil that had them 3) Pritchel hole The pritchel hole on that anvil as well as all JHMs is in the wrong place. It ought to rightfully be nearer the corner on any anvil. A horseshoers anvil should have two of them. Centered like that is just all wrong. Most contemporary American made anvils are horseshoers patterns except for the biggest ones. I'd say Emerson is one of the better ones but you'd probably be best off getting a nice Hay Budden or Trenton or Fisher or something of that nature on e-bay. If you could rescue that coffee table anvil they're talking about up above that would be even better. For general shop smithing try to get the biggest heaviest thing you can get your hands on.

They look like nice ones Mr Turley. Thanks for the link

Very true. Not mutilated and abused. Which it most certainly was the day it was sold to this fellow. Which for an anvil like that should be in about 1000 years.

I'd call it mutilation of a tool. Especially when you could have easily ordered as many swage blocks as you wanted from Thoro'bred. Additionally, the ones they don't make that you might have needed you could have fabricated yourself and had plenty of bottom swages to fit your hardy hole. But hey, whatever. I'll remain blissfully ignorant while last time I looked that abortion of an anvil brought a big whopping $3 in 6 bids

Took a look at it and yes I'll agree the centaur was among the best horseshoers anvils ever. However, The mutilation that you have done to that fine tool is a xxxxxxx sin!!!!! Shame on you sir

I'd say buy some on e-bay and have it sent to the Minnesota store. We've all seen it cheaper but it seems a heckuva lot better deal than you're getting up there. Stuff I've bought from there has always been good stuff of high quality.

I'd say buy some on e-bay and have it sent to the Minnesota store. We've all seen it cheaper but it seems a heckuva lot better deal than you're getting up there. Stuff I've bought from there has always been good stuff of high quality.

Bellotta is a good hammer. I have several. All their tools are good. Go ahead and buy them :)

Appear to be for chainmaking. You've found other uses for them?

Most modern anvils are tempered to 48c Rockwell while most hammers are 50. Thus, hammers will usually be harder than anvils anyway. Try to have your work between the hammer and the anvil when you strike and it shouldn't be a problem. Having said that, I'll say that yes, there are indeed reasons why you need a hammer softened depending on whatever given project you're working on. To do so, get a bucket of lime. Heat your hammer red hot in the forge. Bury it in the lime bucket. Leave it alone till the next day. It will have slow cooled enough to be soft. Re-handle then go ahead and use :)

Yes, I believe Postman's book Anvils in America has the key to manufacture dates by serial numbers. Also, if my recollections are correct I believe "Acme" was a label indicative of anvils marketed through Sears and Roebuck?

Swedish Kohlswa

Precisely. Is no such thing as "farrier coal" Bituminous or "soft" coal usually in pea or nut size is best for use by Blacksmiths and Horse shoers. Anthracite or "hard" coal is used to heat homes, run power plants, and other such things. Horse shoers by and large are overwhelmingly using propane these days-especially those working out of trucks. Is a rare one that still uses coal out there. George

Doesn't look like a Fisher. I'd be a bit concerned about that diagonal crack in the body. :unsure: