Ricko13

So.. after getting clearance from the tower (aka wife) and some time off (aka weekend), my father and I tried our hand at making a set on tongs... and boy did we learn a thing or two. Going off Brian Brazeal's great "How to" on youtube.. we went ahead and just did it.... Let me tell ya... moving 3/4" round with a 3.6# hammer was "fun" in every sense of the word. The end result was a combination of work between my father and I, which would explain the different "jaw" sizes (he's got a power hammer for an arm...). We also had our first customer order (more like a favor). An uncle needed an extra long firepoker... so.. we used 6' of 1/2" square and went to town.... All in all.. a great first weekend for pure forging goodness.

Great post! Thanks for posting!

A very great gift from your wife and family! I am also in the boat of waiting on some extra cash to be able to go down there and get some training with Brian. Thank you for your story! And I second Pugxman, we need pics!

Thanks Alec for the great video! Learning a lot on here!

I too would like to meet up with some like-minded folks. I work with Piperwilly and he's a part of why i got into this craft. The two of us can learn from eachother, but its sometimes nice to seek elsewhere eh?

I'm going to keep an eye on this thread. Thanks for the tips folks!

Up to now not too much. A few fire pockers, a fireplace stand, some random holders and hooks. Going to try my hand at tongs next n

Well after doing a bit of cleanup using some brush wheel and wd40, I can confirm the small one is a PW. I was able to find "wrigh" on the side, and maybe a "1" where the weight would be. I can't find anything on the bigger fella. But the underside is flat and there's 5 squares hole around the base, and if I recall that a sign of a PW correct?

Just got a good one in the Montreal region... I would maybe open up your search on Kijiji to Quebec and see what you find. :) P.S.: Try the following key words for french: "Forgeron" = Blacksmith and "Enclume" for Anvil.

I figured I should post something here seeing as I have already posted something in the Anvil section... hehe I got the "bug" about a month ago. Me and co-worker of mine were talking back in April, and somehow ended up talking about old school blacksmiths etc... he knew a guy that gave classes and we both agreed to go for a weekend. We got an "appointment" for 6 months later... that was the end of October. Spent two great days with Don Mackay, which used to be the historical blacksmith near Perth Ontario and learned the basics... and I was hooked. The weekend after I had my first anvil, forge and post vise. the weekend after that, I had over 50 different hammers, and then the weekend after that I had another anvil. I only fired up my forge 4 days ago.. and the time spent was bliss. I'm itching to get back at it.. but the shop isn't setup yet, inside a garage for now, and limited in time due to hunting season. I've been snooping on this site for quite a while and like the community and hope to learn quite a bit. Cheers, -R

Thanks for the info Judson :) I am a bit on the zealous side when it comes to doing something, your comments pretty much made sure I won't touch these! On a side note... I gave both of them a 1" ball bearing test and the small one seems to be from 6-7", the bigger one is an easy 8". I was thinking of giving them some cleaning love.. but I may hold off on that too... Thanks. And yes.. snow's coming, mandatory snow tires up here.

Evening folks, Let me start off with saying that I've been snooping around this site for some time and found a great deal of good information on it. Really good for a new guy like myself. I have recently gotten my hands on two anvils, which I'm hoping you fine gentlemen can help me figure what they are exacly. First I started with a package deal which came with an anvil. I knew the anvil wouldn't be up to par.. but it was a good deal for the whole thing. I have access to a surface grinder which may get to re-work this puppy. Here's a picture of both the anvils. The one in the front is approx 144lbs. The one in the back is approx 245lbs, which I just bought yesterday to compensate for the smaller and damaged 144'er. Here's a single shot of the 245'er What do you folks think? Any clues as to what they are and their date? I haven't gotten my hands on the American Anvil book just yet... I may do so at a later date... but I'm neck deep in the Modern Blacksmith and Edge of Anvil books already :) Thanks and Cheers! -R