Jump to content
I Forge Iron

oakwoodironworks

Members
  • Posts

    151
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by oakwoodironworks

  1. The tip will not need hardening. Just shape it and let it cool. The horn on the anvil should be wrought iron.
  2. I have used the fines from my coal by putting them in a 5 gal. bucket and mixing water with them to a thick concrete-like consistency. Put them on the side of your fire and as they dry and burn, they coke up very well. Learned this from watching Mark Aspery do a class a few years ago.
  3. Johnnie, Another great inspiration! Thanks for posting the video
  4. Too bad it's not a .50 caliber or larger blackpower barrel. You could then forge a pipe tomahawk fron it.
  5. I looked at my 400 blower and it looks like a triangle with 3 tubes for the legs to fit in. It has a hole in the center with a tube for the blower mounting shaft to slide down in. There is a set screw threaded into the tube ( you tighten it to keep the blower from rotating ). Should be fairly easy to make one. If you want the legs with the curve in them, get some EMT conduit and get your local muffler shop to bend them for you. Mine did this for me. Only cost me a 6-pack to get the guy to do it.
  6. I bought 1 of the SFC blocks a few years ago and the shipping to GA wasn't bad. Seems like a lot of trouble to get them made if you only need one of them. If you want to go into the swage block business, then that is something different.
  7. Really nice videos! Enjoyed watching them.
  8. Good news! Take care of yourself and that young future smith you are holding in you picture.
  9. Hopefully, you were wearing a dust mask ( and I don't know if that would be enough if asbestos is involved ) . I am always wary of messing with stuff that I don't know what it is. It doesn't hurt to be too careful. In the US, there are pretty strict regulations on asbestos removal. Don't know about France.
  10. Wow! Looks like you had a great field trip. Looks like a real neat place to visit.
  11. I wonder how many people are actually buying these anvils especially at the asking price.
  12. If I needed an anvil, $400 dosen't sound that bad. You might look awhile before you find one as good as that one.
  13. Great video!! From his accent, sounds like he is from Ireland or England. Since I'm in the USA, I wouldn't be able to take him him up on his offer to visit his shop. But that sure would be a great opportunity to visit with a nice gentleman and see a great shop. Hope he has many more years enjoying what he loves to do!
  14. Looks like a good anvil. A huge step up from a railroad track anvil, if you can afford it. Hope things work out for you.
  15. There is a scene in the western movie Shane starring Alan Ladd where they shoot the anvil that is historically accurate. Anvils were traditionally shot for holidays, etc. They usually didn't go much more than a few inches high. Mainly done just to make some noise. If anyone goes to the 40th ABANA anniversary at Westfield, GA next Spring, look out front of the shop at the 2 anvils they have there. They usually shoot them on the 4th of July a few times. They don't use much black power. Just enough for a good bang.
  16. There was a program on TV about 4 years ago that showed a group out in Texas called NASA ( National Association of Anvil Shooters ) that shot an aluminum anvil up over 1000 ft. Wouldn't want to be standing around when it came back down!!!!
  17. I have read alot of posts here about how to find an anvil, condition of the anvil and how much to pay. Thought I would list some observations of mine from my experiences of obtaining blacksmithing tools over the years. First of all, I want ot say that Thomaspowers and Stewartsmith, along with others, have both given out alot of good advise on how to find an anvil. Here are some of my ideas: 1. Always ask everyone you know and if you are bold enough, people you run across, if they have an anvil or know someone who does. You will often be surprised how close you are to finding one. 2. Good places to find an anvil are flea markets, farm and tractor shows, yard sales, ABANA affiliate meetings and the occasional antique store. Unless you have lots of money to spend, I would stay away from Ebay and auctions. Someone told me that it only takes 2 people to have an auction, especially when both of them want the same thing real bad. I've seen people get caught up in the moment and pay way more than what the item is worth. Also, you never know who is bidding against you. I went to an auction one time and there was a 125 lb. Kolwasha anvil that went up to bid. I started out at $25 and was the high bidder at $175 when the other fellow droped out. I was in pretty good shape until another guy started bidding. The anvil finally went for $235 to the other bidder. After the auction, he came over and ask me if I wanted the anvil for $250. He said that he was the owner and couldn't let the anvil go at $175. I just turned and walked off. You can always post notices on community bulletin boards, local newspapers, etc. I know one guy who called in to a swap and sale program on a local radio station and said he was looking to buy an anvil. Someone heard him, called in and he wound up buying a 225 lb.Trenton anvil for $200. 3. Always keep your eyes open! I have seen an anvil being used in a backyard to tie a dog up to. Right now, I know of an anvil sitting on a stand, in front of an old barn you can barely see from the road. Haven't taken the time to stop and see if it might be for sale. Another example of keeping your eyes open was , one time, I was traveling on the Interstate highway for a vacation and stopped late at night to get some gas. I went inside to pay and was walking down the isle to get a Coke and noticed an anvil sitting on the floor by some shelves. I asked the attendant if the anvil was for sale and if so , how much. She $125 and I bought it. It was a118 Peter Wright in excellent shape. Only bad part was my wife was in the van and I had a hard time explaining what I needed another anvil for!! 4. Make up your mind up about what you can afford. If you don't think you have enough money to buy a good anvil, start saving for one. When I first started blacksmithing, I was told never to pay more than $1 a lb. for an anvil. That's easy to say if you already have an anvil. I was in the dark about what anvils were worth and figured those telling me this knew what they were talking about. Bad Advise!! I walked away (about 20 years ago) from a 250 lb. Hay-Budden (RARE) plow makers anvil because the seller wouldn't take $250 for it. He started out at $350 and came down to $275. For $25, I have been kicking myself for all these years! As far as $1 a lb. for an anvil, people have been quoting that for the last 30 years or longer. I have bought anvils that average $1 per lb., some more than that, some less than that and best of all, have been given a couple of anvils for free. This day and age, prices are all over the place. So for all this rambling, my point is don't get hung up about finding an anvil for $1 per lb. You might find one for that and you might not. Just stick with what you can afford and are willing to pay. 5. Anvil condition is often confusing to many people. Many people think they need a 400lb. anvil with perfect square edges, no dings or chips, and rings like the Bell of Saint Mary's. If you do need one like that, you probably won't find one cheap. As long as the anvil's not cracked or broken with large chunks missing, you might be surprised how much work you can do on a fair to good anvil. From my experience, there are alot more anvils with a few dings, chips, a little sway in the sweet spot, etc than there are pristine anvils out there. Anvils were made to be used and the blacksmiths using them used them daily. Sorry for the long post. Just trying to help someone find an anvil. I know how discouraging not having an anvil can be when first starting out. Mike
  18. I really like the adz!! I looked for one for a while before I made one for myself. Used it to carve a dough bowl. After forging mine, I decided that I liked blacksmithing more than woodworking and have been forging ever since. Keep up the good work. Always look forward to your posts of your axes, tomahawks, etc.
  19. Looks like you have a good striker there!! Probably works for dog treats and is always happy!!
  20. I tend to agree with Mr. Turley. I perfer not to wear gloves when forging and usually do not use them when using a coal forge because I have better control of the heat. Not so when using my gas forge which I do alot because of ease of use, etc. Even when using tongs, I find it necessary to wear a glove on my tong hand to keep from burning myself form getting to close to the "Dragon's Breath" coming out of the forge opening.
  21. Great Job!! I really enjoyed the show. I really liked the info about the knock-off swords that were made of inferior material in order to take advantage of the reputation of the high quality sword. They couldn't even copy the name correctly. Just like some of the copies being made of different things today. I guess things haven't really changed much in the last 1000 years!
  22. I, too, use the gas treatment. I have a tin can on a long handle that allows me to get close to the hole with out getting close enough to get stung.
  23. Looks like a great place! I sure do want one of those hammers. I guess I'll have to save my money!!
×
×
  • Create New...