Jim Coke

Now thats snow ....

Greetings Dave, I too have a Mankel forge My friend Tim Carr in now making them He bought out Ken Mankel and is doing a great job... He is on the internet and has some great information.... Stand back , fire her up and let the fun begin Tim is a great guy and is very helpfull. Jim

Greetings again, 11 Just another thought.... I have my own line shaft shop and have lots of pulleys.. wood and cast.... I would consider using a large wood or cast pulley to set on the floor first and than put put your gear on that.... That would spread the weight per square inch over a large surface... I sure would not want to be the maid that has to dust under that puppy.... Another thought If you cant find a large pulley consider a wood base with lots of surface.. Once again Good Luck

Greetings 11, I think you better Identity the gear first... Old large gears are normally cast steel.. They cast them with for the wear factor and machineability... Plus they must be strong at the tooth contact... It sounds like a risky project to me... If I had to weld on a gear like that I would preheat the whole gear to well above 600 and bring the temp down slow... If you crack it will you be able to find another... I doubt it.. A 300 pound table top is over the top... Nickel welding is like glue. Only on the surface.... Old cast gears are full of grease and carbon.. Good luck on your project Jim

Yuck, A post vise works great to hold the chainsaw for sharpining.. Looks like a full days work... Good luck Jim

Greetings Glenn, Thanx for all the great info.. I will use this as a reference in the future.. As we all know there are many questions when we demo and your information makes it easy to answer questions... I'll still keep my trees... Jim

Yo Chuck, Michigan has two seasons winter and July.. Got any room in your shop for me... Cold old Jim

Greetings, AH This vise was kind of a shopsmith vise normally sold as a kit with a forge and small anvil.... Old Sears Roebuck Catallog.. The hole in the front was for a mandrel that had a grinding wheel that could be installed... It also came with a small cut off.. Nice find... Jim Closer to the 1900s

Greetings, Neither snow or rain or dark of night will keep a blacksmith from his appointed rounds... But Michigan can sure make it hard... Smile...

Greetings, My friend... First of all. Blacksmiths are a different breed... They are the most sharing , giving, honarable people you will ever meet.... I suggest you get to know some of us first... Ya can't just go out and expect one to fall off the old chestnut tree... Good luck on your project..

Nowdays good anvils are harder to find than a wife.... I however have the best wife and 20 anvils.... You should have it so good.. Smile Jim

Greetings, I've done quite a few sclptures and found that if you give it a name it raises the value considerable... Nice work... Keep bangin... Jim

Greetings, You could forge up a nice fireplace set that sits on top of the anvil... Tell her that this is common practice and the anvil serves a heat sink that keeps the warmth in the room for longer.... After a while just take the fireplace set off and move it to the other side... It's hard to out fox the fox but it can be done.. ( put some flowers on the set) Good luck Jim

Greetings newbie, This is the second in a week that I have identified this vise... Its a Cole made by the cole vice company in Chicago.... It came with a slickk drill press that mounted in the slot under the vise jaws... It was made for the construction industry for field work... The hole on the bottom is so you can mount on a stake driven in the ground or put the stake in it and pinch the vise on plate or whatever to use as a lever... Kind of a shopsmith vise... You will find the jaws are very agressive but easy to remove and grind smooth... I have 3 complete sets and use them daily.. Good luck and great find... Jim Looks like you are missing the base mount???

Greetings Philip, It all depends on the thickness of you tag.. Normally I would use a sheet of 16g aluminum under the tag in on a treadle hammer .. A wood base would yeald a deeper impression but would distort the shape... Good luck Jim

Greetings Lucky, A dirt base with some 4x4 on the underside will work just fine... I know this hammer and I would expect to pay between 1000.00 and 1300.00 You cant find a better hammer for that kind of money.. Good Luck

Greetings, Looks like a great door stop... Wait to you can find a good London pattern at about the same price... The face is tapered ???? Save your money Jim

Greetings Pug, From what I can see with the iron you have It would make a treadle hammer.... I don,t see much of a power hammer in your material... I have 3 treadle hammers and have worked with many designs... ABANA has some plans that I think would fit... Clay Spencer design.. Good luck on the build Jim

Greetings , Sorry for the slam buuuttt ya had it comming.. If you log on to flat belt and hit and miss engines on ebay you will find a pulley to complete your project. I have a complete line shaft driven shop and use this type of pulleys all the time.. Browning is one company Good luck on you project

Daaaaa. Serviceable anvil I think thats a sin... 11 commandment... Weld to cast ?????? I think you must have a lot of extra welding rods...

Greetings J C By what I can see it looks like the forge was built by a plummer .. I think the fire pot is a sewer grate and the bricks are common bricks... If so you will have to rebuild it....The anvil looks good and should bring a good price... I've bought tons of forges and anvils and will feel comfortable at about 400.00 to 500.00 for the pair... Look close at the anvil to see if it has been in a fire.. JIm

Greetings Mr. D Nice work... Gives a new meaning to being handy with metal.... Jim

Greetings Snake Creek, 5 horsepower ....I know complete large shops that the whole shop runs on less than that. I'm sure you already know this but I will throw it out there.. Make a couple iron saw horses with a flat 8 in face for clamping... Get you a large angle gtinder put a 6 in cup brush on it and clamp your work down.. Odd shapes a vise grip chain grip works well. Have at it...( all the fuzzies will now fly sideways ) Best wear a leather apron. Good Luck Jim

Thanx for sharing Tim, I do think Clifton used one in the past but it sure refreshed on old boys mind.... Guess I'll get busy building one... slick tool Thanx Jim