ndnchf

I've been searching the archives for photos of portable vise stands that ya'll take to demos. I've found a few, but I'm sure there are many others. I want to build one that is solid, doesn't take up too much space when travelling and doesn't weigh a ton. I was at a Civil War reeneactment in South Carolina last weekend and saw this one. I didn't get the smith's name, but I liked the rig he had. Maybe he's on here and will chime in. I'd like to see other ideas, please post a photo or link to a photo of your portable vise stand. Thanks!

My Fisher weighs in at around 98lbs. From what you told me here, it is from the 1870s. Here was the discussion and photos. http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/31469-can-you-identify-this-eagle-anvil/?hl=eagle

When I restored this little forge I had to make a new windscreen as the old one was nearly rusted out. I took the opportunity to add a mouse hole door in the back for long pieces. I'm really glad I did, as I use it all the time. Do it now while you are building it, you won't regret it.

If keeping to the dirt cheap theme, you could use the sheet steel skin from an old washer or dryer as the sides of a windscreen, which will help give some shade to see the heated metal better. Maybe an old kitchen stove vent hood could be attached to that with it's electric fan to help draw the smoke out. It wouldn't be pretty and not as efficient as the other ideas shown, but it would be an improvement with very little cost.

Nice score - congrats. That looks just like mine except mine has a full hood. They are nice forges. Be sure to oil the blower.

My wife and I also had a great time. She even got some hammer time. Hunter has an awesome shop!

Try doing a search of this forum. There have been several discussions on vise spring making.

I don't know where you are located, but in my area True Value hardware stores carry black stove pipe in stock. That's what i used on this one.

Probably won't do much good. I'm an old retired navy man. When I go, I'll be buried at sea and she'll put the anvil in with me to make sure I sink to the bottom!

Nick - there are several anvils and a railroad track anvil on our local CL now. Did you not go to Dan Boone's pasture party last Saturday? There were a lot of anvils for sale including a few railroad track pieces.

My Fisher looks a lot like yours but has the raised eagle. Its just a tad under 100 lbs, I was told its from th 1870s. Mine sits on a covered patio and I invite my wife to join me at the forge and make something now and then. Now the anvil and her are friends ;)

I had a great time! From the demo, to Dan's shop, to the iron in the hat, to the tailgating, to the great people, it was a blast. I picked up another vise and an ancient hand-pump forge, tongs, hardies and a few other goodies. I gave Bruce my guild application too.

Thanks Richard, I'm looking forward to it. I hope the rain doesn't put a damper on the tailgating. I'm hoping to find a coal forge, bigger than the rivet forge I have. But I'll be prepared and bring my boots and rain gear. I won't let a little liquid sunshine spoil my fun.

You might want to post a photo or at least a description of the type and size of forge you are referring to. I can tell you that I have a rivet forge with a small BUFCO blower and it works fine for this type of forge. But it would probably be inadequate for a forge with a larger firepot.

Well, FWIW I picked up this Columbian #2 vise last month for $110 at antique mall in Harrisonburg Virginia. http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/31703-straightening-my-leg/ I've seen others around here from $150-$250.

I'm a newbie too and will be going for the first time. Hunter Perkinson signed me up already, i'm going with him. I'm looking forward to it! I've got my CVBG application filled out and will bring it along to join. Steve

I'm a newbie, so I can't affer an sage advice. But I can tell you that i've been looking at a lot of anvils over the last couple months. Most in my area are in the $3-$4 per pound (US) range. I finally found a nice Fisher $2/lb and grabbed it. That looks like a very nice anvil. It doesn't appear to be abused, just neglected a little. But it should clean up nicely. If I were in your shoes and location, I'd grab it. Good luck!

I measured across the blower housing. Its about 6.5". Pretty small, but it works well for the size of the forge.

Looks great, very nice work. Was that firepot part of it or something you made?

I fired it up for the first time today and am very pleased with it. It took a little while to learn to manage the fire and get some coke made. But once I understood what it wanted, it worked quite well. I'm glad I put the mouse hole door in the back, I used it a couple times today already - very handy. I made a few small things to start out, a bottle opener, a lantern holder and part of a tong rack. Then my wife came out to watch. She saw that I was having too much fun, and decided that she wanted to make something too. Now remember, I'm a green newbie, but discretion being the better part of valor, I said sure and I showed her how to manage the fire, heat up the 1/4" round stock and she forged out a small heart. Well, it wasn't perfect, but she was real happy with it. So now that she's happy, I can be happy!

Is this the same blower? It looks pretty similar, but I can't tell for sure. Not mine, but I know where it and the forge behind it are for sale. I don't really need it, but maybe I do....

Thanks guys, appreciate your advice and comments. I've been working all week and by the time I get home, its been too late (and dark) to fire it up. But I'm off tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully I can finally get it fired up and broken in.

That's a pretty bad way to be treated. Some people are so inconsiderate. Also odd that it is still on Ebay with an active auction.

I can't tell you who made it, but I like it. Its a nice size, solid yet portable. The steel wheels are a nice touch too. I'd like to find one like that myself. Keep us posted with your restoration progress - photos much appreciated.

I finished refurbishing the forge this weekend. I disassembeled and bead blasted everything. I decided to replaces the sheet metal of the wind-screen. It was pretty rusty and thin. So I found a new piece of sheet steel and made a new one. The top hood was solid and I added a 2' chimney pipe. The only modification I made was to add a mouse hole door in the back of the wind-screen. This is to allow longer pieces to be put into the forge if needed. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I just need to wait a day or two for the paint to cure and it'll be ready to fire up.