Astro_Al

For anyone looking in the future, one way to roughly figure the mass of an anvil on eBay or wherever is to compare the dimensions with this table on the Vaughans website: http://anvils.co.uk/images/uploaded/ANVILS_DATA.pdf It might not be exactly the same in proportions, but it's enough to give you an idea of the weight. I bought a 5 cwt last year and it helped me know if it was worth making the trip or if the seller was deluded and I'd be wasting my time. Nice anvil, looks clean! Al

GNJC - I think(?) JohnN (Mr Massey) up near Manchester collects anvils to send out in a container to the states - probably worth asking him if he has some room in his next shipment? (I could be completely wrong). What is the cost for a block unshipped? Its a 9 page thread... Al.

Yes, that's true John, I have had some stuff distort badly when being galvanised. It's the internal stresses of the cooled welds that do it. I had to drive my forklift over some parts to straighten them out, worked pretty well though! I don't think it's a 'take more care' thing, the fact is that hot spraying doesn't get the metal as hot as hot dipping. There isn't much a hot dipping operative can do, he just lowers it in and pulls it out... Regarding durability, they might be similar when finally painted etc (I.e. offer the same protection from the elements and weather), but the hot spray will be much more easily damaged by the forklift etc just getting back to the workshop and in transit, it's not half as tough as dipped. I'd be happy to dip something as its final coating, but not happy hot spraying as the final coating. Cheers, Al

In my experience galvanising is much more durable than hot zinc spraying. If the work is quite 'bold' with not much small detail then hot dip galv it, if not, get it hot zinc sprayed, which should include a preparatory shot blasting. You need to treat galved stuff with mordant or 't-wash' before painting, whereas hot zinc spray can be directly painted or primed after treatment. After that, the finish depends on what the client wants. I would always avoid powder coating large items due to the likilhood of it being irreparably damaged during installation. Good luck, Al

Ok, I don't want to sound like I'm flogging a dead horse here - one more, then I'll shut up, I promise. You say you'd prefer a coal forge. You have a supplier 300 kms away. You can haul a couple of tonnes of coal on a borrowed / rented trailer behind just about any 4x4. You'd be back by lunchtime if you set off early - enough coal to last for a long time? ***** you even have free waste veg oil to throw in the diesel tank. Failing that, I bet shifting a 1 or 2 tonne pallet 300kms isn't a lot of money out there? Costs about £50 here - hundred US bucks ish. It just doesn't *sound* like you've 'tried all avenues'? ?? Al. Ok, now I'll be quiet.

I agree, it has got to be easier to find out what other blacksmiths within one or two hundred miles use than to develop your own type of forge. It doesn't sound like you're making anything particularly 'different'. Is gas really that expensive compared to other places? Are there any blacksmithing groups in your country who could help, or form a fuel buying group? Maybe the places buying that coal, rather than the place selling it, would let you have some - a tonne doesn't sound like the kind of amount they would miss... Good luck, Al.

Don't know if this might help: http://www.flamefast.co.uk/forging.html Al.

Yup - all done. I followed the advice of all three of you - stuck it in the vice, used the oxy torch & used round nosed pliers to form the loop. The working end stayed cold, so I think no harm was done. Took me 3 months off-and-on to get the leg vice, table and oxy-propane set up and 10 minutes to do the job, including a test one to start with... Cheers, Al.

Ok, thanks guys. Well since I've just set up my new oxy-propane torch, I think I'll try just heating the non-working end with a torch. Not sure there is enough meat on these tiddlers to flatten and drill or punch. I'll try the plier-bending option on a spare one first. Cheers, Al.

Hi guys, someone has asked me to bend the long end of an allen key / allen wrench / hex key so that it can be fed onto a keyring. They are only 2mm or so, but without heat, they feel like they'll just snap under extreme bending? If I use heat, how do I ensure it stays stiff as it is to start with? Also - how would you create the keyring style end on it? Proper parallel loops or just a little loop which is closed off? Thanks for any help, Al.

Ah, thanks John, that's interesting. If this is a low speed one, I'm definitely glad I didn't get a regular one! What is the purpose of the 'loose top' - so you can remove the top section of the anvil for more tooling height? Exhibition standard?! I think it needs a rebuild! Mind you after 65 years I probably will too. Thanks for the email, I will give you a bell next week to sort the clearspace info etc. Cheers, Al.

Fair enough. Commando is another name for ceeform or cee form plug. If you're having it wired in and it's 3 phase, you might want to consider having the electrician put a socket on the wall and a plug on the machine, then you can use the supply for other toys? Good luck, Al

Oh dear! Is it fixable? Can't you just run it through a 'commando' plug? Or do you need the 3 phase sockets putting up? Al.

The plate on it says 250 bpm, I haven't measured it, but that seems about right. I was concerned it might be a bit too fast, but it responds pretty swiftly if you back off the throttle, and actually it's a good rate for moving metal on a small hammer like this. I'm still experimenting really, there is loads of tooling I haven't tried yet. Didn't I see a thread somewhere about you acquiring/installing a mechanical hammer Dan? Got any updates? Cheers, Al

Hi Dan, yup. all installed and tested. Er... Not sure about a video - might be beyond my technical know-how. Sure does speed up the work rate. I'm just using it to do the bulk of any larger stuff, which I finish up by hand as I've yet to acquire any significant skill with the machine(!) and really I need to sort out a heel support at the new pedal height (I put it on a 9" tall wooden plinth). Still need to route a cable to it in a channel in the floor, rather than tripping over an extension, and put the pulley covers etc back on. Its an incredibly simple machine - might rebuild it in a couple of years, runs fine, but it is obviously well used. I'm off to visit the next one in a weeks time... Cheers, Al.

You could search for 'pneumatic' instead of 'air'. Al

Basher - a few weeks ago, I attended a talk by someone from 'Apprentices for Business'. They basically sort everything out for you, it seems, kind of like an agent - deal with all the HR issues etc etc. You have to pay the apprentice, but the rates are seriously low - something like 2 or 3 per hr I think (as they're not really working as a very effective employee of course). Anyway, its not specific to blacksmithing, but the guy had a lot of interesting stuff to say, and taking on an apprentice now seems like a much better idea than it did before I listened to him! (That's in general, not necessarily through these guys - although the idea of having the management / HR / pay / legal headaches removed from the equation does seem like a good idea). Maybe get in touch with them: apprenticesforbusiness.co.uk The guy's name was Paul Lamacraft - email paul@(the website address shown above) . I have his phone if you want it via PM. Seemed like a good guy to deal with. Cheers, Al.

Dan - could it have soaked up oil or something and swelled up? Al.

Thanks! I just got it wired in and fired it up. It isn't bolted down yet so I was going easy - I'm totally amazed at how smooth, quiet and controllable this hammer is. It is whisper quiet when running, and has a really nice gradual blow-energy increase with the pedal. Goes from a light hit at a rate of about 1 every two seconds up to some pretty convincingly solid blows (didn't get to full throttle yet). I'm really delighted with this little hammer so far. I reckon its going to do a lot of work! Just deciding where to put it - I want it within 1 step (ish) distance from the forge - don't want to lose a lot of heat walking to and fro with hot stock. Everywhere I think of seems to be in the way of something else. Is it completely stupid to put it against a wall, given that I'll have a larger hammer with free space all round it in a short while? Anyway - what a great little machine - now I'm convinced I did the right thing. Cheers, Al.

Yes, its nice and compact. Nothing too high up / sticking out. There is a cover for the pulleys too. It has a leather cone-type clutch I think. the treadle just moves the inner cone fore-aft into the outer cone. Not sure what state it is in nowadays - this thing has seen a lot of use! Also came with some spare tool-steel tapered blocks which fit into the ram / anvil so I can make my own tooling easily. I think what made it a good deal was mostly the useful tooling I got thrown in with it. Cheers, Al.

Yup - both the left and right side are worn through. There is a pedal mechanism that came with it which mounts to the wooden base - more of a heel rest for when it is raised off the ground. Weighs just over a tonne I think. Not sure exactly, be surprised if it was less. About the same as a Bridgeport milling machine I think. I have a forklift so shifting etc is no problem (had to load it by hand when I picked it up though - ramps, hand winch, rollers, blocks, grunting, Cheers, Al.

Sorry to drag this up again. After some further thought and planning, I decided to go for it and buy the hammer. I have a much larger one coming in a few months, so I figured this would bridge the gap between my hand-hammer and a 'big' hammer (Massey 3 cwt). I bought it along with several boxes of tooling and a cone mandrel & good size swage block and stand. It says 250 BPM on the plate. I'm just in the process of installing it on about 9" of wood to jack the anvil height right up - it'll be mostly used on modest stock sizes I guess, so I wanted it at a pretty comfortable height (will be 32"). Hopefully it will be happy on a regular concrete floor, just bolted down - no fancy hammer base. John N - if you read this: Do you know if there is a particular main shaft rotation direction I should aim for when I wire it up? Do you have any literature on these - instructions / maintenance etc etc? Does the serial number mean anything to you - G 141 I think? While I have you - how much for the Massey manual for the 3 cwt installation & use (etc) - I need to grab one off you - PM me if you like? (I am braced for impact)! The previous owner bought it from a forge in Sheffield, but doesn't know any more than that. I've never seen another one of these, nor can I find anything on the on the net - anyone ever come across one? Should have it up and running in a couple of days - looking forward to it! Cheers, Al.

Looks great John. How long does it normally take to rebuild an old massey then? Incidentally, do you know why the 3 cwt has so much more 'blow energy' than the 2 cwt? I would have thought it would be about 50% more, but its 450 kgm versus 200 kgm? Cheers, Al.

I saw 'How its Made' on TV the other day and they had a guy hand making trombones. He used ice in the pipes instead of sand - easier to fill, and much easier to clean out afterwards I guess - just don't over-freeze or it'll split. Al.

Tom - check out this link http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=4311 Its a general hobby welding site, but that is a direct link to a thread on steel suppliers in the UK. Should sort you out. As an easy first step, you can use the Parkers Steel website to calculate rough costs, and then use that to negotiate with other suppliers to get a better price: www.parkersteel.co.uk. Good for getting a quote together, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend using them. Don't forget to factor in vat and delivery though! It is always worth getting a few quotes and playing them off each other to bring the house down - they have negotiating room in their prices. Good luck, Al.