rthibeau

well, you did say it was a new shop. My only suggestion is to get in there and use it....it's too ...uh.....hmmm......well, clean! :rolleyes:

Good questions canman, probably there are many answers. Blacksmith hammers most used are probably between 2 and 3 pounds in weight. The cross peen might be used slightly more than the straight peen, but almost everyone will have both. A ball peen is necessary as a third hammer, a light one, and a heavier one makes four. A 4 pound hand sledge is five, an 8 pound sledge is six, a rounding hammer is seven, a deadblow or a soft hammer is eight and nine, a leather mallet and a wooden one is ten and eleven. Then there are different weights of any of the mentioned styles and there are diagonal peens, sharp peens, blunt peens, no peens, Quadra-Peens, etc, etc. Some people have three or four dozen hammers, but you can do most everything you want with only 5 or 6. As to what to make one out of, most any steel 1045 and higher carbon can be used. 4140, 4340, and O1 are steels I have used as well.

Here are the photos of my rafter hooks for tools with cords. The hooks fit over the trusses and hold angle grinders or whatever overhead but still within easy reach. You don't hit your head and the cords are not under foot. There's also a rack under the work table edge to hold grinders.

Does anyone have a source for L6 besides sawmill bandsaw blades? I got a quote for 3/8" x 2" x 10' for $305 !!! That's $30 a foot for plain metal! I'd like to try it on my next damascus billet.

damascus addicting??...I don't think so. I quit doing it.

the roof trusses in my shop are open so I have plenty of places to hang things from and run wire or cords over to keep them out of the way. I made hooks that hang over the 2x4s overhead with a big enough hook on the bottom to hold my angle grinders. So I have either outlets wired in overhead or extension cords running to the places I need them with these hooks to hold tools plugged in. The hooks are long enough so that with a tool in them I can reach up to get it or put it back, but the tools are higher than my head so I don't run into them. The cords loop onto the tools so they stay out of the way as well.

As with any item, the questions come down to what is it worth to you? is it in any reasonable condition? do you want/need it? what is the asking price? are you trying to turn it immediately for resale? can you afford to spend the money? If you need an anvil, and this one is cheap enough (or you have enough money to spend), and it's in good enough condition, buy it. Otherwise......:confused:

As an example of what I'm referring to: adjustable, portable, weight depends on the anvil sitting on it