Nobody Special

Got a new angle grinder, and some scrap iron. :D

You'll never guess it from the title, but I've got a post vise that I can't identify, and I thought one of ya'll might enjoy the challenge and be able to tell me who made it and when-ish. About 45 lbs I think, 4 inch jaws. Mystery markings on one leg appears to say "peter beach" or something similar, the other I can't make out even after rubbing with confectioners sugar (we're out of flour, it's the holidays, don't ask.) Maybe it's a partial Frankenstein's monster? I dunno. Definitely unsure about all the washers behind on one end, but one of my cardinal rules with machinery is if ya buy it, and it works well, clean it up, but don't reconfigure it. It had been sitting on the ground out in the elements for about 15 yrs when I picked it up, and with a little cleaning and grease, works well. (I will probably clean the grease out of the threads and change it for wax or something later so it doesn't pick up filings etc.) Since I work outside, may hit it with the wire brush and paint it black too. I know it breaks with tradition, especially the "watch out for paint hiding flaws" rule, but I like this thing and want it to last. Anyways, thanks for the help! Nbs http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37923-pv5/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37922-pv4/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37921-pv3/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37920-pv2/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37919-pv1/

One I don't see mentioned as much is rings. I've seen gloves rip a guy's fingers almost off on a lathe, but if something gets ahold of a wedding band, or in between it and the finger, it's Ugly.............

Nice catch. I swear though, if you told me 10 yrs ago that some day I'd be jealous of another man's rivet collection.........

Ewe, baa...d joke. Of course, it has to be a cable knit.........

With mine, it mostly just seems block air flow and cool the fire down too much for welding. Is it just me though, or do you seem to get more clinkers when you have too many fines? I keep my coal in a 55 gal drum, and there always seems to be more clinker issues at the bottom of it where all the fines go to live.

Found a good one on an old newsletter the other day. How do you know when you've finally become a blacksmith? When you start learning, buy a bag of marbles. Every time you make a tool, take out a marble and throw it away. When you've finally lost your marbles, you're a blacksmith.

What was that last one? Saw a lot of cool cams and pistons and such, not to mention the autofeed, but not sure what it does. The washing machine was also a nice touch. hmmmm, slinging wet clothes around near a madly whirring flywheel and a giant loosely flopping leather belt. What could possibly go wrong? :)

Try rubbing flour over the body of the anvil, especially on sides and around the feet. That can often let you see, or make easier to read, marks that are stamped in, but almost impossible to see because of wear and tear over the years.

Are you talking about anvils used for anvil shooting? Depends on what kind of casting are you thinking about doing. Green sand? Is your foundry set up with the right equipment and refractory to do a steel pour? Do you have a huge honkin' crucible? One that'll stand up to molten steel/iron? What's your background in casting?

Should be quite a few actually. Check out the Arizona Artist Blacksmith association. http://az-blacksmiths.org/ I believe they meet around phoenix. And if not, they'd probably know who does.

Well, I'm late to the party, but just spotted this. I picked up a William Foster about five or six weeks ago, and it's an absolute pleasure to work with. Broken heel, so the guy let me have it after he sold of the "good Peter Wrights" for $75. Still has a ton of life left in it though. My wife calls it my "half an anvil" Stamped 1816, and complete it's supposed to weigh 162, but what's left still comes in at 140. It has a fantastic rebound. (In fact the once or twice I've missed the work, like the other day when I tried to hammer a rod from cold to white hot, the anvil was unharmed, but the hammer came back looking for me in a hurry!) The step is a little shallow, but the beak is a good bit longer proportionally than the ones I saw in the photos above. No pics of it in place, but..... http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37798-ntm3/

For those times when you just gotta cast all the parts to an aluminum Gingery lathe at the same time! :D

B) Just add a white cane. Love is blind. Or blind drunk anyways. Looking back, at least one of us must have been...... B)

First of all, what did you use to track the signals, frosty? The old turnable ring shaped antennas, like in "White Heat" to determine direction and then triangulation? I love looking at things with the top off. I get tired of the "meat comes in plastic packages", "What makes the car go? The key, dummy.", "Electricity? Comes from wires." philosophy that's so pervasive. It amazes me the basic concepts that people are missing, much less the skills. I'm not a real mechanic, but I can usually fix an engine, or replace whatever's ailing. I'm not a real plumber, but God knows I can lay pipe, snake out a drain, or sweat new fittings in. I'm not an electrician, but I can run a new outlet or replace a switch without getting struck by lightening more than five or six times. (Maybe I should hire that one out....) I ain't Rich Hale, but I can make something he might grudgingly admit resembles a knife, if you have a couple of drinks first, and squint at it in the right light. (Come to think of it, that might be how I got married the first time.......) And not only do I get more satisfaction from doing all these things than from my day job, I am constantly amazed at the level of thought and planning that it takes to do them well and safely. It is ridiculous the level of contempt that people have for manual trades they know nothing about. Until something breaks.....and then they don't know anything about the problem, so "obviously" the guy fixing it is using his arcane knowledge to rip them off, right? With all my kids, I can't afford not to know how stuff works. Everytime something new breaks, gotta pick up a new skill. And if I can't do it, then I have a firm rule of don't xxxx off the person that can. Treat them nicely.

Cheaper to make charcoal. If you can't, have you considered burning corn? (Played with it a little, but my wife gets ticked when I steal her feed for the animals....)

Well, now I've got a new project added to the pile if it ever stops raining. Thanks for the link in that other post, Glenn!!!

What he said. Also, it looks like it's in good shape, but of course I'm saying that from the safety of the internet. Depending on where you are and availability, anvils generally run 2 to 3 dollars a lb., but vary depending on size, maker, and condition. There's more in the forums that'll tell you what to look for in quality of anvils.

I tried this a few times with some mild stock a little over 1/8". Flattened out and started losing heat again, maxed out a little past where it would make paper smoulder. Think I need to turn it more and maybe use 1/4". Ain't giving up yet.