kubiack

I run inot that all the time.."Well Ive been looking online" right then I know Im gonna hear some ridiculous number.."Well I saw them on ebay priced for $1100" but they don't realize that same anvil has been relisted a dozen times..

I do hate that also especially when they are comparing an anvil or powehammer that is in disuse and in need of major repairs to a specimen that is in pristine condition. However Matchless did sell a 200lb Fisher in slightly better condition for over $1000 plus freight shipping so the asking price was not completely unjustified. It was too high for a local sale without cleaning it up and taking pretty pictures.

I don't see why you could not have a small cut out in the sides of your side draft hood where you could pass the plate through. For that matter what about a side draft hood without a bottom. You could just pile some extra fuel along the bottom outside edges which you could remove when heating plate. With that much chimney I don't think having a little extra open space along the bottom is going to be a problem.

Dodge, is you anvil solid or tube?

We are pretty anvil poor here in West Texas. In the past 10 years I have only scene 3 anvils for sale and I keep a pretty vigilant watch on CL and the local classified paper. The first anvil sold before I got to the sale. The second was priced higher than a new anvil and the seller would not come down. The third was a nice 200 lb Peter Wright which a good friend bought for $1.75 per pound. I have also scene one coal forge, 4 small leg vises, and one trip hammer.

I know most of the people who do metal work in this area and so know the location of 2 dozen anvils and 7 power hammers. However none of it is for sale or at least advertised as such. It does go to show that there is still equipment around even in anvil poor areas; you just have to get out and look for it.

Here is an amusing story. I had been looking for a power hammer for a few years and could not find anything for sale locally. I finally found a pretty good hammer about 300 miles away which I ended buying and hauling home. Several months later I see an add for a camel back drill press advertised as having been from such and such persons Grandfather’s blacksmith shop. I did not need the drill but called to see if the had any other blacksmith equipment for sale. He said all that was left of the shop when he inherited it was the drill press and a 25 lb Little Giant. I told him I wanted to come take a look at the power hammer. He said no and that just last week he had sold it to someone in Maine. I knew I never saw anything in the classifieds and ask what the story was. He said he had been online trying to find out the value and someone from Maine saw it and made him an offer. I guess it was enough for him to crate it up and ship it to the North East.

You can also turn a new shaft and mount the clutch behind the back bearing and use pulley as is with a flat belt. The motor is mounted low on the side of the hammer. This is the way they come from the factory when ordered with electric motors. I have a 50# transitional hammer set up this way. See the the pictures here for an example http://www.littlegianthammer.com/lg_page2.html.

Well after looking at the pictures again maybe not. The clutch looks to big on most of the line shaft models to move out back. I'm sure I read a article where they moved the clutch out back. Perhaps they bought a rear mount clutch from Sid. I'm too young for my mind to be failing me already.

Macbruce posted a thread a while back where he resorted a LG. He turned belt grove section off a large flywheel and shrunk fit it to the LG clutch pulley.

Are you getting a completed hammer or just the control valve?

You might shoot primtechsmith a PM. I know he uses a JMH Competitor and is pretty pleased with it. It’s not a TFS but it is made from ductile iron. See post

I think if you checked with a manufacturer or one of the blacksmith supply companies that already has a relationship with a shipping company the rates will be much less than what you are getting quoted.

I’m not trying to discourage you from getting a TFS if that is what suits your needs the best. I also agree it would be awesome to have a 400lb double horn anvil sitting in my shop. I just wanted to make sure you thought about the other options in the price range and I don’t think they can be fairly evaluated at the shipping rates you were quoted.

What is the price of the TFS from your local guy? TFS lists the 400lb Smithy Special at $1694 and the 300lb at $1449. If your guy is more than that there may be a hidden shipping charge so to speak.

Good luck with your purchase no matter what you choose. If you do get the TFS please post a review on it as I would like to know how they perform.

Who were the ones you got quotes from? I wonder if Blacksmith Deport, Pieh, or Centar have better arrangements with the shipping companies?

How does the local price compare to what TFS lists it for on there site?

I bought a 275 Peddinghaus anvil from Blacksmith depot a few years ago. I think the shipping was closer to $100 than $400 or $500. They shipped it to a freight terminal in my town and I went and picked it up as that was the cheapest shipping option. I'm sure it's more now but $400 seems like a lot. Have you gotten a freight quote from anyone yet?

One more thing you might check is Home Depot is a supplier for Ridgid tools and Ridgid owns Peddinghaus. Before I ordered my anvil from Blacksmiths Depot I checked with customer service at HD and they could order one for me and have it delivered to the store without a shipping charge. At the time it was a little more expensive even without shipping so I ordered from Blacksmith Depot. However I see Blacksmith Depot's price have gone up several hundred dollars since I ordered mine. It might be worth checking with Home Depot to see what they can get one for.

I do hope someone here has a TFS they can give a review of. I am in that area at least once a year and have been considering getting one of the smaller ones for my son.

TFS anvils are made from ductile iron not steel. If I was going to spend $1500 on a 300 pound anvil I think I would just save up a little extra and get a something made from tool steel in roughly the same weight range. To me the investment is to large not to get the steel anvil. There are several and tool steel anvils in the 250 – 275 range that are in the same price range or only slightly higher. I would look at Nimba, Fontanini, Rhino, and Peddinghaus.

That being said I worked on a JMH Competitor, also ductile iron, for a week and thought it was a very good anvil. The owner of the anvil works on it full time and he had only positive things to say about it. 

I think you should try using more flux. Try fluxing from the end and around the perimeter and use a lot of it. Cable is going to have a lot of surface area compared to bars and it is more than likely going to be dirty no matter how well you cleaned it.

As far a the center section try to slowly heat up the cable to let the center get up to forging welding temp. Heat it for a bit and then turn off the fan and let the heat move into the center section then repeat as many times as necessary to get an even welding heat. The cable around the outside will probably have to be welded together before the hammer blows will penetrate to the center section. It may take several welding heats.

I thought this was pretty interesting. According to the poster Drain Out has approximately the same formulation as commercial bluing salts. His results looked pretty impressive for something from the grocery store.

You might check some of the straight razor forums. I think they are StraightRazorPlace and Blade & Badger. I know there are some guys on there that offer restoration service including making new scales. Also try the antique stores, I have fond some with poor blades and decent scales for pretty cheap.

Getting shot or shot at is more likely than a call to the Sheriff. This is farming country and a lot of people keep equipment stored outside. Plus having a mail box attached to it would make taking it a federal crime.

The guy who owns it runs a large machine shop and trades a lot of equipment. I was there looking at some machining equipment when I saw it. I asked if it was for sale and the answer was "Nope. No one accidentally runs over my mail box anymore." Oh well it just goes to show old hammers are still just sitting around waiting for someone to find them.

I wish I had taken a picture of the vise he had mounted outside the door of his machine shop. It looked like a Reed but the jaws were at least 10" wide, unfortunately it was now for sale either.

I saw this while driving through the country side a few months ago.

Oops was reading the 5 blows list not the 10. Still an impressive change though.

Wow, that is quite a change. Your 200 pound shop built hammer just sitting on the floor is putting up a slightly better number than the Nazel 3B in the power hammer test. I'm glad you did not have to bite the nail in half.

What are the advantages of the new style Kinyon over the old? I have read several articles and several build threads including John Emmerling’s head redesign. From what I have been able to glean the new style uses a smaller cylinder, less air, and need less head room. While those are all good that does not necessarily make it a better hammer than the old style. What is not quite apparent is if the hammer hit any harder, has better control, or is easier to adjust and maintain. All input is welcome.

Nicholson has a good how to on filing. It includes filing techniques, how to file different materials, how to file different tools, as well as vise height. For regular filing the vise should be elbow height. For heavy filing on large work it should be a little lower. For precision filing where vision is the most important consideration it should be a little higher. It is defiantly worth a look.

http://www.apexhandtools.com/brands/nicholson_files/Nicholson%20Guide%20To%20Filing%202006.pdf

Thanks Sam.

Does anyone know what the purpose of the hole in the nut is? I was just assuming there was some way to lock the feed and handle together for drilling in soft materials.

Hi Jim,

Would you mind posting a picture of the toggle? None of the pics on Google show the toggle and I am just not grasping how exactly it works.

Yes, I have searched Google Images for Cole Drill but none of them show the mechanism that engages the ratchet.

I scored this drill for $5 at a garage sale today. It is missing the part that engages the ratchet which I assume mounts in the small hole on the nut. Having never actually scene one of these drills before I don’t know what it looks like. Could someone post a picture of the missing mechanism?

Thanks

My shop is 20x30 and it became full pretty quickly. I really want to expand it but its going to be cost prohibitive to do so now. If it were me and I was going to live there long I would spend the 10 thousand an 88 is going to cost you and build a bigger shop.

I would also suggest at least one window or door on the opposite side of the overhead door. It sure is nice to get some cross ventilation going when it gets hot, or when welding, or spot heating with a torch.

As far as the noise goes I will let someone with more power hammer experience answer.