Sask Mark

That looks like it has the makings of a beautiful shop. Congrats!

Acutally I've wondered this point. If you look up the definition of 'wrought', it is the past tense of the verb 'to work'. See the 'Terminology' section of this link: Wrought iron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I guess that any iron that is shaped or worked can justifiably be called 'wrought' iron. However, from a metallurgy point of view, we all know there are significant differences between mild steel and what we consider wrought iron. I guess it depends on who is doing the defining. Am I off in my thinking? Please correct me if I am.

That is probably the best example of a Canadian Blower and Forge anvil that I have seen (I saw this one on Kijiji earlier today). I have now seen about 10 and almost every one was quite badly beaten up. I have one myself. Mine is quite typical of the other examples I have seen. I don't know if they have led a rough life, or if the quality isn't up to par with other popular brands. Here is a couple of pictures.

Thank-you Frosty. Actually, I didn't plan it out very much. I had a rough mental picture of a very basic concept, but the details worked themselves out as I proceeded. I kind of 'went with the flow' when making the bends. This has actually led to a little issue that I have to rectify next time I fire up the forge. The candle platform is a little too far off from the centre of the base and the holder is a little tippy because of this. I will put a couple of small bends here and there to correct the balance issue but still maintain the the lines of the piece as much as possible (hopefully).

Muriatic acid is another name for hydrochloric acid (HCl) which is a strongly dissociating acid. This means that in solution there is a lot of hydrogen ions (protons) available to produce a strong acidic effect. Stomach acid is HCl with a pH of approx 1.5. That is why I laugh when people say colas are bad for you because it will dissolve a nail in 2 weeks. You are putting cola into a much more acidic environment when you drink it so it's all relative. When I worked in a chemistry lab, I used concentrated HCl or glacial acetic acid (think ultra-concentrated vinegar) to clean rust and mineral scale off of glassware when citric acid (a weaker organic acid) was taking too long, even when heated. Most of the work occurred in a fume hood but when you do get a whiff, your eyes water and you cough like crazy, especially with the glacial acetic acid.

Thanks Craig. Yes I did use the power hammer for a majority of the taper. The hammer isn't wrking very well right now so I have a little work ahead of me. Maybe that guy I sold my other leg vice to should come to the shop some day and hammer another one out with me...:)

Thank-you for the positive feedback everyone.

That's beautiful.

Thanks for the kind words Charlotte and beth.

Thank-you for the compliment sir. When I first got interested in smithing when I was 16 (that's almost 20 years ago), I spent probably about 8 hours just doing some random banging (just making things like loops and flattening round stock), so I guess it's not my first time forging. My equipment sat unused all these years through university, and careers away from the family farm. About 2 years ago I move back to within 30 miles of the farm and started building my shop. Saturday and Sunday was the first time I ever forged a formal object (besides the random banging). Time-wise, I spent about 2 hours with the grinder and cutoff wheel cutting the cubes in the bar. I spent about 5 hours doing the twist and drawing the point (this was the day I had the clinker problem and couldn't get any heat, so I probably could have done this stuff in about 2 hours). The remaining bending and the base and top plate took about 5 hours. If everything went 'according to plan' I could probably build one of these in a longer day (until I got better, that is).;)

Well, I finished my first forged piece today. I spent all these years collecting the tools and building the shop, but I never got around to forging anything until I made this candlestick holder. It was inspired by the items djhammerd produced in the thread about pineapple twists. I was going to send it to the gentleman that sold me my monster leg vice, but my wife seems to have laid claim to it. I guess I will have to forge him something else. The piece is made out of 1" square bar with a 1/4" plate base and a sheet metal top. I learned a LOT in the process, mainly fire maintenance. The first day I spent hours trying to get enough heat out of my coal forge to even get a faint cherry color in the steel. Today I dug into the fire pot and found a bunch of clinker and misc. garbage remaining from a test fire last fall. I cleaned out the firepot and lit up the forge again and was able to get a nice orange heat with minimal effort. It became more of a pleasure than a total chore cranking the blower. I also left a few hammer marks during the drawing out process for the points (more practice required). Ahh, the learning curve continues... Please provide any feedback that you feel appropriate.

There is probably no way to determine exactly when your anvil was made. As far as I know, SISCO didn't have a dating system stamped on their anvils (like Hay budden, Trenton, Arm and Hammer, some Fishers did). I'm sure there are more than 7 in North America. Mr. Postman documented 5 in his travels which only covered a small area of North America. He didn't even see every anvil in the area that he covered, so there is likely a few more out there. As for the value, it is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. You might find someone who will give you $500 or more for it while someone else wouldn't give you $100 for it. Anvil values are very subjective. I don't think getting the edges rebuilt would be worth it as very few smiths require square edges, and the rebuilding process is a fairly arduous task and will cause more damage if not done correctly.

SISCO stands for Swedish Iron and Steel Company. They were manufactured of cast steel. Mr. Postman, Author of Anvils in America (where I obtained this information) has only recorded 5 SISCOs as of the printing of his book, so they seem to be somewhat rare in North America. He has only seen advertisements that date to 1913 and 1914. As well, Columbus Iron and Forge Company produced plowmaker's pattern anvils for SISCO from 1925-1927.

That's absolutely stunning! Beautiful work. Best of luck to your cousin as well.

Those ledges on the feet make me think potentially a Peter Wright?

Very cool find! I love seeing the old smith shops in their original state.

Well, I picked up a couple more leg vices recently. One was a roughly 70 pound Peter Wright in good shape, and this bruiser. It's approximately 170 pounds and has 7 1/4" jaws. It's in excellent shape. Although I can't find a name, it is similar to other Peter Wrights I have seen. It's a good grunt to move this one around and assemble it after cleaning (that's a 2 pound cross pein next to it for comparison).

Does the patterned acid etching (similar to how some knife makers etch their names/logos on blades with templates) also produce this perceived layer difference if etched long enough? My wife bought me a pattern welded wedding ring off of ebay and the finger nail test indicates it is truly pattern welded. However, there are some initials (presumably the makers) on the inside of the band that seem to be etched in the same fashion as the layering. The only way I can see these initals getting etched would be to mask off the surrounding areas with a template. As well, recently there have been numerous rings popping up on ebay for a fraction of the price that are only 'damascus look-a-likes' that have the identical pattern as mine with the exception of the finish.

Wow! Your already incredible collection seems to grow by leaps and bounds. Congratulations! Were these all found around where you live or did you have to travel to get them?

That looks great Craig. I'm glad that blower is of use to you.

That's beautiful. Nice work!

I think this would be a better option for you. Blacksmith Anvil Peter Wright - Vancouver Tools & Hardware For Sale - Kijiji Vancouver

The serial number 31204 would make it manufactured in 1897. Nice anvil.

You got yourself a Hay Budden, manufactured in Brooklyn. Congratulations!

Ah yes, my bad. Thanks for catching my error Thomas.