Charles R. Stevens

Inertia... Simply stated, this midle aged american tends to keep going when I'm working but I tend to keep my butt in my chair when I sit down. I should burn my chair...

It was, dont know if it is in production still. Seem to remember the early ones were fabricated by Mr, Hofi's shop and atleast one production run in cast steel was made. Google "Hofi anvil" "hofi style anvil" etc. that should get you some where Like big gun, I have a couple of the smaller anvils in the line, I find the Jorneyman to be exelent for turning because for the long horn and heal, but it has a small waist. I would lone to have c competitor for the heavy work.

Leftovers are the best!!

In the US, traditinaly we use two different profiles, the thin one for grean hardwoods and thick for everything else. Sounds counterintuitive but a thin axe will wedge in to soft wood, and of course hard knots and frozen wood are detrimental to the edge. This is the reason for the double bitted axe. The double bit alowd one tool with both profiles. Drowing out was the standard proactice, as knife sharpeners will atest, at a sertain point a knife needs to be re grount because ther is two much meat behind the cutting edge. The same hapens to an axe, you either grind down the sides of the axe or draw it out to reduce the material behind the edge.

When you talk about a craft that is over a thousand years old, and most of the tools we use (those we don't make ourselves) are "antiques" 100 years is prety average, lol,

I don't "spend" small change, it goes in the cadybowl every night. When it gets full I "splurge", be it tools, tack or what not (being a bit mizerly when it comes to spending on myself, I ususualy by materils to build the tool or peice of tack) it surprising howmuch I can pull out of that bowl

I was thinking of chaining it to the ground, lol. I know one of the local idiots that scored a 4x8 sheat of 1" tore up two trucks geting it out of the river bottom, and was proud of it. Even new it would have cost less than the repaires to either truck

Chan it down, shame to have some crackhead swipe it to sell for scrap. Sorry to bring a bit of rain to the party.

If you aproch peaple in your neighborhood with the same maners, respect and honesty you will find that most peaple (baring those with 5-9 jobs) you will find most folks willing to help you out, might not be a job, might be a lead, and an intruduction, might be job skills, might even be an invite to dinner when the granddaughter is over (then you realy will be broke, lol).

Acualy I started with 1/4" square. Then rounded the end to be threaded. The issue was as you knowck in the dorners the sides swell, so you have to draw down about an inch of stock to make a 1/4" round to be threaded. I started with drowing the tip for the small scroll, scrolled it, then formed the large scroll (both strictly by hand so the 3 handles would be slightly different) then I twisted the rod 3" one full turm. At this point i trimed the spiral handle to fit, cut my rough lenght and forged the end down to 1/4" round. After testfiting and adjusting I trimed to final lenght, brased the treads in place and aplied a spot of weld to insure the spring handle didnt twist ( can you say "hot oil"?!). The originals had a holow woded handle held on with a long eye bolt. Being a smith, I forged a fancy eyebolt, lol. Quick and dirty would be to just fit the spring handle with the original 1/4-20 long eye bolt (or what ever size yourse comes with). The dab of brazing acts as locktite, as overtightening may break the threaded portion of the pan, and that and the spot of weld keeps the handle from spinning, being a safty issue. This is for he old man

No offence taken, just a gentle reminder that we are all guests here on Glenns front porch. I know from talking to him that spirited debate is apretiated, as long as at the end of the day we all can hoist are beverage of choice and honestly say "well met". Personaly, Its as much about respect as it is not wanting to say somthing i wouldnt want my mother, daughter or granddaughter to read.

I was doing reserch on IFI....

Thank you gentalmen. My regerence to cheep is the fact that they are the woodhandled chinease imports. Cant put them in the oven, so when I found a set at a yard sale sans handlesi was off and running. I have a small collection of cast myself, most older than I. Alex grew up with them and now that she has been on her own a wile she now apretiates the vertues of cast iron cookware. Cant see it but there is a twist in the 1/4" square, and then it was rounded (harder than you think when you need to thread the end, if I do it again a 1/4" top and bottom tool will be in order) and a dab of brazing rod to act as oven safe locktite. Yes I cheated, at $1.75 it was much easer than making up the spring handes, I know how but its a Pain in the deriere

So the first thing out of the shop this year (if you dont count the new hay feeder for the horses) is a set of cheep cast irion skillets, with new handles for my youngest daughter. A jewlry box is next on my list...

Beats sleeping on the couch because you bought her a vacuum for Christmas... Present her with a nice, dresed 8# slege (you dont want to strain your self when you strike for her) and get a 4# hand slege and dress and rehandle it so she can strike with it, and keep it by "your" anvil Yes ladies I know Beth and others swing "real" hammers, heck I grab the 14# and Dad swings a 10# sledge when he strikes for me. But lets not scare her off. Ease her in to the fraternity (sarority?)

The simple answer is knowlege, thank you Glenn, fellow menbers of IFI, and members of the salt fork craftsmen. Curently it is the change of profile on the pein face of my primary hammers. More curve to my rounding hammers and very blunt (1/2 round profiles) on my peins. They resemble power hammer dies, lol. They move the metal with less clean up. Not sayong that I don't have and use more conventinal peins, but for most work I have a 3# half round strait pein in my hand for general blacksmithin, roumding hammer for shoeing (reliivin the offside inere edge, curving out the heal, drawing a clip or starting the initial bend) ;-)

I see the beuty and the time it took, but its like fancy presentation of food bu a chef. In the end its just going be ash spred on my pastur...

Guys, who cares if Joe thinks that its a fake? If "cheap knock off", "low quality imitation" or "copy" makes his statement more palatable go with it. If we argue over the semantics Glenn or one of the other moderators will haft to step in and put a lid on it. Better to state why you like or dislike your anvil, its simularitys and differences than argue over Joe's choice of descriptive pronouns.

What desert? I grew up les than 1/2 an hour north of Phoenix Az. One of the first jobs I had was landscape maintinance. Not mowing lawns, but triming the pyrocantha, raking up leaves, picking up spent cactus fruit etc, as a 14 year old you are probbably stuck with working for yourself, as 15 is the cut off in most states, and you will get less than minimum wage. If your going to mes with auto electric and mobile sound you realy need to learn what your doing, Iv'e seen way to much hair on instals, even had to spend hours reparing damage done by "instalers" both amiture and profetinal. Not saying a smart guy, with some basic handtools, a good work ethic and enugh pride to do the job right cant do a premium job, its just that most dont, and can do thousands in damages to a car. If you modify The TPAAT and aplly it to looking for work you will find it. Ask every one you come in contact with, just watch out for the shysters.

To add my take, another advantage is that you can walk in to any place that sells rigid tools and order one, lowes, home depo, northern, or around here the local oil feild supply store. Not cheep but no hunting around for a good anvil

All I ask Mike, is that you pass on a hug and even a kiss on the cheek to her. Otherwise my prayers for her are gladly offerd.

Nothing wrong with that, least now you know what to get her for christmas. Tho get her the big anvil and the big sledge. As you will be her striker, you can get by with the small anvil and sledgees, lol.

Shop extension, lol. Spanky, acetylene has goten way expensive, its now 5 times as expensive as o2 (bottles are 1/2 the size of o2). I'm using the plasma cutter a lot more and looking at a propain regulator.

Looks good, I think one is on my Christmas list, might 1/2 offset the lap and use a square rivet. Thank you for the inspiration

Its a fairly light vice, and you have to invest about 4 hours in to fabricating a spring, mount and repairing the leg. Unless its a friend id walk at anything over $100 but then again...