Charles R. Stevens

Jim, I'm going backwards, started as a mechanic, now I'm a farrier ;-)

If its heavy enough how old, and how big are you?

As dog, has said. The hammer at hand. Rounding hammers have their place and are very versital, but cross peins, strait peons, angle peins, ball peins, planissing, dishing, raising etc, etc... All have a place at the anvil. As do most shapes in weights from 1-4# in 1/2# increments. A 6-8# sledge is also a good addition.

True Jim, but if you put the rive in the hardy hole, and use a hold fast it works just fine with a chisel. I find that as I get older I reach for the hand tools more often

If I may, a modern cold cut chisel is way to soft, and shaped and grount wrong. First draw the chisel out a bit more, then file to shape, having a cresent shaped edge like axe. For a rivet you want it be else only one side, and harden and temper to straw (400 F) grind the edge to 60 deg. Note if you do not diferencialy temper the chisel, you must use a soft hammer otherwise heat the struck end in the forge untile the working edge turns straw and quenche the working edge and wait for the struck end to cool to black.heat and quench the whole tool.

I would imagine the lower tooth count helps with the larger sections as well. Did you punch the holes of small pritchel hole or a wood block?

Hacksaws are like chisels, the right from a and blade and it's a joy to use. The same with a chisel, the right shape, grind and hardness and it cuts off soft rivet heads with one or two blows, the junk (read as "lawerised"" they sell to day won't cut hard cheese.

Frosty, I'm wrong all the time (least wise that's what the kids tell me) funny thing about the listed btu contents, I've seen 10,000 to 17,000 btu/lb listed for coal, and depending on who's chart soft coal, hard coal and charcoal are always with in 1000 btu. Impriricaly, all I really know is I burn up just as much steel in charcoal as I do coal ;-) One thing to take away from frosty, smaller peices will relieve more heat and transfer it to your work faster.

With snow on the ground, one mite apretiate the fire, Tommas.

Once was a day when every boy had at least one "steely" in his marble bag.

Looks like a snatch block minus the pully and shaft.

Ok, not always grumpy ;-)

Steve is a moderator, knife maker and all around good (but grumpy) guy. But as all the moderators (and most if the rest of us) he ers on the side of caution. Even picking up a broken rivet on a rail road right of way can get you in hot water. So, you did the right thing by asking permission, but Steve was reminding us all of the dangers of gleaning steel of the rail right of ways.

I know you mentioned your in alibama, if you update your profile, every one will know where yo are and some one loa all may have a lead for you. TTPAAT basically says to tell every one your looking for one even the lady next to you at the hair dressers, never know who is tripping over great uncle johns old anvil. If I remember right, there is a pretty active Association down your way, join and ask them, no tellin what they might have. Most of us try to help each other, and are enamored by the thought of a lady smith (your certainly not the only one, smiths like Beth hold there own) and will go out if our way for a guy, but an extra mile for a lady.

If I might, those are all farriers anvils, meaning they are optimized for adjusting horse shoes. Not to say you won't find a use for the turning cams or the clip horn, but most of the mass is in the horn and heal, with a nerro waist. Not that you can't forge over the 4" sweet spot, as I use a a pair of JHM's, I know. Another factor is that most farrier anvils are cast of ductile cast iron. Not a bad material for an anvil, but not optimal. As to "free shipping" you might look at the pendinghaus anvil, any rigid tool dealer can order one, even your local home depo. But then again look at "The Tommas Powers Anvil Accusation Technique" excellent advice on finding an anvil Lastly look at the "improvised" anvils and knife making anvils. As Mr. Powers is fond of pointing out, the London pattern anvil is only a couple of hundred years old. For now, a 20# sledge hammer head from your local flea market and a 2"broken truck axel from your local heavy truck shop will get you going for that mater a bale spear from your local feed store. This gives you breathing space to either find an anvil or buy the one you want.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think your trying to say that this particular weld, in this particular application is a pore teaching tool. I think Dan and basher are seeing it from the point that for this application they can make a serviceable weld. I think that your approach to asking questions like this, certainly stimulates conversation, possibly bringing out information you yourself may not be privy to, but also stimulates your own thought processes. I have seen this weld, or a variation in which the bar was up set in the intended weld area, and then fagot welded. I haven't done so in this application, but have had some success with the uprights for camp fire irons.

Your going to forge with the coals, but you can go other way. Once you have coals it's conviniant to just add small scraps to the side ( especialy on a cool day) wile taking a heat. Used to be the recommended forging charcoal in the Nordic countries. Low ash, few fire fleas, plentiful.

Hard wood has much more silica, this makes it harder, but also paradoxes more ash. Hard wood and soft wood charcoal (and mineral coal) have practically the same BTU's per pound. BTU's per cubic foot is another matter!

Les fleas and ash with alder and pine charcoal.

No,'if your using the same set up, you may actually need to put a brick on each side to set the stock on and then pull fuel in over this top of a your stock.

Check out the knife making class stickes, and search rounding hammer on IFI, by a 4# hand sledge and grind to suit. If you like it, then invest in or forge yourself a better one, 20$ and an afternoon invested

Wise man, I see she has you well trained ;-)

Yes sit, and in this case size matters as the 3/8-1/2 bar was pretty standard from at least the early Middle Ages forward. As to get it had to he fairly refined, secondly the standard shipping container of the day was the barrel. And as peaple are old men are lithe to change, the masters would have expected "quality" iron to come ex's fly the way their master got got it.

I would imagine welding up WI would be an apprentice level skill, at least befor the advent of the rolling mill, as stock sizes were rather small, as well as lengthens, not a lot of 20' 3/4" round stock being shipped. 2' long bars of 1/2 square was another mater. So if you needed a 3/4" chunck to make tong jaws,your going to have to either jump up a 1/2 bar or fagot weld it. Now you can either make up a 8" bar of 3/4 and draw it back out or make up a 3" peice and jump on some 1/2" to draw down for raines. A lot of the turn of the cetury manuals show how to forge things from several different parent stocks depending what was on hand.

Tommas, your do have a sick sence of humor.... I do offer the lady's pedicures wile I do their horses ;-)