Sam Falzone

Jose, That is one sweet repair job. Unfortunately I don't know squat about welding. Is there anyone on this forum in the southern Ontario region who can do a repair job like this? Tha would be good to know for any future problems. Aeneas

Hey Frosty, You know anyone looking to buy an anvil in Alaska? The Alaska Juneau gold mine is selling a monster 375# Peter Wright anvil for $700.00. That's an unbelievable bargain, but a bit too far from Hamilton Ontario to ship. Just thought some people may be interested. Peter Wright #375 anvil Aeneas I still have to get around to taking pictures of my anvils. I lucked out this year, a collegue of mine was getting rid of the anvils in his class so I scored 2 110lb london pattern anvils for free. The tables have seen a bit of abuse and have some chips, but they still have a lot of life left in them. I lent one to a friend of mine and I lent the other to my 2 students (they're brothers) until they get their own.

Hi Rich, I did some comparing on-line and Solvarr's ammo can is a SAW can, the regular .50 cal cans are a bit smaller. I don't know how this would effect the forge performance. The only thing I can think of is the smaller can has a smaller cubic volume (remember the 350 cubic inches for one burner?) - could this possibly be too much heat for the refractory to handle??? More experienced people than me would know. If people are interested, I have found quite a few SAW .50 cal cans on ebay - some entries are even for multiple cans 2, 3, 4 ... 96 (someone is selling a skid of 96 ammo boxes for over $300.00). Hope this helps. aeneas

No luck here. I've met a few women blacksmiths but only once or twice. It takes me a while to remember names. But I don't think I've met one at Pennsic. Sorry. I'd love to meet her though. Aeneas

Hi Solvarr, I loved using your ammo can forge during your class at Pennsic. It worked amazingly well. I'm trying to convince my friend that this is a kind of portable forge set-up we should build. Thanks for all the information and pictures. Aeneas

Hi Firegirl, Try metalsupermarkets.com. They carry brass, copper and bronze. They list it as architectural bronze so I don't know what it's alloyed with but they have stores all over the US and Canada. I've had great experience with the stores near me (Toronto and Hamilton) - however I've never ordered bronze before. Good luck. Aeneas

Hi Solvarr, It's Aeneas (Sam), I took your Forge Welding class last week at Copper's Lake (Pennsic). I'm glad I found you and this forum (thanks for the tip). I really enjoyed that article you posted - some definite words of wisdom there about what it takes to be a craftsman and market yourself. Personally, I completely suck at selling. Everything I've ever made I've given away. I've always looked at it as, "If what I create makes someone happy, then that's good enough for me." Good thing I'm only a hobby blacksmith. I'd soon starve with that kind of philosophy. Look forward to talking with you soon. Aeneas

Hi there, My name is Sam and this is my first post to I Forge Iron. I met Solvarr and Drogo this passed week in Pennsylvania and they told me all about this forum so I thought I'd give it a try. I've been a hobbiest smith for the passed 6 or 8 years - mostly self taught. I've worked with natural gas, propane, coal and charcoal forges but my favourites are coal and charcoal. I'm a member of 2 re-enactment groups, one medieval (SCA) and one Norse (DARC). I'm really looking forward to learning a lot from the things people have posted and I'm looking forward to great discussions. Aeneas / Sam