Avadon

I find it interesting that both under the anvil section and the anvil stake tools section there are no color photographs of these tools they claim to make. In this day and age it doesn't exist without a color photograph, at least not in any real plausible way to customers. Would you buy stake tools from me on ebay from a rendered 3d drawing? Probably not. Doesn't seem very convincing. It does cause you to wonder if these tools have ever actually even been made or if they're just wishful designs. That's why I have multiple color photographs of every stake tool I sell as well as exact specifications and dimensions and a warranty. Point being, no self-respecting blacksmith will pay good money for sight unseen tools and anvils especially when they haven't been tested by years of use from smiths across the globe. Take into consideration a fairly new company like Nimba who has now been around for 16 years, lists all their specs, has pictures of their anvils (albeit not enough on their site, but you can google the web to find more) and is easy to contact and you can even go visit their foundry in Washington. Nimba also has an army of blacksmith customers that can vouch for the high quality and toughness of their anvils. This kind of allegiance is impressive because it takes both time and quality products to develop. From my web searching I couldn't even find a "Rhino Anvils" and I don't know if that is simply the product name of the anvil line made for this company called Incadescent Ironworks, or if there is actually a "Rhino Anvils" company located in China where which Incandesent Ironworks is simply a retailer/importer of these anvils. Maybe Phillip can clarify this? I will agree that you can find high quality stuff in china if you go searching for it and machinery made in china is far better on average (imo) then equipment made in Taiwan or Malaysia. I will agree that most cheap things out of China are developed by American entrepreneurs and Retail giants who place profit far beyond quality. For these types of companies its about getting rich, not about creating the highest quality product. Plus it's hard to say "Buy American" when most things "American Made" are in fact from china and assembled here in the USA. The part I don't like about Chinese products has more to do with the human rights abuses, poor wages, and living standards endured by those that show up everyday to make these products. That is a difficult dilemma to solve and doesn't have an easy answer. Perhaps someone in America who has purchased tools and anvils from Incandescent Ironworks will see this thread and show up here and give us an idea as to the quality and availability of the tools as well as finally deliver us some color photos.

My fears were well realized then. I thought I might have similar problems just getting a thicker piece of plate. I have a 3' x 8' by 3/16's piece of steel. Fairly heavy and I laid it ontop of wooden desk. The steel I glued down with PL industrial adhesive. Unfortunately over time whilst using torches and welding I'd accidentally transferred heat into the steel top and thus created warps or seperations where it has pulled up from the glue/wood desk. So I am curious do people usually use those granite tops to fabricate and setup or layout materials on and then get their tack welds and such in place? The more fabrication I do the more I realize having a flat surface that you can clamp to or use a square upon will be necessary.

What do people normally use when they need to built on a very level/flat surface. Do they actually fabricate ontop of those granite bench tops? Seems like that is not the case because they are not metal. I have a piece of 3/16" steel table top I put ontop of a wood desk and it's been rather poor for a working surface because it has warped and balooned in so many areas I can't use it as a level surface. Anyone have suggestions for a serious level surface. Do I just need a thicker piece of steel with more supports?

Yah it's flame cut side. So I guess it's going to be angle grinder/belt sander 4 me :rolleyes:

a .0100 would be impressive enough for me. If I have a need for anything in the ten thou range I consider myself in serious trouble This is just for blademaking but trying to get a face flat with the sander is less then optimal, but I guess that is probably the most realistic option. I found a few places not far from Plymouth Mass that might be able to grind the surface. But since it's just A36 probably sanding it by hand is good enuff considering the price to have it down is most likely to astronomical. Once I make some calls monday though i'll know definitively.

Yah thats what i'm talking about. I guess for the milling they have to setup some sort of jig and what not and run a cnc pattern on it, but still $500.00, I mean come on. The piece of steel cost 375$ i'm paying more for the milling then the steel is worth. Surface grinding is prolly what the doctor ordered. Failing that I'm guessing angle grinder with sanding disc is the best I can do?

What kind of ballpark price are we talking about for milling an anvil face or even just a chunk of steel? :confused: I looked into milling a face of steel that was 4"x13", top and bottom. For this the guy said it will be about $500.00 at this local steel yard in mass. The piece of steel is 4X13x16 about 240lb, but still I was expecting it to be about 80$ How hard could it be. I mean I could mill the top with an drill press with an xy table and a good bit. Only need to take off probably 1/32 or 1/16 at most. How do they charge such outrageous prices for milling anvil faces or even the face of steel stock.

Seems like for all their manufacturing and cheap labor they could forge impressive anvils, but I think they are stuck in the idea of low cost = high profit which traditionally has suited the chinese for many decades. The problem is low cost usually comes with low quality. I'm guessing these are chinese anvils distributed by a "Rhino Anvils" of Spokanne Washington. (Or at least that is what their website says).

can't you regulate the amount of heat delivered to each burner through a valve?

I literally looked at every forge on the market over the course of about 1.5 months and it became clear to me that Chili forge is really the best company on the market and carry the best forges. I just received my Cayenne Chili forge yesterday. Once I get a moment to set it up I'll make a post about it, family is in town right now. I really liked their high-end (Cayenne) forge dimensions. Seemed like the clear winner of all blademaking and blacksmithing forges I saw. They also have exceptional customer service. The only downside is they are in high demand so I had to wait about 2-3 weeks to get my cayenne forge in the mail (UPS). But it is a very impressive forge. 65lbs+, excellent welds, long hoses, forge armour, protective shelf, forge-end inserts, Instructions, friendly emails, etc. Exactly what you'd expect from professional fabrication and an A+ tool company.

ahhh.. okay I get it now. Thanx

That's some heavy money for a anvil that was "kicked around" for several years. Pictures would dictate quality. You can buy a top of the line brand new / "mint" condish anvil for nearly that much.

Like many here, for one reason or another, we don't have a clear shot under the pritchel or hardy hole to the floor. In my case my sand filled steel tubing legs are right under both the pritchel and hardy so I decided to build something that was a sloped ramp to catch hot punches/drifts and debris. So I got out the graph paper and started cutting up some shapes and turned this out. It's two partial pyramids. The bottom pyramid is actually filled with water. Anything that falls through will be quenched. It clips onto the 2" plate of my stand with 3 really strong neodymium magnets and it can be under the hardy or pritchel. I guess you could call it a tool "slip n' slide". I like how it makes my anvil look like a locomotive or something out of MadMax. It works surprisingly well. Why did I go with pyramid shapes instead of just a cup. Well the cup hanging between the two anvil legs was umm err asthetically displeasing. -Av

I didn't know if you were fooling with me or serious. I was like.. "you paint it and then you blast it off?!?!?!" lol.. but I didn't want to laugh in case you were dead serious and I was just being dense. hahaha

What do you mean by "locating"... I thought we were talking about a piece of plate welded to two flanges that snug the face, and the plate also has a hardy shaft extending downward into the hardy hole. This kind of setup needs to be tied into the pritchel as well? Also how thick is average for cutting plates? Wouldn't thicker be better?

SAY WHAT!! Okay I was with you up at the piece of plate with the sides welded so that they cover the face. Now that I know more about the hardy fit (which was why I asked those question) I can understand how people are making these cutting tools. I don't understand how the cutting plate is also connected to the pritchel. Is that just to decrease jump or increase the transference of the blow? Do you have any pictures of this?

I'm going to start selling all my worn out smashed up tools on ebay... * 'Antique' Burned out Angle grinder = $450.00 *Stripped socket Wrench 'circa 1984' = $90.00 (that was a good year for socket wrenches) *Blunted & Broken Chisels = $45.00 each (while they last) *Broken cast iron vice, 'Excellent Foreign Quality', would look great on your mantle = $350.00 *Weathered stump (with authentic cracks, splits and insects) = $Asking 300.00 Anyone interested in these antiques hit me up. :P

That sums it up perfectly. Thank you!

I guess my question is when the hardy tool goes into the hardy hole is there supposed to be a little friction on all sides as it slides down till the shoulder touches the anvil face or is normally that tolerance pretty lose around the four sides of the hardy tool shank?

Yah but isn't that putting pressure on the heel everytime your tool takes a blow? Isn't that what was previously stated in this thread as bad?

So is it the shoulder that holds the hardy tool in? And I guess if it's not wedged in there it does jump with blows?

Looks like some kind of destroyed blowhorn stake. They are out of their mind with that price. What is it with people trying to sell destroyed blacksmithing equipment as "antique" for a small fortune. I guess people think that because it's metal they should go on antique roadshow with it :P

huh? I thought the whole point was for the hardy tool to wedge into place? I thought the idea was something like this.. but this doesn't really seem right I was thinking about taking a piece of square tubing with 1" sq ID and then cutting lengthwise up the bottom a few inches, then weld it shut. So it would make a very elongated "V" shape. Will this work?

Does anyone have a cut away or dimensions for the inside of a 1" hardy hole. I'm curious which face(s) are sloped. I want to make a hardy hole stand that I can mount to a stump. Design suggestions?

I only have a cutting shelf on one of my tiny anvils. Between my bandsaw and other tools and the sacrelig nature of taking a cutting tool to an anvil I could never bring myself to use any anvil that way. I know on armourarchive there are people who do cold cut sheetmetal on anvil cutting plates, probably makes most people here cringe. I know if anyone takes something cold to beat on to my anvils it will be the last thing they take lol ps.. Thomas do you have pics or plans of your cutting plate?