bajajoaquin

But that doesn't explain the poor rebound of cast iron. Or stone, for that matter.

I think the tent at an event is a more realistic idea. Now, if only they would move the events to the West coast!

I think that if we looked at usage statistics, we'd see that we're still a pretty small active community. Fewer than 10% of the members have posted more than 20 times total. I didn't go to see how many had 0 posts, but there are thousands. How many just created a user ID to see pictures? I'd be curious to see how many members older than three months have averaged more posts than 1 per week. Not to say I am not a fan of the forum: I am. I just don't see ourselves as having the critical mass for a meeting.

Does anyone know what qualities make for good rebound? From reading the threads here, it seems like: 1) wrought iron body and tool steel face rebounds well 2) cast steel, hardened face rebounds well 3) Cast iron body, tool steel face (Fisher): I don't that I've heard a relative comparison here. 4) Cast iron body, cast iron face: poor rebound (and other issues) 5) Mild steel body, hardened face: medium rebound 6) Mild steel body, hard-surfaced face: ? It seems to me that the rebound qualities come from the hard face supported by a large mass. If this is so, then case 6 should have pretty good rebound, assuming that the hard face is thick enough and hard enough. Thoughts?

Anyone here going to Hammerfest this weekend at the Vista Forge? http://www.cbavista.com/ I'm headed up after work today for the rest of the weekend. Just wondering if I was going to get to put any faces to the screen names. Jonathan

I was thinking that you could make the hole ovoid, since that would also prevent rotation. However, this idea has the advantage of being able to use the same hole for multiple uses. Why not put your Hardie hole right next to one of your Pritchel holes. Then, there's no extra work involved, just rearranging the locations.

Although you're replying to a different part of this thread, I'm happy that I don't have to heat 300 lbs. I only have to heat one of the 85lb sections, and I plan on using a weed burner attached to a 20# propane tank. Lots of BTUs, but less danger of overheating. I'm not so much getting the bug out of my system as moving forward on acquiring an anvil. Not a lot of anvils in San Diego. I still plan on buying one, and I'm still searching. I'm just not letting that get the way of setting up a small smithy. My fabricated anvil probably won't be much good. But it will be a heck of a lot better than the one I have now....

Okay, so I'm still dithering around on my fabricated anvils.... Based on information in other threads, I did some investigating on different hard-facing. The "ArmorWear" from McKay was deemed by the sales rep to be more for wear than impact (although the spec sheet says differently). He recommended two Stoody products, the wire version of 2110 rod and another wire. The problem is that they're only available in 33lb rolls (my machine can only hold 10, and it's a lot of $), and they're 0.45 solid wire. My 180-amp Lincoln is only good to 0.035. The other options are rods, and I don't have a stick machine. Sooooo, I'm leaning back to the ArmorWear. It may not be ideal, but I can get it in 10lb rolls, and it fits my welder. Any thoughts?

Wow. "Opprobrium"

I'd start with some inexpensive ones that were sized for 1/4" and 3/8" square stock. I got two sets for $10 each from the classes I attend through CBA. They are way better than the simple ones I made in one of the classes. Square stock tongs are good for both round and square. 1/4" and 3/8" are sizes used for a lot of beginning lessons.

Didn't someone define luck as the intersection of preparation and opportunity?

Can you please elaborate? Is it the specific alloy, or the hardness it achieves? I.e. he's recommending Stoody 2110, which has an as-welded hardness of 50 to 52 Rockwell C; if I use something with the same hardness is the alloy an issue?

I've also had good success with www.crazedlist.org

As posted elsewhere, I managed to acquire 240lb of steel blocks in my area for $50. Look in the "Materials" section of your local Craig's List.

Since this seems to be the consolidated anvil thread..... Nimba in Seattle area Not mine, etc.

So, in my world, things take time (lots of it) to progress. But I'm making a little bit of progress. A friend of a friend owns a welding supply, and he's tracked down a source with a big spool of the 0.035 hard-facing wire, and he is willing to re-spool a smaller amount. I'm hoping he'll do a 5-lb roll, since I really don't need 10. That will save me $65. I've got a week off coming up, and I'll spend some time with my assembly then. My plan is to cut off the handles, and weld them in a tall, thin block. Hard-face and fab up a stand. I haven't yet decided how I'm going to deal with the horn. Maybe wandering around Industrial Metal Supply in the next couple of days will provide inspiration!

I've been working SOR because it's what I was told to do, but that's probably the first explanation that's given me a real "feel" for the reason why. Thanks. (I hope it's accurate, since it seems to make sense!) I don't know how many books recommend tapering the tip prior to drawing out, but every book I have covers square-octagon-round, for both round and square stock.

Yep. Sounded a lot like the Anvilfire GenX Sword Advice.

I just received a copy of Mark Aspery's Mastering the Fundamentals of Blacksmithing for my birthday, and my initial reaction is quite positive. It seems to be well illustrated, and clearly explained. One of the things I really liked was in his introduction: he says that if you're going to be putting this on your reference shelf, the next thing you buy should be an art or design book. I remember reading his articles in the CBA archives on the topic of design, and for some reason it's impressive to see the consistency and thoughtfulness of his message. I'm really looking forward to getting into it and working through the exercises.

I tell you what: I'm going to buy one of those starter kits. Because at $500, it's all ready $100 cheaper than I can buy just the anvil from blacksmith's Depot! Seriously, though: it kind of reminded me of something that happened years ago in the expedition camper market. A newcomer came in, acted really interested in the designs of some of the established names, and then opened up a camper company using other peoples' expertise without attribution. "all airspeed and no altitude" is how a friend of mine might describe it.

I thought that was mostly (wholly?) an issue when watering the coal. It created hydrogen gas that could seep down the tuyere and air pipe. If you made sure to pump air while watering it wasn't an issue. Is this not the case?

Oh, I'm not letting a pre-concieved notion get in the way of assembling my 87-pound blocks of mild steel into an anvil. I'm just curious. I'm interested in the things that make for good rebound. For example, I'm planning on using hard-facing wire on it, and I wonder how much of an effect it has. (Still trying to track down the Hobart Brothers wire that was recommended on another forum: it's the only 0.035 wire I've found so far.)

Sam, how's the rebound on your block of mild steel?

That's not an ugly shirt!

In order to make them smaller, you'll need some kind of photo-editing software. I use a program called "XN View." It's free, and can resize, rotate, and do other things. You can find the download at: XNView Download The only issue I've had is that the newer version has a lot more features, and if you just want to resize, it can be tough to find the right menu the first time. If you want, send me a PM, and I'll try to track down an older version on a different computer.