bajajoaquin

Can I ask a slightly different question? When are the opinions of experienced veterans valid based on rational thought, and when are they superstition perpetuated because we dislike change? I agree with the opinions on gloves and blacksmithing, don't get me wrong. And I choose to wear natural-fiber long sleeves, pants, and shoes (eye protection is a no-brainer). But the arguments sound an awful lot like the ones made against helmets on motorcycles: "yeah, they sound like a good idea, but think of all the accidents caused by not being able to (see, hear, or other perceived flaw)..." "If I don't wear a helmet, I'm just that much more careful...." It's not intended to ramp back up the ire. I'd just like to know the level of introspection that goes into the safety decisions.

Does this belong to a member here, or is there another Glen? http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/tls/1836084941.html

Sorry, but the company is a contractor that's going out of business. Everything will be auctioned next month if it doesn't sell. It's up in Vista, and I'm down in Point Loma. So, at this point, I'm not likely to drive near by for another reason.

It's a 10-pound spool. I think it's a pretty expensive way to add pounds, since I paid $50 for 240 pounds of blocks! But I put a post on the Hobart weld forum about the coverage I could expect from a 10-lb spool. It's entirely possible that I'll have a significant amount left over for future projects. I can live with that. Any opinions on how 0.045 flux-core wire will perform on a 180-amp machine? I'm trying to operate below the max capacity of the welder in hopes of getting better performance. I like the idea of going to a vo-tech school to turn a cone. I might just do that. If they put on a 2.25" tenon (or so), perhaps they could mill the matching mortise in my anvil body. Then, rather than putting in keepers, I could continue with my welding plan. I don't have any plans to swap out the horn or heel, so I don't see a lot of advantage to adding the complexity.

Oh, yeah. I went and priced hard-facing wire, and it is like $110/spool. I may decide to see how well it works without it.

Sam, that's almost exactly what I have in mind. Since I'm not concerned with breaking it down for travel, I would do a more permanent fixture. I'm thinking about two pins, one on either side of the horn, for two reasons. One is that if they're close to the edges, say 3/8", I could drill in a hole in the side of the body to do a plug weld for additional joinery. The other reason is that my drill press only turns down at 170 rpm or so, and I'd be worried that I wouldn't get nicely matched, even holes if I was working at max capacity. Two smaller holes would be easier to do than a really big one.

Yeah, that's exactly the thread that got me thinking about this project. And kept whispering in my ear to get the 375-lb lump.... I'm not looking at it to be a London pattern, though. I guess, I'm more thinking of German patterns: with a round horn on one end, and a triangular one on the other. If you look at the second picture of Brian Brazeal's setup, you can see that there's a small heel and horn. I'm thinking more along those lines than a commercial pattern. However, looking back at that thread, maybe I'll go and grab one of those big chunks of steel. I mean, for $80, how wrong can I go? When I was out there, I just looked at it, and said, "oh man, how am I going to move that thing?" It was a moment of weakness! Still, if I can mount a horn and heel, and then stack the plates, I could very well end up with something in the 200-lb range, and have a very serviceable piece of equipment.

Well, my last topic with this title seems to be caught in limbo somewhere (if it appears again, please excuse my duplication). As I mentioned in an earlier thread, there's a guy locally who is selling steel blocks of various sizes which were formerly used as counterweights on machinery. He had a bunch of sizes, including 13x7x3.25 - 80 lbs and 14x24x4 - 375 lbs. I decided to buy a few of his 80-pounders, with the hope of attaching some triangles of one of them as horns on another. (The third one I bought because, well, I can't resist that stuff). I've got a HF band saw, and I'm thinking that I can get a pretty good chunk out of one of the blocks, and then spend some time with a grinder. Since I only have a 180-amp MIG welder, I've been thinking of various ways of attaching. My current idea is to drill holes in the horn and body, tap in steel rods, and then fit them together. Maybe have the rods on the sides of the anvil body, so I can cross-drill and plug weld them in place, for extra weld surface. There's supposedly one company that sells 0.035" hard-face wire, which is the largest my machine can handle. I don't know the alloy of the blocks, but I assume it's just mild steel. I will probably want to put on a harder face. Here's a pic of the blocks. Any comments would be welcome. If there's any interest in the other blocks, I can re-post the ad, and I'd be happy to do some picking up for a local member (San Diego area).

Have you checked a pet store? My girlfriend bought her dog a section of deer antler as a chew toy. It's at least that big.

My understanding is that "Borax" is hydrated salt of boric acid. When you heat the borax, you dehydrate it, leaving behind the boric acid, which acts as the flux in the welding. My understanding breaks down there, but trickles off to indicate that the advantage of boric acid is in its purity, and borax is in its economy. FYI, the citation in Wikipedia for the welding section of the borax entry is Wikipedia Citation. For what it's worth, I just learned that last weekend from Dave Vogel, my instructor at the Vista Forge program.

Thomas, you hit it on the head. I should have asked what things I have to consider. Excellent food for thought. I'm not giving up on a commercially-made anvil. However, I think I want a German-pattern double-horn, rather than a London-pattern. I think that leads to a greater liklihood that I'll be buying new. But we'll see.

So I came across someone locally who is selling steel remnants in sizes that would be useful for a makeshift anvil. He's got three or four sizes, but the two most interesting are: 13X7X3.25 (84lb) for $20 14X24X4 (380lb) for $90 I haven't gotten a hold of the guy yet, but I believe they're just mild steel. I'm thinking that, since the CBA meeting next April is at the Vista forge, I will have lots of anvil options then. So I'm looking for a temporary anvil for 9 months. So: Really cheap, because it's just mild steel, and why spend the extra money? Or Just pretty cheap, and make up for the mild steel with a lot of mass? Thanks!

That's really interesting. Where are you getting the motor and switches?

I have a nine-speed Enco floor-standing drill press, and I'm pretty happy with it. I would, however, like to get it to turn a little slower, so I can bore some bigger holes. Right now, the slowest speed is 165 RPM, if I remember correctly. I figured I'd just change out the pulley stack on one side, perhaps getting one that was larger than current. I know that it would no longer use the same belt, and I'd have to buy a new one. Since I don't change speeds that much, I'm not too worried about it. Anyone know where a good source for pulleys is? I'm assuming that I could measure shaft diameter, pulley cross section, and go from there.

I saw that guy's anvil, and have spoken with him (he's also got a post vise). I think I'm looking for something bigger. He's also got an ad for a 477 pound anvil, and he's trying to get documentation that will show it's worth thousands. If I'm going to "make do" with something smaller, I want to spend a lot less on a "non-anvil" and keep shopping.

Thanks for the replies, guys. Let me say again: I'm not giving up on looking for a used anvil, or looking at other alternatives (drops, fork lift forks, RR track, etc.). I just want to know what people think of different brands of new anvils. Let me put the question another way: What do you look for in an anvil? The things I can see are weight, construction, face hardness, and layout. There's a lot of discussion about the condition of used anvils, but I haven't read a whole lot about the things you would consider when buying new. If someone is going to spend somewhere between $1200 and $2000, how is that money best spent? It seems like most new anvils are RC52 or so, with some as low as RC50, and one or two as high as RC58. My understanding is that old anvils were generally harder than new ones. How much does that matter in practice? Does it help change the decision between new and old? If you could choose the hardness of an anvil, what would it be, and how much would you pay for it? Would you trad the ideal shape with lower hardness for a layout you didn't like as much but a harder face? For something that seems as simple as a lump of iron, there are several layers of complexity. I'm just trying to understand some of it. Thanks again.

Dave, Thanks. I'm in OB, and may take you up on that later. I'm not feeling really urgent now, since I have a few things to square away at the house before I can put in a smithy. But I guess my original question still stands. What are the opinions about the new anvils that are available? I'm sure that the differences in prices relate to quality, but what are the trade-offs between the different makers available today?

I'm in San Diego. Don't get me wrong: I'm not giving up on the used anvil search, but I want to explore used and new options. I figure I can make my own forge and many of the tools for a home smithy, but the anvil I have to purchase. While I'd prefer to get a good buy on a used anvil in good shape, I'm not counting out buying one. I'm also looking at steel drops and other things for a starter anvil, but that's another thread!

I've been looking locally for used anvils, but have not so far had any luck finding one used (a 175 PW look-alike got away last week, and it was the only one I have seen for sale in my area in a year). So I'm considering buying new. There's lots of discussion about PW, Hay Budden, and other old names. But other than the thread by the member who bought a Fontanini, I don't see much about the new options available. Based on the name, I'm assuming that Peddinghaus anvils are quite nice. I think I've read good things about the Nimba anvils, but I don't recall. Going further down the price scale, I came across the anvils for sale at Old World Anvils. They have two options available in the 200+ pound range for about $1100. (And I'm not forgetting the TFS anvils and all the rest. I just don't know how to rate or rank them all.) I'm a beginning smith, but I also don't want to be buying a new anvil twice. I'm thinking about something 175-250 pounds will be a good long-term option. Any comments on quality versus cost in new anvils?

Hi, all. I registered a while ago, and have been reading up. I'm new to blacksmithing, and have just taken a single introductory class at Vista Forge in San Diego. I was looking around, and didn't see a specific classifieds page. Is there one of those, or do I just look in each section for members posting up items for sale? Thanks! Jonathan (bajajoaquin)