Crazy Ivan

You are both in my thoughts. I hope everything works out for the best. I have strayed down a rough path many times and things always work out in the end. As long as she has good support and is willing to learn from mistakes, these things can only make you a better, stronger person in the long run. Best of luck to you both.

How much do you need? All those structural shapes are common at most welding/fab shops. Go to a few of your local shops and ask if you can pick through their scrap bins. Most places I have worked are more than happy to sell/give away their drop. Some places may even sell you what you need if they have little use for it

Pictures help but it may be a Trenton Farriers anvil. Just a guess from the 2 pritchel holes and oval indent on the underside. Again, I can't say for sure without seeing a picture. Just a guess.

I'd love to. I'll pm you my info.

Lol ya its a long road to recovery. I am still being house broken and need to remember that I am not allowed to build a fire in the kitchen to make a hot meal (she tells me that the stove does it safer). I can turn a handle to get water to drink instead of finding a river or stream and I don't need to purify it either. The local wildlife is not okay to eat (pets?) . There is also a dedicated place to do my business, and its not near the oak tree in the yard....so much to remember! Hahaha

lol, I have no intention of letting the word "yins" ever slip out of my mouth. I actually will be working in Lancaster for a few months when this job pans out. I read that there is a weekly open forge at ft Allen in the area which I will frequent until I get my shop set up again. I'll drop you a line if I'm in your area. Her family is from Lancaster so I'll be back and forth semi regularly. Thanks! I'll look into that.

Alright, so I didn't make it too far this time around. Here's what I have been up to: I got all of my money stolen and had to settle down in Pittsburgh and work and get money. I'm living here for a while it looks like. It's not all bad though because I fell in love with a girl here who is getting me a welding job (her step dad owns a shop) which will fund my new shop here. Basically she is re-domesticating me lol. I'm doing odd jobs to make ends meet until this new job pans out. If anyone knows any smiths local to Pittsburgh and could point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it! I'll be looking into PABA soon too. Life works out in strange ways sometime.

I will be in Pittsburgh, PA tomorrow night and will be there for a bit, (Jymm Hoffman is demoing there I hear) then heading west. I'll be PMing folks who are interested in me dropping by in my travels as I get closer and have a better idea of when I may be in that area. Thanks for all the offers and friends I have made so far, Many more to come!

She's a beauty. Good grab. If you ever find the edges bothering you, make yourself a radius block hardy for a edge for fine work. She has many many decades left in her for sure!

That may be it. The thing I am seeing is on the left side of the last pic closest to the step. Even if it was repaired, if it was done properly, it won't have an issue.

She looks to have possibly had some repairs to the edge from those pics, but nonetheless, a fine tool! Use it in good health!

When I have a leather sheath for a carbon steel knife I oil the inside of the sheath so it oils the blade for me. I've never had a rusting problem with that method.

I'll be sure to let you know when I am out that way!

Sliding scale depending on whatever you feel compelled to. Starting from $0.00 to your entire life savings LOL. If someone wanted me around for a while, its nice to have some nearby woods for me to camp in or even better, a couch! Maybe some food and or beer now and then is nice as well but nothing is required of a visit. If you provide fuel, steel and an anvil, I'll make you any tools you want and show you how to make them. Or just help with projects you could use an extra skilled set of hands striking or directing etc. As long as you live near a freight train depot or are easily access-able/could pick me up from a nearby highway (its hard to hitch hike thru suburbia when you look like me) then I can get there.

You want to bring the edge down no less than the thickness of a dime before heat treat. That helps to avoid over heating the edge when HTing. Then after HT and temper, finish the edge keeping mind to not let it overheat and ruin the temper.

I like Southern, OR a lot but I haven't adventured enough on the eastern side of the Cascades to decide on an exact place yet. Thanks for the tip on the possible blacksmith supply. I Don't have a time frame anymore, just going until I run out of steam. It is certainly running low though LOL. Being a hobo ain't easy.

The pics rotated on me but you get the idea I think.

Got back to my shop a couple days ago to sell it before I head out for more adventures. Had a friend come by asking if I would do one last job before I did and of course I said yes. A couple hours later he had this and one huge smile on his face. It is a sissy bar for his sportster and the top part works as a vertical bicycle rack. The seat post tube of his bmx bike rests in the crotch of the "u" and the handlebars get strapped to the lower end of the sissy bar. It's a pretty sweet function for sure. I'm still waiting for him to instal it and take pics of his bike with it on and also his bike mounted to the sissy bar.

That is probably the most aesthetically pleasing London pattern anvil I have ever seen. Nice grab.

So I have just sold my entire Blacksmith shop and welding machines. This has always been a big no-no to me and many other folks. I feel partially guilty that I have the privilege to sell my shop knowing that I had more than some do in that department but roots don't do me any good. As most of you know I have been nomadic and taking the Journey Part of JOURNEYman blacksmith quite seriously, working with smiths around the country hopping freight trains and hitch-hiking for the past year. I was unable to afford to keep my shop in storage due to financial reasons. However this will make it easier for me to re-locate to the west coast once I am done with my travels and feel compelled to settle down again. Once I do settle, I will start my new shop from scratch along with a fresh start high in the beautiful Cascade Mountains (ideally). This is likely another year or two away since it is my hope to work enough on the road that I can pay an entire year of rent up front on my new home and focus solely on forging. Part of me is sad to see it go, and another part is freed with the burden of material possessions even lighter. Now everything that I own literally fits into my backpack. It is a very liberating feeling. I have been back in Boston for 5 days now and am leaving again in another week or two. Feel free to hit me up if you feel like you could stand to have some tools made for your shop and learn a thing or two/teach me a thing or two. -Pete

I suggest not using grease since it traps scale, dirt, filings and dust and turns into an abrasive paste over time. I suggest regularly oiling the screw instead. I use any heavy weight oil I have on hand. It is much easier to clean and change than grease is and traps much less crud extending the life of the screw/screw box.

Is this problem something that is only after just firing up the forge? Fire brick is a heat hog and can take a while for the forge chamber to heat up to an even temp. Maybe you are not leaving the piece in long enough? what PSI are you running and if it is naturally aspirated, what elevation are you at? Pics help too.

A friend was over at the shop today. He leaned against the anvil and said he was thinking about calling it a day. I asked if the anvil was burning his rump at all and he replied "no". So I said "Then get back to work. If you can lean on that anvil without burning yourself, You haven't worked hard enough today". He laughed, I scowled and we got another 4 hours out of the day. Nice day too.

That's really interesting that he make have used molten lead as a quenchant. Something I never heard of before. Definitely not something I plan on experimenting with for obvious reasons.

I should be able to make that work Steve. I plan on going to Michigan and Ohio anyways and Ft Wayne is pretty much a stones throw from either border. Thanks for the offer! I would estimate August as an approximate time I may find myself in that area.