Crazy Ivan

I say Columbian as well. One of my favorite anvils. Ask for pictures of the side, there is likely an indented triangle with a raised "C" inside of it on the side.

I don't burn coal because of my location, but if I did I have heard good things about Williams in Braintree MA as far as blacksmith coal goes. Only here-say though as I said, I have never tried it. I won't post the link but if you search "coal supply Braintree MA", You will find it. easily on google.

I won't attempt to add anything to the geometry aspect of this, but my personal preference would be a ring for the index finger and not the pinky finger. That's all I can add and it's only a personal preference so take it as you will. Looking forward to see what you come up with.

Thats a cool design, I like it a lot. Only thing I would suggest is some sort of drip tray to avoid a waxy mess.

....your calluses peel off but you don't worry about blisters because there are already calluses underneath the ones that came off.

Those are outstanding looking knives! The Patterns are excelent and the hamon on the W2 knife looks great but those handles are especially grade A work. Well done!

All I can tell you is that it is an American made Trenton made in contract with Hay-Budden. In fine shape too! Good grab for sure. Someone on here will be able to give you a date of manufacture from the serial number and likely more information too. I really gotta get my hands on a copy of AIA...

Email/call CAT and ask. Ballpark guess is it is 52100 for the bearings though.

Geoff, This may be wrong but in my years in the iron workers union, we were taught that steel (A-36 at least) generally weighed at least 490 LBS per cubic ft and .28 LBS per cubic inch. Which was how we figured the weight of beams and columns and which size choker to chose to hoist with. Don't mean to nit pick, but that was my personal experience with weight of steel. (wrought may be different...) For the OP...do we have an answer to this riddle yet?

If you have any machining tools, the vise alone is worth nearly half that price. I would be all over it if I was closer. Never mind the aesthetic beauty that drill is all in itself. I have never seen one similar. Then again, I know nothing of the brand so I cannot say for sure, but aesthetically...that thing IMO is a work of art all in itself.

Sounds like it is in the 300-350 LB range to me. Just a guess though.

Those look great! That is definitely a great way to spruce up a simple opener. Thanks for sharing.

Regrettably, no. Unfortunately after not being able to contact him for a week, I went to his house to ask about a few design change ideas I had and found that he had passed. It made me pretty sad because he was a frequent customer and we had become friends because of our similar interests in Greek mythology and outlooks on life and art etc. So it has sat in a corner of my shop and I haven't worked on it since. I only had the armature, inner shell and base done for the lower half of Pluto below the knees. I do hope to make time to finish it by the first day of spring next year though because that was when he wanted it to be finished (this past spring). I will keep it though and not sell it because it wouldn't feel right to me to sell it now. So it has been on hold since January but hopefully I will get back to work on it in a couple months.

Looks like a Hay-Budden to me but a flat bottom is not something I have known them to have. Possibly an earlier solid wrought Budden? Also the number 2 stamped on either side of the handling hole is something that my Hay-Budden has so thats my bet.

I wish I had something constructive to add, but I don't. Just wanted to say that the 2nd comment got a good laugh out of me picturing the scenario. Hope you are okay :P . I will be watching to see what advise is given about this.

I'm not much of a knife/ sword maker but I can tell you now that you can not make a sword out of aluminum. You can make something that might look like a sword but its nothing more then a decoration. We call those SSO or "sword shaped objects". Also don't know much about casting but my bets are on you expediting the cooling rate of the aluminum when you add water to cool it faster. Normally that would anneal it but it may be different form a molten state to semi-solid, then quenched. Plus, it is incredibly dangerous to have ANY water near molten metal. It could also be poor material. Are you melting cans or engine blocks or what? The more info you give will make it easier for folks to give you good answers. Also, put your general location in your profile. Someone on here may live nearby and could help. Read up on the subject. Not youtube videos, lots of terrible info and false theory on there.

I think its a great idea. I have thought about making a burner with internal fins that would create a vortex (naturally aspirated) as the gas/ air moves through it and theoretically be able to run at lower psi/volume but its just an idea and will likely stay that way as I am not confident in toying with that kind of thing (if anyone here wants to take a shot, my thoughts are your thoughts). I also don't play with wires because electricity scares me. Exited to see what results you get!

So you just breath in the particles through your nose instead of your mouth? Your lungs are the issue here, not your taste buds. Wear a respirator or at least dust mask/bandana.

Just to add to this old thread, as ptree said, the face shield is to protect the FACE and safety glasses protect the eyes. I can't tell you how many times I've had something fly up under the face shield and under the safely glasses and get my eye. In that one circumstance, yes maybe it would not have worked its way in there because of x,y, and z reasons. But that line of thinking is ignoring the hundred or thousands of particles the PPE has stopped from harming your eyes. Anyways, after a few close calls (close meaning eye wash the intruder out of the eye with no burr tool removal needed) I started to rivet a piece of light leather or heavy cotton to the bottom of the face shield. Never had a problem with things getting under there since. The added material hangs down to nipple height and stops anything from sneaking up on you.

I see that as a good thing. Think about the audience that watches that show regularly. Generally the type of people who prefer to go to stores and get some "as seen on the television" type things. Black smith work being brought onto her show may get people who buy cookie-cutter mass productions, interested in hand crafted forgings. I think the exposure is a great thing. Hand forged work is hardly "sacred" nowadays because of the "I want this custom made labor intensive piece...YOU WANT HOW MUCH FOR IT!!???". Also, how is she "trespassing" into blacksmithing?

Well for what you described as what you want to do, I would think 108 LBS would be a good size unless you plan on doing pattern welded billets someday where you may want some more beef under the hammer. Search this site for TPAAT and use it. Check craigslist as often as possible (the good anvils for good price tend to disappear within hours and sometimes minutes of being posted for sale). Without pictures I couldn't give a yes/no answer as to what I would do, but as to the brand, Hay-Budden is an excellent brand and is my 2nd favorite anvil I have worked on next to my Columbian. All things aside and assuming the condition is as good as you say, $3 a pound is pretty standard around my area with the occasional $2 or less a pound. Many folks will also mention to you that for blade smithing, a perfectly suitable anvil is a heavy hunk of steel. Search for scrapyard anvils or read through the blade smithing section and I'm sure you will find examples. Edit: Pics posted while I was typing. It looks pretty good to me. That paint is ugly IMO though and can serve to hide defects sometimes. Might help in getting the price down a little bit.

Pictures of the anvil in question would help. Also where you are located and what type of things you plan on making on the anvil. If you are in New England or Ohio or other "anvil rich" areas, you may be able to find others for less. If you are in an area where anvils are scarce, jump all over it, but again, pictures would help.

I will be there. This time maybe it won't be so darned hot out!

Nope, still nothing. While you are trying to figure it out though, you may want to put your general location in your profile. Someone on this site may live within visiting distance. Recently someone joined who lives about 2 miles away from me and comes over to my shop to forge a couple of times a month. You can do that by editing your profile and it will be under the "location" section. Welcome to IFI!

Rockstar, I share the same thoughts you said. I searched for the video and found what I assume is the one in question. The person who made the video was very clear that they were a novice and made no claim to be a "Master smith". He used 1070 (If I remember correctly) bar for the steel which is a suitable blade steel. He moved very methodically as he worked the blade and may have "Cheated" by using a spring swage for the bevels, but as he admits, he is a newbie and uses them because it it easier. I have seen "katanas" sold from mass production shops in japan that are made using the same methods and steels as he did. Though they may not be the mythical and legendary master smith creations that western culture holds them up to be, they will still cut, slice and hack. Maybe not last as long or hold an edge as well, but who in this day in age would actually use a katana? They are more or less no more then wall decorations. Especially here in the states. So even though he did not go through the motions and years of apprenticeship in japan under a master, he has every right to make a "katana" and be proud of it. I think its counter productive to be talking bad about this one youtube video when there are hordes of them that show/tell horribly wrong info that is liable to get someone hurt. I have seen videos of people "showing how to cast X" and wearing no safety gear, spouting off completely wrong/ misleading "facts". I would focus discontent towards those people instead of someone who did a sword shaped object process video using suitable steel (especially for a newbie/hobbyist) and demonstrating good hammer control and patience while working the steel. My 2 cents.