Crazy Ivan

Not sure about the welded waist but I have seen Brooks anvils with that same odd positioning of the pritchel hole as the pics you posted too. Slightly closer to center then you normally see. -Crazy Ivan

I think it really depends on the kind of work you are doing. I use mild steel tongs for anything under 1" and anything bigger I will use my 4140 tongs. As a couple people have said, it also depends on what size stock you are working with in order to leave plenty of thickness with the mild steel to keep things from getting out of whack. -Crazy Ivan

Possibly a Brooks? It's pretty girthy and the foot pattern is similar. I'm not an expert though, just speculating. -Crazy Ivan

That sure is a beautiful anvil! I was thinking the same as Postleg about the feet part of it but I'll still sit and drool for a minute. haha -Crazy Ivan

Well, I tried it out today and it did not seem to work too well. Not to say that it doesn't work, but it took a good bit longer to get the stuff to melt and run and when it did, I had trouble getting it to leave the weld area upon striking (making voids in the weld). I was using a gas forge. Maybe some of you with a coal forge should see if you have better luck (some people weld without any flux in a coal forge I'm told). Anyone else who decides to try it out, please let us know how it works for you. As for me, I'm sticking with the Borax. Also, if you try other rod types out, there may be a different result (I tried 7018). I would love to hear how anyone else fares with this. -Crazy Ivan

I have been a member on here for a bit and just realized I never introduced myself here. I am from Boston, MA and run my shop out of a basement of a nine person co-op house (my roommates love me haha). I have been working with steel since I was 14 starting out in a vocational high school. Any area smiths want to swing by sometime or newbies wanting a little skill sharing, feel free to contact me about it! I hope to see some of you soon! -Crazy Ivan

Also, I'm curious, with temperature dropping and a primitive forge outdoors, would you possibly run into a problem with your bellows? Assuming you have leather bags on it/them would you have trouble with the leather stiffening up and preforming poorly? -Crazy Ivan

If your anvil is sucking heat from your work too quickly, either keep at it until it warms up a bit, or heat up a thick piece of stock and set it on the face of your anvil to warm it up a bit prior to forging. This way your anvil is warmed up enough to not suck all the heat out so fast. I'm not sure where on here, but i believe there was a section on this at some point. -Crazy Ivan

As another suggestion to the handle eye, it looked like it would be acceptable to just slit and drift the eye. That would still leave you at least 1/4"-3/16" wall thickness on either side...plenty for the tool to still do the task. I have done eyes on spikes this way before with no problems in the finished outcome, but upsetting would make a wider side wall and possible a nicer finished look. -Crazy Ivan

I have no problems with using borax, I was just wondering if I could use the remaining flux on my spent snubs because i hate letting anything go to waste. This is more of a re-purposing type question then anything else. Thank you for your inputs! -Crazy Ivan

This may be a dumb question, or it could be brilliant...funny how often those are the two possibilities. I was thinking today that on all my snubs of 7018 welding rod, would it be possible to break off the remaining flux and mash it to a fine powder to use as a forge welding flux? I know that different welding rods have different flux compositions but for forge welding? Just a thought and for the next few days I wont have time to try it out. Just wondering if anyone here has tried this or could theorize as to the outcome. -Crazy Ivan

MORE CUSTOMERS!!!!!!! hahaha Actually its been going very well for me due to the holiday season most likely. I would choose a 350 lb german double horn anvil with an upset block 1st. Next choice would be a power hammer, then maybe a nice belt sander.

I know it's a short price for so much work but the man I am making it for is in an unfortunate position. He has brain tumors and was recently given around 2 years to live give or take. He wants to make pieces for his backyard in the realm of multiple greek mythology things plus other "cycles of life" type artwork. I felt like this man must have quite expensive medical bills and if it will make him happy with his remaining time, I'll take the hit. I get more out of the satisfaction of making people happy then i do out of money. Giving myself three-four weeks to make this also allows for time on other orders I may get in between so its really not too detrimental to the functioning of my shop. -Crazy Ivan

Thomas, great idea. I will look into that tonight. Jim, yes, this will be an outdoor display. I had the worry that it will not hold up well to the elements but he insisted that it will be fine with primer and paint (it is just for his backyard and not public installation or anything). Getting 3d out of sheet steel is not a problem for me because of the method I use that i described in the initial posting. More specifically I make each muscle, detail, and bend in individual sections and weld and blend them together on the "falsework". It sounds like a lot of annoying detail work, but its not that bad with good fit-up and welding. I was curious of any possible knowledge of an easier way if any haha. As for pricing....I have no idea! hahaha but i told him that it will take three weeks to a month so i would Price for him at $1000. I have done work for this person before and he always leave a generous amount over what I ask. Last month I made a Phoenix for him and asked $100 and he gave $200. I am bad at posting pics (it took me three weeks to get a profile pic up here!) but if folks are interested I can try to post Progress pics as I progress on it. I will be starting it in December.

I got an order for a 4 ft tall sculpture of Pluto pulling Persephone down into Hades complete with a 3 headed dog. I am very excited about such a detailed order but not entirely positive on the best way to go about making it. I have made smaller sculptures in the past, but nothing of this magnitude and detail.I have made smaller sculptures in the past by making a skeleton out of 1/4" round, then cold formed the torso and limbs in a simple rough cylindrical shape, then made the details like muscle, bends at joints and welded them onto the rough body shape and ground clean. My question is, does anyone know of a better, more practical way to create such a detailed sculpture? This technique does work for me just fine, but I would love to hear any ideas on a more practical way of doing it if it is out there. I planned on making this hollow from 16 ga steel and cold forming almost all of it (except the faces which i find easier to do hot, with a torch). Attached is a picture of what I am supposed to work off of with some artistic license allowed. Any thoughts and ideas are appreciated. Thanks! -Crazy Ivan http://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/myth-of-hades-and-persephone/

Hey EarthJuice! I Run my shop out of brighton. If you are lookin for hammer time and shop talk, swing by sometime. -Crazy Ivan

When I got my first anvil I was searching craigslist and found my current anvil for under $1 a LB. I scored my 106 LB mousehole for $90 from a man and his son who just wanted it gone. Massachusetts is decent for anvils, with a lot of crap, but some golden deals every now and then (via craigslist). It took me about 1 week to find what i was looking for. Keep at t and don't get discouraged. Sometimes people don't know what they have (mine was in great condition for its age) -Crazy Ivan

Don't take this as a definite assessment, but the flare out on the feet makes it look a bit like a columbia anvil...a very good find if it is. 300 bucks is not horrible but there is still a chance you could snag it for 200...a more reasonable offer.

Just made another and there was no warping. Geoff was correct in that i was moving the blade in the quench. Also i was counting blows per side and followed Doc's advice. No more trouble now i guess. I appreciate it. -Crazy Ivan

In your post about the file annealing, drilling, then hardening, DO NOT use water to quench! Files are tool steel and need a more mild quench such as motor oil, sunflower oil, olive oil etc. You will be best off with an oil with a high smoke point. There is an excellent part on this forum under "bladesmithing" with a section on heat treating. Knowing what type of metal you are working with is key in knowing the exact way to get a good hardness without risking a failed heat-treat or over hardening resulting in a cracked or shattered piece. Do not take my suggestion as a definite way to properly do this as I'm not sure exactly which metal you will be using (A-2, files, leaf springs etc), so read through the section i mentioned to get a satisfactory result. Also, be sure to temper the piece after quenching. Good luck! -Crazy Ivan

Here is a video of making a farriers vise from scratch. seems easy enough and i really like this guys videos as well. 3 parts This is not me or my video, just passing it along for anyone interested. Seems like a fun build too. -Crazy Ivan

If i had the cash to spare, i would love to upgrade my 106 LB Mousehole to a 165-250 pounder but for now i can make due just fine with what i have. The larger working face and horn would definitely be nice and plus my Mousehole does not have a pritchel hole. I think that for me, anything larger then 300 pounds would not be practical.

Thats the first time I have heard that. Thank you for the advise! -Crazy Ivan

The pattern weld looks amazing along with the grains in the handle! Beautiful piece! _Crazy Ivan

I am moving it around in the quench. Thats a definite possibility. the thickness is pretty uniform to the eye buy very possible its got slight highs and lows that could be accounting for the bend as well. Thanks for your input! -Crazy Ivan