Don Shears

It's a handled cold chisel, I have one similar in style. Mine has 'CNR' stamped into it, and I've been told it was used for removing stubborn track bolts by severing either the bolt head or the nut. A two man job, one with the chisel and his partner swinging a 10 lb. sledge.

NoviceSmith15; I'm certainly no locksmith, nor an expert on the subject. As for an introduction on very basic lock theory go to the Anvil fire website select the . Once there scroll down to articles 139, 140, 145, and 149. These will not make you an expert, but will give you a very good basic knowledge of lock smithing terms and the development of the technology. Many thanks to Jock Dempsey for those articles. There's also a link elsewhere on the Anvil fire site to an e-book (scanned) copy of Chubb's book on locks (yes, that 'Chubb' family name.) Don Shears links removed at insistence of owner of that site

There's an interesting opening sequence for the Russell Crowe movie HAMMERS OVER THE ANVIL, where an unseen (never see the face, only hands) farrier forges a horseshoe from bar stock. Couldn't get into the plot, so I never finished watching the movie.

I remember this subject coming up on other websites. The one thing that stuck with me was DON'T use stainless steel as your sacrificial anode. The chromium can form into it's hexavalent variant, a nasty carcinogen, turning your vat or tub into a container of HazMat. Okay a little over the top, just err on the side of caution for which material you use for the electrode.

Anvil and stand I put together for my son. Since he tends to use mine more, I'm loaning this one to Josh M for classes at his forge. It started life as a counter weight for a guilotine door (individual panel type door where each panel moves in its' own track.) 85 lb.s or so with a base fab'ed from 2X4's and 1/4 inch plywood. There's a 2X2 tab welded to the (now) bottom with a 3/4 inch hole in it. Made a j-bolt from 1/2 inch all-thread which with a large panel washer, nut and lock washer to secure it to the stand. http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/36740-anvil/ Don

As Neil Blythin has said above; Home Hardware coal comes from Robb Martin (Thak Ironworks) in Floradale,ON. Check Robb's website "http://www.thak.ca" or specifically for the coal http://www.thak.ca/supply/blacksmithing-coal" If you see yourself going through several hundred lb's of coal in the next year or two it may be worth your while to order directly from Robb. Also consider contacting other 'smiths in your area and combining orders. Crunch the numbers, pros/cons of coal vs gasser forges and make your decision. Best of luck. Don

Like in the U.K. the balisong is banned in Canada. Considered to be a 'self-propelled' knife which puts it as a prohibited weapon under the Criminal code of Canada. All the ones I ever saw before the ban was put into effect were very cheap street vendor type trash. They went through a period of popularity in the 1980's because of their visual presence in various (usually low budget) action films including MAD MAX - BEYOND THE THUNDERDOME. I recall seeing and reading several articles about balisongs in the knife magazines at that time; often the authors having first seen, then buying theirs in the Phillipines. Some interesting features with the custom ones - for example a 7&1/2 inch blade with 4 inch handles. normally carried in a sheath, the 3&1/2 inches of exposed blade functioned as a utility blade. When a longer blade was required, flip the handles to expose full blade length.

Ricko13 - I saw the Kijiji post for the rack of tools and thought "I contact them tomorrow." Too late (obviously.) Some great looking and hard to come tools going by the pics. Don Shears Trenton Ont.

According to the book HARVESTS PAST (by Pat and Frances Patterson, photo on page 48) the wooden tray/roller device is a 'butter worker.' Used after churning the cream for butter and the draining of the buttermilk. The butter itself was scooped out of the churn, rinsed with cold water, then "...worked until all possible moisture has been pressed out." (Page 47 of HARVESTS PAST.) The rack for pool cues IMO looks right - one of those form follows function things. Lee Valley Tools here in Canada still sells a similar version of the glass wasp trap. And the rattle/noise maker has been explained (Thomas and Hayden.) I hadn't thought about use as a bird scare, did know about WWI use by Gas Senties in the trenches and during WWII by Air Raid Patrol (ARP) again for gas attack warnings in Great Britain (I still have my Grandma's cap badge somewhere.)

Joshua - there's a swage block listed on kijiji.ca in the Odessa (Kingston) area. Link below. http://belleville.ki...QAdIdZ398196516 I've no idea of your budget or travel resources. If it comes to it contact me before SOFA's Quad State, I plan on going down this year. There are usually a few people selling smaller (about 40 lb) blocks there. Don.

My daughter asked me to go for a bicycle ride with her yesterday. She let me stop on a whim at a yard sale (the DG frowns on me doing that - I find things to use.) Anyways, CDN$5 for a fair condition 17th edition of Machinery's handbook.

When I had a '91 VW Jetta, I figured out how to put an entire portable set-up into the trunk. 103 lb anvil; hollow stand ( I'd pack tongs, fire tools, tongs and stock inside it for traveling); plastic buckets w/lids for coal and water; portable rivet forge (legs and blower are removeable); and some firebricks in an old metal waste basket. Plus a small tool bag for hammers, files, chisels, etc. Pretty much everything did double duty. Some creativity and imagination go a long way with patience.

Broken axe handles - depending upon size can provide stock for a handle or two. Just have to be very wary of any cracks or splits.

I have a pair of Strovel brand closed heel clogs that I wear mine a lot for the quick, but sometimes dirty, errands where I'm out of the house and back in within a couple of minutes. Bought them from a farm supply store in Holland while at a family reunion of my in-laws. Very comfortable to wear and great in damp/wet/cold locations (barn, backyard, kitchen, cellar, etc.) Unfortuately they have molded rubber soles so I don't wear them for 'hot' work - no need for the smell of burning rubber. Also no steel toe guards.

I think the 'yoyo's' and 'idiot sticks' that people have mentioned are the type of grass trimmer that I know as a swing blade.

Pedro - nice work! I like and will use the idea of having the socket bick at roughly 45 degrees.

LizT - I used a rivet forge often, and for longer pieces (~ 4 foot) I'd use a 'blacksmiths helper.' Basically an adjustible support stand (they're usually tripod based) for the cold end of the longer work piece(s). Meant that I could work multiple long pieces. Nor was I trapped holding the end of a a single long piece, to keep it from falling out of the fire. The method of using firebricks to build up fire depth gives a little (better then none) flexibility to match fire size to the work piece (see Thomas' comment above.) As a cautionary, if your operating either portable or doing a demo away from home, plan extra time into your pack up schedule to allow the bricks to cool some. I'd the experience of being rushed (museum closing) so I quickly dunked the bricks into a bucket of water, then put them into an old metal waste basket. Put the basket in the car trunk and finished packing. When I started driving home my car smelt like a coal fired sauna!

Was down to the local scrap yead yesterday. Took down some scrap material and came back with a Benzo-matic torch kit/case with multiple extraparts; mild steel stock (3/8" round and 1" by 3/16" bar); a double handful of mechanics sockets, 5 lb axe head; a couple of wrenches; and a vernier caliper. Left behind 4 and 8 lb sledge hammer heads; a couple of 24" carpenders crosscut saws; and a 50lb nail box full of 3/4" bolts (mixed types.)

Try http://www.sofablacksmiths.org/ Came up fine.

I have to second the info John has put down above. The shorter horn is more the style of an Attwood (yet another of dozens of English manufacturers.) Peter Wright and Mousehole (AKA Armitage) tended to have longer horns in relation to body size. Not knowing where you are in Canada, I can't really make a guess at an auction price. The southern Ontario region is anvil rich. While on Vancouver Island anvils are rare. Over the years prices have gone up for various reasons (inflation, not just e-bay!) from so estimate $3/lb and adjust from there depending on condition, size, and unfortunately the local market. Also I suggest you go to anvilfire.com, and read the "Getting Started In Blacksmithing" pages; there's a lot of good advice and info about anvils on those pages. I go back my self every few months and reread to refresh my mind. And lastly (here's the shameless plug) - I've got an anvil listed for sale in the 'tailgating section ' here. Good luck. Don

Forgemaster - until you commented about it I hadn't noticed the dies being 90 degrees out. Also I checked Google Earth Streetview, if you follow the Trans-Canada highway through Massey you'll see the hammer on the northern side of the street. At the time I took the pictures, I thought it was a touch ironic/ bit of kismit to find the hammer there. Don

An old utility hammer manufactured by John Bertram & Sons Co. of Dundas Ontario, Canada. On display outside of the Local Museum in Massey Ontario, between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie. I guess-timate that it’s between 150 and 200 lbs. I took these pictures 28 March 2012. I’m not sure of the hammer’s history, or if it ran off air or steam. But there’s still a certain appeal to seeing it kept for historical reasons and sort of maintained (painted at least) rather then scrapped.

Oof; I make it to be a HADFIELD AND SANDERSON from the stamping. The repair to hold the horn is imaginative. I would have to guess that it was done by one or two people without access to a larger size forge, power hammer, or welding equipment (gas or electric.) If only it could speak. An interesting find. Congrats. Don