eric sprado

David Thompson and I quenched an anvil in the Willamette river a number of years back. We had a piece of chain wrapped around like a harness and rehearsed putting our piece of pipe through it and wading a few feet to a nice ,about three feet deep, hole. River was running pretty hard so it was a good quench. We put the anvil in a piece of culvert and stuck two propane weed burning torches in ends. We finally figured out one torch in one end would have been quicker! As it was it took a lot of beer before we,I mean the anvil, reached the right temperature.

Nice David. I just picked up an old cream can with the idea of poking a tuyere through it at using it as a portable side blast. I shoed for years with an old cavalry fold up forge and am going to use the blower from it for air. Interested in watching your progress.

Make SURE whatever post drill you buy has the feed dog on top that automatically advances the drill. You can easily add bicycle power to these drills that is a pretty safe thing to do.

Agreed: Air control is vital. You need a way to control the flow from that shop vac!!!! How hard are you hitting? A gentle tap is all you need to start the weld. Easy does it all the way around.You want the surface to look "greasy". Some folks don't like to see sparks,but I don't mind seeing a few to let me know I'm "there".Relax and keep practicing.

A century weight is 112#.

A dying blacksmith told his wife to sell all his tools after he was gone. She asked why and he said " I don't want some a**hole using my shop. She said " what makes you think I'm going to marry another a**hole". Enjoy your tools big and small while you're here...

May we please put this one to sleep??? Thanks for your efforts to request reliable sourses Glen! Oh-forgot to add fishermen in list of oldest professions.

Larry Langdon of Monster Metals told me of a mig rod that he uses successfully to build up anvils. You can contact him through IFI or NWBA sites.

Thanks Francis... On with sharing knowledge,which is what the site is about!!

Francis: Kind of a snappy reply there. I don't need to personally know more about hammer handle fit,I just thought that it should be included in a discussion about how hammers work or don't for us.Helping me fit my hammer handle to me was one of the first things my teacher did in 1965. As far as experience I know how to google,it's just simpler to reply to posts if somebody gives us a hint of their level of expertise at the time of posting. Didn't mean to insult anybody here.....

Nobody mentioned handle fit. You didn't really state your experience level. That would probably have a great effect on the types of replies you get.

Twenty Mule Team Borax or pure white sand from the Kaw River by Fort Riley Kansas. Live in Oregon now and borax has stood me well for over forty years. If everything feels clean I use no flux sometimes. Eric Sprado

Already got hurt moving it. At my age,sneaking up on 70,I shouldn't make bets but I did and picked the thing up but spent lots more than I won at my chiropractor's office. Mine is a just a few pounds shy of 400 and is pretty much cherry,but I'll wait until it's worth $1500 before selling. May take time,but I'd rather have my money in an anvil than in a bank these days. Safer investment and draws better interest.

What is a 400# worth these days?

What weight are you looking for? I have a 150pound Peter Wright that I'd take $325 for. A fellow on NWBA site was looking for one and I posted it there but he didn't respond. It needs a little buildup work on one edge,but is perfectly functional now. That's a few cents over 2 bucks a pound! If I can't get that I'll keep the darned thing...

Holy Smokes-Thanks David! That gave me enough striker info for the next Century!!! Eric

Don't DO IT. Don't DO IT.!!!!!!!!!!! I've seen the blown up pickup trucks etc. from stupid handling of pressurized materials. DO NOT DO IT. Got it???? Use the tank as a Shell for a small KO Wool lined forge. Lots of plans for those on all the sites.

It's also fine to lay it down with the head protected by laying on an old tire. Works fine. I've hauled four or five that way. Last one the man I bought it from put tire on a wooden pallet and wrapped with strapping machine so forklift could easily pick it up and load it. Really easy to move around the shop with a cherry picker and slung by the "C"..

I have a friend for whom I'd like to make a flint striker for Christmas. I'd like to see some to get ideas. Anybody know where to look? thanks, Eric

If you toss it save the igniter and put in on your forge. Why does NOBODY put igniters on their propane forges? Use the barbecue(or small propane torch) igniter device,tap the side for the smallest spark plug you can find and hook to the igniter. Lots better than throwing burning paper in each time,etc.

There is a discussion on here from just a week ago about stake anvils in the "ANVIL" section of all places. I posted a picture of a really old stake anvil. If you'd like more pictures I can send you some. Wow- that sounds like a REALLY interesting class!! You folks back East seem to have lots of classes in old skills! I'm envious.

You are only about 45 minutes from Martin Gabbertt in Eugene. He has a KA and I'm sure would be glad to show you how it works so you can see one first hand. Martin is a very friendly fellow. Tell him Eric Sprado the fiddler/blacksmith said Hi.

Dave: Eric here-using the heck out of that forge! I'm thinking of making an appropriate size one of Mark Amsbery's "Smooshomatics" to go under my fly press. Should work just as well under any sort of press. I think you can find it on YouTube by punching in Marks name.

I got sent home for "needing a shave" in the eighth grade. Have had a full beard most of my adult life. Went to see my dad once when he was in eighties. He said " how long have you had that beard son"? I said " oh about forty years Dad" and he,being the staunch old German he was said " OH maybe that's why I'm starting to get used to it"!!!

Here are a few pictures of a REALLY OLD cooper's stake anvil that I picked up. Note that the stand looks like it was built by cooper too.