Chris Comtois

Wow - maybe I should have bid more then! The one I got was from a fella at our local club - I'm going to have to buy him a six pack and thank him profusely for giving a beginning smith such a sweet deal! Now that I know what they go for out in the real world, I'll certainly look for a way to pay it forward to the next guy.

So a post vise came up in a local auction site (Michigan). I put a maximum bid of $70, since I already have one in similar shape that I paid $50 for. It wound up going for $162.66! I know price is dependent on location and availability, but I wouldn't have expected it to go that high. What would something like this go for in your area, and did I miss an opportunity or dodge a bullet? From the ad: Antique Blacksmith Anvil Post Leg Vise, Jaw Aligns, Opens & Closes Smoothly, Bench Mount is in Very Good Condition for Age, 18"W x 48"T

I'm a safety guy at work - lots of our guys like Mechanix brand gloves. Thin leather palms and fingers, spandex on the back, tight fitting and decent dexterity. Not for heavy work, but they might work for filing, etc. Home Depot has them for sure, also Amazon (I just checked).

Nice! I thought maybe with the way the support curved in it might loose some structural strength, but if it's that beefy prolly not.

What size stock? How much do you figure they'll hold?

Wow man, that stinks. I am a regular wearer of prescription glasses, and I am fortunate enough that my work pays for prescription safety glasses. Even so, I had a similar "quick job" on the grinder and I decided to not swap out my regular specs for the safety glasses. Five minutes later I had to throw out a $150 pair of glasses due to a chunk of slag melted smack dab in the center of where my eye would have been. I was fortunate that the piece didn't hit ay harder, it might have gone right through the regular lens and into my eye. Take care of yourself, hope you feel better soon!

I made one of these for a friend at work, based on a pic she saw in a hoity-toity shop. Of course, I then had to make four more for others to give as Christmas gifts. I'm certain I under priced them, given the amount of time I put into them. After the second one I swore I wouldn't make any more...

I was almost inducted into the Darwin Awards.

I store mine this way and it's great! I did discover, though, that you need to UNWIND them ALL THE WAY when you use them! I had a 50' cord wrapped up like this, only needed about 10' to plug in my skill-saw. A couple of hours of heavy use later, I smelled smoke and noticed the insulation on the wrapped up part smoking! Seems common-sense now, but I never realized I was basically making an induction coil.

Just got around to watching this last night - nice job! My daughter especially liked the "tongs" joke, which I will now be working in to my repertoire.

Saw this somewhere, I don't remember, so I can't properly credit it. My apologies if it's yours.... Shop Rates - $25/hour If you worked on it first - $50/hour If you stay to watch me work - $100/hour If you want to help - $200/hour

Cool thanks. I'm not that concerned about alloys since I'm just doing this with mystery scrap. I admit I mostly just want to see the pretty lines in the finished product

I'd like to try my hand at some pattern welded steel. Nothing fancy or overly strange (yet!), just a couple of chunks of file/bandsaw blade/scrap, just to see if I can do it. I don't intend to use it for a blade, maybe some crosses or pendants or something. My question is, if I'm not using it for a blade, I don't need to heat treat it, right? Does the heat treat have any affect on the "visualness" of the pattern, or is that all in the steel types and etch? Thanks!

Check out ABANA, the Artist Blacksmith Association of America. They have a progressive type curriculum that will run you through all the basics.

Azazil do a google search for Max Carey Blacksmith Guild. They are a great bunch of guys and gals located in Midland, Michigan. They are a blacksmith club that meets weekly and they have "open forge" for members. There are several "anvil finders" amongst them and you will have no problem finding anything you need.

Are they cast? It looks like a casting seem on the medium sized one at 17 inches and the small one at 12 inches. The big one at 14 looks like it has a hole right at the tape measure, like it's hollow. Regardless, that's a cool find. I'm thinking eyeballs for critter sculptures, fruit or seed pods (grapes, berries), dishing tools. Could you cut one in half, weld it to either end of a chunk of steel, harden it and make a rounding hammer head?

When I started out doing this, a buddy of mine asked, on a scale of 1 to 10 how good a blacksmith was I. I told him I figured I was about a 3. Ten years later, I've been exposed to a lot more blacksmiths (not as dirty as it sounds) and a lot more of their work. When I look at what I can do now versus what I'd like to do, I still think I'm about a 3. *sigh* At this rate, I'll hit 4 just about when I'm to tired to pick up a hammer.

My wife makes Nuts & Bolts for the holidays. I usually gain several pounds of "water weight" from all the salt.

A 200 pound anvil weighs more at 45 years old than it did when you were 25. A reminder to use your experience instead of trying to "brute force" something. (And a reminder that getting old sucks...)

I find myself asking a lot, "what can I use for...?" rather than "what can I make from...?" For example, if I'm working on a project and I need a certain widget I don't have, I find myself going through my scrap pile looking for something I can use instead. I nearly always find something. Sometimes it even works out better. My advice to those who ask "what can I make from...?" would be to put whatever it is aside, keep a mental inventory (I know I had XXX around here somewhere, dag nabbit!) and keep reading and browsing - eventually you will see something that sparks an idea.

Bend it 'round a 6 inch (or whatever) diameter pipe? I've collected loads of pipe scrap, old fire extinguishers and even a scrap oxygen cylinder (empty and opened at the time I acquired it) that I use to get pretty close to perfect circles. You're bending it "the hard way" i.e. thick-wise, but I think it still might be easier than using your anvil horn. Lots of things can be anvils, if you look at them right!

Do a Google search for ABANA controlled hand forging. Lots of great instructions for beginners technique. I'll echo what's been said above - keep your eyes open for scrap, it's out there. Even if you don't have something specific in mind for a certain size, pick it up and save it, guarantee it will get used. Plus once your family and friends know you're a blacksmith, they'll start saving odd chunks for you. Anything you don't use goes in a scrap bucket and taken to the scrap yard couple times a year.

On the subject of voting (not necessarily political, voting for anything) - I'd rather vote for what I want and not get it, than vote for what I don't want and get it.

I made a bunch of chili peppers, but can't find the pic right now. I know I googled "blacksmith chili pepper" and found a good video about how to do it.

I'm going to try the hole saw next, if I can figure out a way to use a coolant (water) without making a huge mess. I'll have to rig a basin under my drill press. This being the first one, I used what I had around. I have a Home Depot gift card I'm going to go shopping for other types of bulbs and electrical bases to try a few more out. The wife has already told me she wants a couple of pendant type lights over the island in the kitchen and wall sconces in the four-season room. 'Cause I don't have enough projects on my list....