ichudov

I like how your mailbox post is so inconspicuously balanced and does not exert a tipping moment.

Guys, I made and have a swingaway mailbox as of right now. It swings if it is hit. It is held by friction so that it would not swing due to wind, etc. However, it has been hit many times. One car even left its mirror on my property! Anyway, since about 4 years ago I procured a inert mortar bomb and put it conspicuously on the mailbox, and, perhaps by coincidence, it is no longer hit. I agree that mailboxes should give way if hit and I plan to continue that by reusing the swingaway part.

I always dreamed to have a mailbox post made of welded ship anchor chain. I finally was able to obtain a good length (like 15ft) of real ship anchor chain with huge links (6 or 8 inches, I forgot). Bought it for] scrap price. Here's a picture of the chain in a wooden box where I put it for now. There is nothing there for comparison, but this chain is huge and long, maybe 15 ft long. Anyway, what I was hoping to do is, take a steel plate for foundation, weld the chain to it in some cool shape, and weld a plate to mount a mailbox. I would bury the plate to prevent theft and such. Has anyone done anything of the sort. Someone has done something like that: But I wanted some more intricate shape and also my links are somewhat smaller. Thanks.

It is a forge in Chicago, built around 1940s, a lot of things are riveted instead of welded. I have a video here.

Thomas, thank you, I was going to make a forge along these lines, from welded steel and firebrick, but of similar nature.

Right now I have a small "forge on a pallet" that includes a propane forge. I would like to build a medium size coal forge. I have a couple of questions. First, does anyone know where I can get suitable coal near Chicago? Second, can I use a small 1/30 HP centrifugal blower similar to ebay item 400586070811 or is that too small. Lastly, can I build a forge using a steel tub and firebricks, of which I have a couple of dozen. I would like to be able, if necessary, to heat items up to 18 inches in length. Thanks

I do not think that I will sell it at this price. I will keep on using it.

Thank you, guys. I appreciate all comments. I tried using this setup already and it seems fairly ergonomic. The idea to place anvil next to the forge, was brilliant. It is much better this way. I will make a few tools for bending, etc that fit in the holes of my round blacksmith table.

Guys, after rearranging, here's how my shop looks. The table, forge, and anvil base are all welded or bolted down. The anvil is held by 6" lag screws. he vise is on a heavy cast iron base that is held down by one bolt only, by design so I can turn it a bit.

Frosty, thanks. I was going to set things up along the lines people suggested, and if I like it, I would fixate them in plate, bolt down, weld etc. The exception to this is that the forge will turn around as I need to avoid exhaust gases in my face. I want to weld this steel round table down, this way I can use it (and the holes therein) as a base for bending stuff. I have other work benches, O/A torches, hydraulic press, drill press, lathe, cnc and manual mill and what not. This setup is for blacksmith tools only, it is not my complete shop, just the blacksmith stuff.

This is in my commercial warehouse, where space is at a premium. The warehouse is 10,000 square feet, but it is used intensively for buying and selling industrial equipment. That is why I want those items on a single pallet sized plate. I can always pull it out so that I can easily walk around it when I work. Yes, this is EXACTLY how I will set it up. I have to switch places between the round table and anvil to get to this arrangement.

Guys, thanks a lot for your wise thoughts. I do plan on working outside of this work space and not standing inside. I will rearrange the items so that the anvil is next to the gas forge, and the vise and blacksmith table are on the other side. In any case, I would walk around this pallet/blue plate -- and not inside -- to get from one work item to another. Thanks a lot. I will post updated pictures when I rearrange.

I hope that you like these three pictures. I just made my blacksmith shop. It is an anvil, Reed 6" vise, a propane forge furnace, and a blacksmith table with a 2" thick round top with holes. All is mounted on a 1" thick blue painted steel plate. I made it so that I can move it around my warehouse with a forklift and so that everything is properly mounted. The "shop" is what you see mounted on a blue steel plate in foreground, not stuff (semi trailer) behind it. I was hoping to see if anyone has any comments. I have not, yet, fastened anything and also I wanted to make a custom shelf under the propane forge. Thanks

I was out for business and had a chance to videotape this old forging operation, clearly doing commercial, "run of the mill" work -- but on fascinating, old style equipment. Truly dinosaurs of old. I hope that you will like this video. http://www.machinerymoverschicago.com/blog/DeKalb-Hot-Forging-Plant/ The hammers looked like Chambersburgs.

You can make a lot of money buying scrap steel stock (plates, bars and rounds) and tubing, and welding and forging them to make blacksmith items.