Symbiont

Still not gotten round to trying any of these suggestions as have been quite busy. When I do get around to it in the next month or so I'll be sure to post my progress here. I think I'll be starting with heat, hammer and oil before resorting to any acidic methods - except maybe ordinary household vinegar - purely from an accessibility point of view Besides, I've got a nice electrolysis set up now for rust removal now (however I found that was doing very well at removing rust from the 'easy' bits but not so well in all the nooks and crannies since electricity is lazy and follows the path of least resistance.... so do I for that matter!) I just want to focus on freeing up that pivot and pivot bolt since that's the only thing stopping me from using it - although in time I expect I will need to get to that spring as it's probably pretty tired from being stuck in that position all those years. Thanks for so many replies

Ah cheers, a whole lot of helpful hints. I worried I had bitten off more than I could chew! I had also thought about jamming my cars scissor jack in between the legs and cranking it up and releasing it, cranking it up and releasing it a whole bunch of times but I couldn't fit it in between the legs I've no idea how original or not any of the vice is or who made it but it was the only one that came up within a 50 mile radius of my house that I considered an affordable price. It weighs about 100lbs, so pretty hefty! Can't wait to get it operational - just a shame life gets in the way huh!

Hi, I picked up a vice a while back and right away got onto unseizing it, albiet with little luck so far. I have soaked it for weeks using plusgas (In the UK, no such thing as PB Blaster ) followed by a few weeks of electrolysis but there was little sign of any give from either method. I had to pack it in for a short while as I had a few DIY activities that I needed to get on with! I'm thinking that perhaps I will try the above two methods again as I'm certain I will eventually free it up (The other method I saw was leaving it soaking in a tub of molasses - which if it comes to it I may try!) In the meantime, I'm just curious about the application of heat - if I took out my blowtorch to that pivot I'm not going to do any real damage am I (I've no idea if post vices are tempered in any way, I imagine not!)? Thanks

Cheers all, I have finally managed to obtain a stump. A tree had fallen down near where I lived and the council had been and cut up a few rounds and rolled them off the pathway so I drove the car there and hauled a huge round into the car. It doesn't seem a very typical thing to be doing on a Thursday night, think someone thought I was fly tipping - hey ho, I was actually cleaning up Again, I underestimated the size as I drove past it in the car during the day - when I got there realised it was massive (19" high 27 1/2" diameter) Got some tidying up to do (flattening, etc) before I can truely call it a stand, However I can't wait to finally get it on a stand, was going to build one but this will easily save me £20-30 in materials!

Cheers for the warm welcome all. I have caught wind of a suitable stump from a friend, although if that doesn't materialise I think I'll knock up something suitable out of some 2x4s I did notice the belt and figured I would use it to bolt her down to the stump/stand, I haven't seen another anvil with such a belt but I know a lot of people use chains - they hard works already been done for me Out of curiousity I was trying to find some marks on the anvil to tell me weight or a maker (albiet found none), although that's not important is it! However, I did see a picture of an 'engine smiths' anvil which has the extra hardie hole near the horn. I'll update my location, but I am in Guildford.

Hi there, My name is Matt, I'm from the UK. Been watching eBay and scouring the local bootsales and second hand shops for a decent sized sledgehammer head or some other anvil equivilent to get into blacksmithing. I can't believe how few and far between sledgehammer heads, railroad offcuts, anything seems to be. I spent so much time looking for something anything with enough mass that I could start to learn to forge that in the end I gave up... and just bought an old wrought iron anvil instead! It has no makers marks and some swayback from many years of use but I believe it'll serve me very well. I was looking for something in the 100-150lb range, thinking this would be a great size from beginner, up and onwards - however I think I have actually picked up something far far heavier as I can't lift it, my friend who states he can deadlift 300lbs can't lift it, the two of us had great fun trying to lift it out of my car and to the ground I can't believe how my and the guy I bought it from got it in the car in the first place - he must have done all the work! hahaha! It's 30" long from heel to horn, 6 1/2 " wide and a 14" * 13" base - I'm unsure of it's weight but estimate it must be between 220 to 300lbs - rebound is between 60-70% (dropped 1 inch steel ball from 10-inches bounced to around 6-7 inches) Anyway, my other interests are gardening/self-sufficiency, bushcraft, leatherwork and photography - as if I didn't have enough on my plate already I am going to learn smithing... Cheers, Matt