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I Forge Iron

Furnace1

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  • Website URL
    http://Hawleysfinewoodworking.com

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Interests
    Tools tractors trucks and guns and not always in that order..........and obviously blacksmithing!

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  • Location
    Vermont
  • Occupation
    Furnituremaker

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  1. Just wondering if anyone could recommend a decent brand of butcher block style wire brush that won't fall apart in a few months?....I have gone through so many over the years and none seem to keep their bristles very long and just keep breaking off. I'm using a Winco brand now which has lasted longer but still is almost half gone already. I do use it everyday in a production environment so maybe I'm asking too much. Thanks for any advice..
  2. Hey Judson, 

    Good to see you again at the fair last week as always. I don't know why I didn't ask you when you said you were in the middle of a hammer build, what style are you making? Of course like you mentioned, if you have one of your other one's for sale after it's done that would probably be the better direction for me to go as I can't seem to find enough time to build one anyway!

    Talk to you soon,

    Scott Hawley

    802-483-2575

  3. I would like to see more of this also....I'm in the middle of a helve hammer build myself and have never been too enamored with the pulleys and belts flapping around on a rusty style hammer. That's why I have decided on the tire drive for mine where I can make a braking system as well, but this sounds interesting!...looking forward hopefully to pictures or diagrams.
  4. Thank you Andrew T......I will do that and see what turns up.
  5. Anyone know who makes these power hammers? very impressive style and they look well made......Had some trouble loading the video from Youtube, not sure if two are attached or not. The one I'm referring to is the green one... Seems like Norm Tucker's video is attached as well for some reason and I could not remove it......not the one I'm asking about even though it is a pretty impressive machine as well.
  6. ​Rusty Iron....thanks for the lead on that story. I found it and you're right, it has a ton of info...thanks again!........I'll update after I take a look at it on Saturday. Please post pics of your 75 when you can...
  7. ​Thanks Judson...I would be curious to see how far down that idler can go. I'm heading over to take a look at it on Saturday so I'll have more pictures. Thanks for the offer of an extra hand also...may take you up on that if it all works out!.....you are welcome to stop by my shop any time, regardless. Still have to get to your place too!
  8. ​Thank you Black Frog for the input. That is an impressive set up you have there and I don't see why it would not work on this machine as well....I will post back if the purchase works out.
  9. I have a chance to purchase a 50# Fairbanks power hammer but unfortunately my ceiling height won't allow for the motor and drive assembly the way it is now. Which is considerably higher than the machine itself as you can see. My question is how involved would it be to turn all the drive pulleys and motor so that it is attached to the back of the machine down low? There seems to be a slack belt drive and idler pulley from what I can see in the picture. I have seen other Fairbanks hammers configured this way but from what I understand, they were offered that way from the factory. Either for a line shaft drive or a motor drive. Any feedback would be appreciated.
  10. I have a question about the top plate on one of my Fisher anvils I hope some of you can shed some light on. To start with it is a 220lbs anvil made in 1920 that I had purchased last year. At the time it was covered in rust and I did not notice and problems after doing the usual checks and the top seemed normal . After cleaning it up however I noticed a thinness to the top plate toward the cutting table as you can see in the pictures which clearly shows thanks to the condensation the other day, the differences between the cast iron and the tool steel plate. It appears at first that the top had been milled down at some point in it's life but after a better look I'm not so sure. The first thing that's thrown me off on this is that the plate goes from about 1/16 to almost 1/2" across the span of the top. The anvil is dead level at 13" from one end of the top to the other. If it had been milled I would not think it would not have such a large difference in thickness going from normal to almost nothing. I was thinking perhaps this was a factory defect and that the plate had not been set level in the form when the cast iron was poured over it and then milled normally to finish ? That being said, it is one of my best rebounding anvils I have, all across the top regardless of where it's used and I have used it well, although I do try to stay away from that edge.... even rivaling the rebound on my 400lbs Fisher... Thanks guys for any input, I hope Njanvilman will chime in on this one...
  11. I have found two things that helped me some time ago with this type of problem. The first one as mentioned by several others here, is to make the handle fit your hand. If you have or know someone with a vertical or horizontal stationary belt sander, you can adjust your handle with very little effort. I prefer rounding mine on the top and bottom and flat on the sides with a slight tapering from the head back to the end. Finally making sure my fingers just touch my palm when closed around the handle. Lastly, the most important find to me was using pine tar that you can buy at sporting goods stores for baseball bats. The Adidas brand at Dick's worked the best for me. You will be amazed at how much better you can hammer when the handle doesn't feel like it's slipping and needs to be gripped hard to control it. These two things have helped me work longer with less fatigue and all but eliminate the hand pain I was experiencing.
  12. That sounds great Paul....I knew he would have a bunch of them for you to choose from. 150 pounds is a good size, I have a few in that range but to be honest, I prefer one in the 200 pound range. Not that you can't do just about everything you need to on the 150 as long as it's anchored down good. It's just I prefer a larger working surface and when I'm forging something heavy it's more stable. The first anvil I bought from Ray was a 230 pound Peter Wright and that seems to be the average shop size anvil you find for sale around here. Good luck and let us know how you make out....say hello to Ray for me, Scott
  13. Paul, just checking in to see if you got over to Ray's place yet and got yourself an anvil?
  14. OK Paul, Ray's number is ...802-863-6480....really nice guy and plan to spend at least a few hours there. As for the coal you bought at Jackmans, that would be anthracite heating coal. Not a problem really I use that as well but, usually get a few strange looks from other blacksmiths that use the soft blacksmithing coal that I mentioned Aubuchon's sells. I use that to get my fire going and then use pea size anthracite for the rest of the day. Good luck with your visit to Ray's, let us know which anvil you wind up with...Scott
  15. Sorry to take so long getting back to you. Just got our power back on after the hurricane beat us up a little these past few days. I just came in and his numbers in my shop....rough two days here but I won't forget it tomorrow. As for coal, I buy mine at Aubuchons the store in vergennes has 13 the last time I looked online but you can order whatever amount you need and they will ship it to the closest store to you. I just did that the other day. It was $12.49 a bag plus tax and no charge for shipping.
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