aaamax

The area is know for its steel production and was a hub of action up until early/mid 20th century.

I called and spoke with the listing agent for shttsss&grins and the whole upstairs is laid out as a conference room with toilets and a small kitchen.  The county doesn't allow for residential use, but would allow for B&B.

He said that most people interested would be using it as a storage facility.  What a shame.

The roof apparently is in need of repair.

Since you guys liked that one so much, here is another one that has been up for a while.  It comes with the complete inventory.

A funny side note, you very rarely see a Smith with a true Rounding hammer in his collection here in Sweden.  Not the preferred profile around these parts.

The Soderfors shot is for Frosty.  Love it when you see a well polished-from-use face.  Even with the welding scars.

Cheers.

Do you ever see shops going on the market?

Here in Sweden it happens, but usually it is just mentioned and almost ignored.  

Like the farm with a full Smitty gets a "... and this extra building that used to be a blacksmith shop can be renovated into something usable..."  I always laugh at that one.

Sometimes though a full-out facility is up for grabs.  Here is an exceptionally nice one next to a small river for a very reasonable price.  the exchange rate of SEK is around 8.5 to a $1.  So asking price is about $55-60k

Thought that some of you would get a kick out of seeing this.

Just look at that equipment!  

Wreckster,

time to try out your new hobby and use that anvil.

make a fire, put a piece of rusty, scrap metal in it, wait until it's red, pick it up with some pliers, hit it with a hammer on your terrific looking anvil.  Don't try to make anything, just hit that metal.  You will know after a minute or two it you are bitten by the blacksmithing bug or not.

Wear some ear and eye protection and have some fun.

cheers.

what does it look like at the roof?

interested to know how it works when you fire it up and if the pipe is wide enough for good suction.

Have fun.

Frosty, How about "tinkle".  I actually use that word to my three year old... 

Sounds good.  I think that is the safest way to go and avoid cold shuts.  

22 hours ago, Jaegers Forge and Foundry said:

aaamax did you mean scale? or scales

Hi, I meant the scales, as in the business/action part of the file.  

I've made knives leaving them in and some where I go to the trouble of grinding them off first.  Not fun to do but might give a more sound end result.  Maybe...

Cheers.

Rasp knife looks good.  

did you grind the scales flat, or leave them in?

I don't often dump out the water from the slack tub, but it was getting a bit murky.

How often do you find critters that didn't make it out?  I got the 3 Blind Mice.

Interesting how the sweet-spot edges are in seemingly perfect shape.  The chips being more towards the heel...  I usually see the reverse.

Nice find.

Frazer, she's a beauty!  That is not beat up at all in my eyes.  That horn looks unused.

Terrific score along with the nice post vise.

My edges borderline on mushroomed, but are shaped in such a way that it makes for perfect fullering on that which I need to do.  Like I said before , most would think mine is in terrible shape.

Tomorrow I plan to take a photo and load it up in all her glory... lol

pictures my man Flatliner.  A beatup Söderfors is always fun to see.

my favorite is by most people's standards "beat-up" , but it has all the edges that somehow fit my needs perfectly.  I don't know if anvils actually get broken in and rebound differently after years of use, but this one just has the smoothest/sweetest feel under hammer.

I'll get a pic up as well.

I can't help with the id, but I do think that is a cool little stand it came with.  Along with the holder for the matching cut-off tool.

Cheers

Thomas, funny that you say common style for Central and South America. Because now that you mention it, I see a Spanish flair in the design of that base.  Aesthetically it would fit in perfectly at a Finca down south.

I know! she is an odd bird isn't she?

Here is the defining shot.

This is a Frosty Special.

I thought it would be nice to post what I think is a rather unusual (check out those arches) Söderfors for sale in Sweden.

123kg, an interesting profile and roughly $900.  Not cheap, but very, very cool.  Would you agree Frosty?

Cheers

Frosty, that is a good one. I never thought of that. Often roots around here are gargantuan. Will definitely try my hand at one,

I wonder what drying times need to be like or if it is similar to regular wood. It would seem that roots should have a higher moisture content. Then maybe a very slow dry is needed to avoid cracking? 

Very interesting and thanks for the tip!

Thanks Steve. 

yes, Lilac is a terrific wood to work with and stays so true without warpage or splitting. It is incredibly hard and dense.

Cheers!

Older thread, but nice topic.

I had a few heads laying around that needed handles. So I tried a few different local, as in, my backyard, woods.

Whenever I have trimmed a nice straight branch of anything I store it for later use. So these woods had been air dried for at least 5 plus years.

By far my favorite is the Lilac. I have used it often before for spoons, etc. and it is probably the most durable wood we have access to up here in the North. With zero vibration. unfortunately it is really just a bush and doesn't grow that large. So cutting out appropriate size pieces without the pith can be challenging.

The Maple was surprisingly nice to use. I was expecting vibration, but no.

Same goes for the Plumb/Cherry

From left to right is: Yellow lilac, a purple Lilac, Maple, the last one I can't remember if it is Plumb or Cherry.

Yes, I like an octagonal type of handle in square or rectangle. Keeps the arthritis at bay.

That's pretty funny, I've never seen the toilet ornament... to each their own.

Nice Monster and it looks great.

The story is half the fun. good job.

cheers.

just want to add that I think that bracket is terrific and doesn't take away from the esthetic at all.

Wow, I truly had no idea about people using this stuff as decorations. 

An anvil in the yard... I suppose it could have a Disney type theme going for it. But at a regular house, I have trouble imagining it.

Thanks for the info it explains a lot.

The thing that I don't get is how Antique equipment, especially via an antique mall/dealer type of situation, has gone up so much in price. Especially Anvils.  We see this mentioned often here on this site.

Do regular, non -blacksmithing people buy this stuff? Who on the green earth buys a 400lb anvil as home decoration? I just don't get it.

Any thoughts?

Frosty: That was a very good price you had there for a 400 pounder. Nowadays a nice and heavy Söderfors like the weight you described goes for, or should I say, asking price in ads (since I don't know the final price) is often around $700-1200.

the prices have gone up a lot in the last few years.

Steve: I can't say for American prices of steel, but generally my experience has been that an equal weight of Mild vs high carbon steel, even a simple 1084, the high carbon commands a considerably higher price.

Are you saying that the prices in the States are the same for mild as is high carbon? If so you guys are very lucky!

Thanks Frosty, that was one heck of a terrific history lesson. I had no idea about that process, amazing.

So the whole anvil is a combo of the steels you mentioned... Isn't that a more expensive proposition than using a simple , softer steel for the body and just the high carbon for the plate? I am impressed.

I have a couple of Söderfors and the last one I picked up some years ago had the same, wide "faux" line as the OP showed in his pics. I always thought it strange along with no chisel edge. Just one long surface, but in a London pattern.

Again, thank you for the detailed information Frosty

Cheers.

Frosty, is the face same material as the body if no faceplate is used? if so, how is it hardened? That must be difficult .