JHCC

That's a really good point.

No worries. Track clips are good steel; I've even figured out a way to put the unusual shape of the FAIR anchor to good use: A very useful 1/4" round top-and-bottom fuller set!

Welcome to IFI! If you haven't yet, please READ THIS FIRST!!! Not sure what you mean by "pike anvil" or how that relates to casting an anvil horn; can you elaborate? Do you want a working horn that you can forge on, or are you thinking of something horn-shaped that would be part of an artwork?

Yes, if you can check it in person, that would definitely be the best. Before the link got deleted, I saw that the listing said the ring and rebound were excellent; maybe you can get the seller to do a ball bearing test while you watch via Skype or FaceTime.

YES, WE ARE SURE!!! Wire brush (or light wire wheel at most) and put it to use. Work around the gouge. In time, you may even figure out a use for it that will make everyone want to put a gouge in THEIR anvils!

Welcome to IFI! If you haven't yet, please READ THIS FIRST!!! I don't know what the anvil market in SA is like, but that would be quite a good price in the US, even including shipping. I'm not familiar with Robey & Co anvils, though, so I can't speak to their reputation for quality. The condition looks decent in the photos; the sway in the face is not a problem, and actually beneficial for straightening and shaping longer workpieces.

Mike, those are track anchors (this specific version is called a FAIR anchor). They clip on the underside of the track, dig into the ballast (gravel), and keep the track from shifting lengthwise.

C’mon, Frosty, show a little backbone!

Very nice. Please keep us posted on how it works.

I hear that’s the key to success. Shocking, I know.

Vise in the electrolysis tank.

A lot of industrial jobs also had pretty horrible life expectancies as well, especially before better safety practices were implemented. For example, the grinders of Sheffield cutlery had an average life expectancy of about 45, as the particles of grit and steel would lead to a condition known locally as "grinder's lung". Women and children who worked in spinning mills often came down with "brown lung" from breathing cotton and wool particles, and miners' "black lung" is well-known too.

I don't want to talk about destructive testing.

Also, look at Lou L's page of:

I hope that one day my good hammer control can rise to the level of Jennifer's bad hammer control.

Axles are generally medium carbon, good for hammers, anvil tools, and the like. If you can bust apart the CV joint, the ball bearings can come in handy, and their retaining ring makes a cool bracelet.

Clearly a wrenching experience, and I’m glad you remain undefiled.

It took me quite a long time to realize that “The die is cast” referred to throwing a numbered cube rather than pouring molten metal into a mold to make a thread cutting tool. (It was studying Latin that did it: “Alea jacta est” and all that.)

This video shows the welding being done on the ends: https://youtu.be/nLIbObCltfQ

Old fellow down the road was clearing out a couple of tumbledown outbuildings, sold me this old Colombian 204-1/2 bench vise for $30. I sense WD-40 and wire brushes in my future.

I should revisit it; I haven't read it in a few years. Tolkein really set the pattern for "comprehensively designed fantasy world" for anyone who came after him, especially if their middle initials were also "R.R." Answering for myself, the blacksmith/bladesmith sections in The Chronicles of Prydain (especially Taran Wanderer) were pretty influential for me.

Welcome. Looking forward to benefiting from your experience.

I know that others here have spoken about hydrophobic and hydrophilic versions of colloidal silica; I wonder if that might be part of the problem.

When we were little, my brother proposed that we could make the world's sharpest sword by making a lead casting in a mold lined with razor blades....

I like the tight twist and the reverse twist. Kinda cool, and could make for an interesting variation in a situation where one might be using rebar for the texture anyway. Thanks.