JHCC

And learn to appreciate Shakespeare! You'll need something to do in your copious free time!

Now that we've got that out of the way, Welcome to IFI! Please go over to the Introduce Yourself section and tell us who you are -- but please READ THIS FIRST!

ἄσβεστος δ' ἄρ' ἐνῶρτο γέλως μακάρεσσι θεοῖσιν ὡς ἴδον Ἥφαιστον διὰ δώματα ποιπνύοντα.

My mentor in cabinetmaking used to say, "Wherever you cut relative to the line, do it the same each time!" My boss in the violin repair shop was a dead-on, right-on-the-line, only-mark-with-a-knife guy. On the other hand, my last project in the forge relied on one measurement: "about half again as long as my anvil". Different rules for different work.

There are other ways besides physically. Hamlet and Macbeth changed my life.

There are some great threads here about what to look for in an anvil. "Anvils: A beginner buyers guide" is an excellent place to start. Also, do not get locked into thinking that you need a classic London-pattern anvil. Japanese swordsmiths use anvils that are little more than big square chunks of steel. People use all kinds of things, from sledgehammer heads to truck axles stood on end to goodness knows what. Take a look at this thread for an example of someone using a part from an excavator.

Someone had been using it to make mint tea?

You may have seen the posts about this already, but there can be serious legal issues about removing anything from a railroad right-of-way. If you get permission to salvage, get it in writing!

Cut it into the biggest chunk you can handle (maybe with a friend or two) and make sure it's bigger than you'll need for the stand. Once you get it in the shop, cut it down to the size you need. Use the scraps for other projects or even just to start your forge fire.

Actually, there are only two kinds of people: Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.

Generally speaking, get the biggest anvil you can afford. You can always do small things on a big anvil, but you can't always do big things on a small anvil.

Looking back at the photo, I am concerned about how close to the end of the handle the first rivet is. That creates a weak spot that will probably crack in time.

Of course, that only works if your anvil is flat!

Similarly, sulfur compounds released by cutting onions react with the moisture in your eyes to produce (very small amounts of dilute) H2SO4, which is what makes your eyes sting.

Without the entire root system (including root hairs and mycorrhizae) to absorb groundwater, the stump isn't going to pull any significant water out of the ground. If you think it would, go cut the roots of all your trees and see how long the leaves stay green. However, putting the root side down would allow you to put the root flare at the base of your stand, which would make it wider and thus more stable. If you're burying the base, having the flare below ground would create a dovetail effect that would resist vertical movement in the stump.

Joe's been looking for that anvil for over two hundred years.

He's an IT guy -- PC shouldn't be a problem. If Apple products are an issue, he can consult @Everything Mac.

My boss in the violin repair shop taught me to touch the freshly sanded tip of an ebony tuning peg into the skin crease next to the nostril, to pick up a bit of skin oil as a polish.

My brother and his wife are safe for now. My father's nursing home in Victoria was evacuated to near San Antonio a few days ago, so he's fine as well.

Don't know what your setup is like or what gear you have, but have you considered drawfiling as a way to flatten and shape your blades? It's not always as fast as a grinder, but it does give you a lot of control.

Oh, and beware of that crackling and spitting anthracite: I have a scar under my right eye from a piece that flew out of the fire and stuck to the skin of my face. (I also once got hit by a piece that flew out of the forge while my back was turned and went down the cleft where my back changes name, if you know what I mean. Last time I ever did any smithing shirtless.)

Somehow, those wrenches say "Chair" to me....

My JABOD cost me about five bucks, and that's only because I had to buy some drywall screws. I probably could have done it for free, if I'd saved more nails from the pallet wood.

Depends entirely on how big your fire is and how long you are forging. It has a pretty high energy density, so it takes a lot longer to go through than, say, an equal volume of charcoal. I'm an occasional hobbyist, so I tend to go through the stuff fairly slowly. Your mileage may vary.

Yes, it is. The trick is to get a good hot fire going of something else first, and then add the coal. I start with a ball of newspaper, use that to light a pile of kindling, and when that's going, dribble in the rice coal from the side. If you're using bituminous, you can use some coke saved from your previous session. Whatever kind of coal you use, keep a hole open at the top; otherwise it smothers itself and puts out a ton of smoke. Have you read the threads here about making a JABOD forge or about using anthracite? Check out Charles R. Stevens's original thread and my own for some insight and inspiration.