JHCC

The older I get, the better I was.

Li'l Heifer.

I just remembered that I carved a diorama of a blacksmith shop back when I was in sixth or seventh grade (alas, no pictures survive). The whole thing was a little out of scale, though; if the anvil were full size, it probably would have weighed about 600 lbs!

Well, medical leave is up, and I'm back to work tomorrow. Throat feeling much better, but it'll be a month or so before I'll be completely healed and can have another sleep test to find the best setting for my CPAP. I'm hoping to talk to my neurologist tomorrow to see if we can put in a "good enough for now" setting. Still feeling weak-ish and tired, but improving. Did a little shop work this afternoon (hacksawing a railroad spike to length for a split cross, regrinding a star drill into a single-point tool, and touching up the house number in the boulder out front), and ended up with a killer backache. Going to be a long road back. Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes!

Following.

This is extremely good advice.

Keep an eye out for rummage sales and boot sales. Don't spend more than you have to; seller labeling something "vintage" or "antique" will double or triple the price.

Small fire rake for the rivet forge:

Update, two weeks and a day post-surgery. Saw the doctor today and am cleared to resume normal activity. When I asked, he also cleared me for abnormal activity. So, back to work on Monday. Still on the weak side, but back to normal food, so hoping to get strength back soon. The biggest remaining problem (apart from the remnants of a full-body rash from a Vicodin allergy and some minor residual throat pain, mainly when I swallow, yawn, or sneeze) is that removal of the tonsils appears to have messed with my ninth cranial nerve, which governs taste -- in other words, most of what I eat tastes like cardboard. The doctor thinks/hopes taste should come back in time. For now, I'll just have to be tasteless. Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes. The good news is, they can only take the stuff out once! Oh, and the three volume set of Mark Aspery finally arrived via ILL today, so I'll be cramming that between now and Monday.

As a possibly interesting addendum, Dave Canterbury of the Pathfinder School shows a pair of these in his Blacksmithing on a Budget video and notes that they are one of his three top "go-to" tools for holding hot metal.

$220 ain't bad, especially if the blower works well. And Yes, the tab on the edge of the pan is for mounting the lever for a pump-handled blower.

I'm teaching my 12 year old to strike. He loves working in the forge, and it's great motivation for him to finish his homework.

That's true. A friend of mine was sold a total bill of goods on an anvil that was touted as "twice tempered" -- which really meant that it had been in a barn fire and annealed practically to the point of uselessness.

Update, one week post-surgery: still feeling very weak, but the throat is in much better shape than just a couple of days ago. Swallowing is a total crapshoot, with possible results of "No problem!", "That was weird...", "Ow?", "Oooh...", and "AAAAAHHH!!!!" Still can't contemplate anything much more solid than scrambled eggs; sick to death of custard. Tapering down the Vicodin, since the pain isn't as bad as it was. Let's see how this goes. Feel like I'm turning a corner, but it's a long, slow corner.

In addition to the link VaughnT gives for Eichschmiede, here are the links to the respective channels of the smiths mentioned above, in the order given: Gary Huston https://www.youtube.com/user/garyhuston Chandler Dickinson https://www.youtube.com/user/chandlerdickinson Denis Frechette (The Ironwork Shop) https://www.youtube.com/user/theironworkshop Brian Brazeal https://www.youtube.com/user/brianbrazealblacksmi Mark Aspery https://www.youtube.com/user/MarkAspery ABANA videos https://www.youtube.com/user/ABANAorg Alec Steele https://www.youtube.com/user/alectheblacksmith Brent Bailey https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmJ3R3FIdB247BBCNWqVkPQ Rory May (Dirty Smith) https://www.youtube.com/user/isolatedreality Nathan Baker (workingwithiron) https://www.youtube.com/user/workingwithiron Torbjörn Åhman https://www.youtube.com/user/torbjornahman TechnicusJoe - Joey van der Steeg https://www.youtube.com/user/TechnicusJoe Tobbe Malm https://www.youtube.com/user/bebeiron Grant Sarver (nakedanvil) https://www.youtube.com/user/nakedanvil Dave Canterbury (Pathfinder School, Wilderness Outfitters) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZLagqylZ3j7H2MEDrDTb7Dz6xVZeMRTt (blacksmithing playlist) Trenton Tye (Purgatory Ironworks) https://www.youtube.com/user/purgatoryironworks

Since you've got a stick welder, I'd go with Frosty's suggestion of welding a ton of random stuff in there. Your problem right now is that you have a big ol' resonating plate in the middle of the thing, and anything that makes it harder for that plate to resonate freely will help quiet it down.

Deb, give Jerry back his computer!

Bhutton, your anvil is the same vintage as my 148 pounder MH, although your stamp is a lot clearer than mine. Mousehole Forge used this stamp from 1820 to 1835 (see this link); the "M&H" stands for Morgan and Henry, the Armitage brothers who ran Mousehole at the time. And don't let anyone tell you that a MH is anything other than a first class anvil. I've had mine for thirty years, and the only problems I've had with it come from my own lack of skill.

The original version was "Happy as a clam at high tide" -- i.e., safe from clamdiggers and other predators.

The original version was "Happy as a clam at high tide" -- i.e., safe from clamdiggers and other predators.

Put a long arc on the shaft (say, with a radius the same as the length of your forearm), and you'll be able to reach your entire back without lifting your elbow.

These dreams are actually pretty normal for me; I have a very active dream-life. Just thought it made a good prose poem. Like the coking imagery? I can't take any aspirin or ibuprofin, as they're both blood thinners and could cause bleeding in my throat. The Vicodin has some acetaminophen, but less than a regular Tylenol, and I'm not drinking anything stronger than apple juice anyway (although Man, could I use a scotch).

Pain I dreamed of a museum recording the last days of working sail, where the carved boards with the ships’ names and home ports formed a tight mosaic on the wall. As sail gave way to steam and steam to oil and diesel, the manufacturers’ plaques from furnaces and boilers were added to the wall, each a memorial to a well-tended machine. I woke coughing, choking on strangling, fiery phlegm. I dozed again, and dreamed of coal fires, of anthracite and clinker, of bituminous coal melting into bricks of coke, sharp-edged and smelling of sulphur. I sat at the edge of the bed and waited for the pain to pass. Two hours since the last dose; four more until the next. The doctor said "one to two pills as needed for pain"; at this rate, I’m going to need a refill soon. I dreamed of a tight mosaic and a history of love and skill and dedication, all fusing together into a seamless rock of black fire.

Good find on the Griswold waffle iron, too -- collectors love those.

UPDATE: Surgery accomplished this morning. Went very quickly and cleanly (I'm told), and I got out of recovery faster than expected (i.e., I didn't have to stay the night). I'm home now, stocked up on ice cream, pudding, and extra strength Percocet. Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes; I'll be in touch.