Exo313

Hi everybody! So, I'm working through -gasp- restoring an anvil! I'm only even attempting this because of a near- total delamination. I forgot to take before photos, but I have mid-process ones I will upload at home. I'm considering this an experiment, the anvil was a door stopper as it was. I'm only out the time, the anvil is free, so is whatever wire/ consumables I use. So far: I) Delaminating face removed from everywhere except the heel around the hardy hole. So. Much. Grinding. II) More grinding! Grind to sound metal, including removing layer of rust that had developed between the wrought body and the face. III) 2x layers of build up (yes, I made sure to preheat) with what's the rough equivalent of 7018 rod, except in metal cored wire. IV) Debating on a few options we have in-house. Welcome thoughts on the following welding wires: Stoody 130 Stoody 101HC-G Welding Alloys CNV-O All have good-to-great hardness characteristics, but impact resistance is moderate at best. They all also develop relief checking/cracking, which I'm not particularly keen about. Uncertain as to the risk of chipping/spalling. Alternately I can have any of the Stoody wire ordered in if anyone has any other thoughts. (Side note to the uninitiated: the grade of wrought in anvil bodies ain't fun to weld on. Unless you like grinding out porosity for fun. Ugh. Plus it's hot and stinky. If you enjoy being punished, go for it. I'm just stubborn. And lacking in good sense.)

I feel like all solid fuel forges are just modifications on a hole in the ground. Some are just metal holes with legs.

Zooming in, it looks cut out. Dang. At least whoever did that didn't take a grinder to its face

Guessing the quote was quoted from your quote of the original quote, thus the confusion of quoters. (Or is it quotees? Or would there be 3 e's in quote-ees?)

I think the one on the diagonal looks amazing, by the way! Flows really well from the vein in the petal.

I've seen some smiths making bends on the diagonal cross section of square stock, using dies with vee grooves to hold the metal in position. Looks simple enough but requires some scrounging and/or fabrication. Is there a simpler way?

I strongly dislike municipal bylaws restricting when and how you can burn things to the point where even having a charcoal forge is questionable. Re: FIF. I'm highly amused that people look at that show, with all the catastrophic failures, and think "that looks easy". If anything, I watch the show and am less interested in making knives afterwards.

I probably should've been clearer in retrospect. The problem is hacks with welders. Or hacks with framing hammers. Or whatever they pick up and try to be professional at without the training or interest in quality or improvement. I think fabrication is a fine term, if a bit broad for my taste. And something fabricated isn't necessarily shoddy. And a blacksmith that builds elements made up of more than one piece is also doing fabricating, not just forging.

There's also a huge difference between good fabrication work and hack jobs. Ever seen the badwelding subreddit? I think of fabrication as the whole picture. It may include forging, cold forming, riveting, layout, assembly, design, and yes, welding. Not to mention final finishing. I think the root issue isn't fabbed vs. forged as much as it's the first part of your "any hack with a welder". Way too many "fabbers" out there. Along with the "plumbers", "electricians", "finish carpenters", and "handymen". Don't get me started on the "general contractors".

I seem to recall something about old hospitals too.. For prostheses and such.

+1 to what Thomas said! If the price is right don't wait! It'll be gone.

I can get over the people modifying (even cluelessly) an anvil they intend to keep and use. It's the resellers that get them polished up, welded square and badly ground flat, to charge extra for something that's now drastically devalued. They drive me crazy! (okay, so it's a short drive...)

Aha! "No permit shall be required for commercially produced out door appliances burning charcoal, propane, or natural gas that conforms to the Canadian Standards Association" (CSA) codes and standards". Methinks the charcoal barbecue is the way to go... Edit: Alternately, though the price is steep compared with making my own, I can buy NC Tool forges through a Canadian farrier supply company. Anyone had experience?

Yeah, it'll be out in the open in a backyard. Re: building a gas forge, I'm uncertain as to the regs in my locale regarding unrated, homebrew propane devices built by a person who isn't a qualified gas fitter.

So, my city bylaws state no open burns are permitted without a burn permit (a new permit needed for every fire..), and defines "open" as "where the flame is not wholly contained". This includes mostly-containing fire containers like chimineas. How would you design a charcoal forge where the flame is fully contained? I'm sort of thinking about modifying a small charcoal bbq, both for appearances and because you can throw a lid on it.

10. "Don't use force, get a bigger hammer!" -- among other sources, from a shop tech/welder-fitter at trade school; his go-to "encouraging device" was a 20lb sledge on a short handle. Applies to smithing as well. (Though power hammers laugh at a 20lb hand hammer...)

Pictures to come after I'm home from visiting family for Christmas... I'm looking at a significant refacing job. Probably 40-50% of the face of this little 90lb MH anvil is gone, with more on its way out by the sound of it, based on tapping a hammer around the edges near the removed section. Planning on taking it in to work, they have some Stoody impact resistant flux cored wire I'm thinking about using once I get the specs on it and come up with a weld procedure. (I imagine it'll be similar to the Gunther(sp?) method, just with a different method of deposition?) However: (this is where pics might be useful; see top of post) I'm debating whether to just remove the rest of the old steel face, since I have to grind to sound metal anyway, and just reface the entire thing. Avoid the issue of ruining the heat treat in the already potentially compromised old face. Thoughts?

I had it pounded into my head by an instructor that dressing mushroomed tools is always a good idea. More of a concern with striking/ struck tools than in the case of a blunted bick, but still.

Single wall is similar to Viking style, no? Only I was at a demo a while back where Darrell Markewitz was showing off a setup involving a box of sand, two single lung bellows, and a bellows stone (more durable than a clay wall I guess?) He was basically piling up charcoal against the stone, with a shallow depression in the sand to lower the fire somewhat. I was impressed by how small the fire was whilst his bellows thrall needed to be watched in order to not burn the work. Link for reference: http://warehamforgeblog.blogspot.ca/2013/10/viking-age-sand-table-forge.html?m=1

So, cook borax, add charcoal and metal filings, forgeweld objet d'art, find wealthy patron... and you have the ancient alchemical recipe for turning iron to gold???

Great, now I have to wait til next month to re-line my forge. I've already had my shower!

Disagree. Quick Google search reveals tons of ways to improve eye-hand coordination. Another one of those things that on the surface is assumed as purely innate but isn't. Also, personal anecdote: I went from a service industry to a trade working with my hands last year. I'm astonished by the improvements in my eye-hand coordination after a year of constant use of varying hand tools, as opposed to occasional use as a DIYer.

This. I think the strong reactions to Zeroclick's line of questioning aren't so much a denial of the ability of experienced individuals to make accurate assessments of newcomers to their fields. I think it has more to do with the fact that, after spending a short amount of time with a student, the guest smith on the podcast didn't evaluate and educate like John is saying. He evaluated and dismissed. If a student is willing to work through any and all shortcomings that have been evaluated (hopefully in a constructive way that helps them forward), why can't they succeed? (I know, this is a big "if)

If shaft collars were welded on after precision grinding, possible that expansion and/ or distortion of the shaft is causing binding? Know anybody with a gear puller? (3 jawed medieval torture device looking thing). I used one at work to free a stuck bearing.

The difficulty presented in accurately assessing people based on first impressions is one of the reasons most employers have probationary periods. You do your best to make an assessment based on appearances in a very short time. But some of the best interviewees make some of the poorest employees. Vice versa, some of the people least willing to talk about themselves make the best workers. Many companies give themselves 3 months to make that determination... Even a very negative attitude may or may not be the person's usual demeanor... How would those of you with children feel if their teacher, on day one of the first grade, sent a note home, saying "I've been a teacher for twenty-five years. After observing Johnny for one day, it is apparent to me, as an expert in teaching, your child will never graduate high school."? This is not that different.