Smoggy

Mount that rail track on end in a stump and away you go.... Did you let the scrappy know what you are doing?

If this is the consignment I think it is, I shall be most interested in all replies.....as I recon I have half a chance of scoring some from the same source.....

Whilst it's true there are no longer Smithy's in every other village, there are a smattering of Smiths across the country, both pro and amature. 'Tis just a matter of finding them. I'll keep my eyes open for your area and post any info that comes along.

It's only taking up room as it's sat there unused......get it spinning and make things, as soon as you dispose of it, you'll need it! Any info on what make/model it is?

Now that is a very good question Rmartin2, you've now got me pondering and awaiting a reply.......I suspect it will depend.

No Jack it's not universal, It is the Broad Arrow mark of the War Dept / Ministry of Defence. It was also used by Commonwealth Countries and Australia Defence Dept does indeed still use it.

You can by ingot moulds in various sizes, search for foundry supplies......or you may get lucky and find one out there in antique/garage sale/ebay land.....unless you have the skills/facilities to make one?

Think about, turn the ingot out over the step and you can get the tongs underneath to flip the mould off and to pick up the sample ingot....makes life that little bit easier! Tapping out a laddle can be done anyhere so one would not expect it to alway be in one area sufficiently to cause that damage. The indent in the anvil looks like an oblong mould rim (wall brick shape and approx similar size) Any chance you can link us to the video you mention Sling-it?

Get googling for "Cornish Tin Enthusiasts" in the Perranporth area,......tinsmelting is in their DNA...!

Typically, samples would have been ladled into ingot moulds. Looks like they inverted the still hot mould over the cutting step to tap the ingot out. The heat may have taken the life out of that section of the anvil and promoted wear.....test it for rebound from one end to the other, see if you can notice a fall off toward the cutting step. As far as accompanyng equipment for the anvil, I suspect you are looking for a ladle, and ingot mould, a hammer and maybe a pair of tongs......

I've never used coal, I've used coke at a friends forge and I use my own homemade charcoal in my own forge. it matters not what fuel you use, provided you know how to use it. Pros and Cons: Charcoal is free and plentyfull and I can make more anytime I want, coal, coke and gas are not and I have to source and collect....... That said, if you are bladesmithing......I should imagine a gas forge offers many attractions and if you decide to make one, or even if you are undecided, there are plenty here to provide some good input and expect they will be along shortly......

It isn't, it's propane, and a air compressor.....so you have a gas torch with forced air. It's a very old torch, somewhere at the back of the shed, no idea of the make but it's similar to a oxy/fuel torch in appearance with similar tips. ( likely to a BOC product, years ago it wasn't as easy to get acetalyne for home use so this would have been a 'viable' option ) There is another type that mixes and burns inside a chamber and the exhaust gas temp is tremendous......thermal lance, you may have seen road markings being burn off the tarmac with them, sounds like a jet engine running an afterburner and needs a spark plug ignition system to start them up, (of little practicle use in smithing but darned full tool to use) (NB, as I recall, there was a youtube vid of an aussie gent converting a oxy/ace torch to propane compair, may be worth a look see, usually safety warnings apply)

How apt that you've revived this thread, I've found myself with a number of hammers to reshaft and have, from a recent building project, some left over timber. It's from pallets (mentioned above) and I've identified it as ash. I attempted to rip it down today, orienting the grain to achieve best results only to find my hand saw in need of sharpening.....guess what I've just finished doing at 9:30pm! I have managed to salvage two old hicory shafts to be reshaped for the smaller hammers. Do we know what the scale of measurement on the left of the graph refers to? As regards the gum, I aquired a large eucalyprus tree hen it was felled a few years back and have been seasoning it ever since....unfortunately most of it was cut too short to be usefull for handles, and most of what was long enough had more twists than a disneyland rollercoaster, presumably not a 'spotted' gum! But If I can find any usefull sections I may well give it a try.

I soooo wish you had posted this a fortnight ago......I've made leaves before, not many and quite a while ago, so last week when I attempted, although I remembered how to do it, my hands seemed to have forgotten! I've put practicing leaves on my must do list. Your presentation is/will be usefull to me and many others I should think. Many thanks.

Five times I re-read that line Wayne........I'm sure he does deliberately to make us think....!

I don't have oxy/acet due to the cost and storage problems. I do have propane, and compressed air so can manage a lot with that. I also have a stick welder and use carbon rods......so although I rarely do, I could perform all the taks the acet would cope with, without the cost and storage problems. All be it not as efficently, but that's not really a criteria for a hobby smith. However, in a commercial setting you likely can't afford not to have it....!

I wouldn't give that mesh a cat in xxxxx chance in a BBQ let alone a forge.... Interesting anvil, I wonder how much work it's done?

Thanks for the reply jlp. makes perfect sense once pointed out, and for your input too Frosty, that would have probably been obvious to me had I ever seen this type being used. And now armed with that information I'll likely look to apply the same principles elsewhere. Cheers again guys.

Don't do a lot of anvil shooting over this side of the pond as far as I'm aware ( not comensurate with the laws here ) .....but......given it's likely age it may well have seen at least one major altercation......so could even have been bombed.....you never know!

That's a very nice piece jlp' I made one myself not a week ago, no where near as nice as this one plain but functional. I made mine with a plain 90deg bend.....is the turnback so often seen in coal rakes merely astetic or does it serve some purpose?

If it works, it's a good one and that's what matters, well done. I too first thought it could have used a little better finish, but hey, it looks like it belongs to that old anvil it's sitting in. So for future reference it's not poorly finished, it's been skillfully 'antiqued' to match the aged anvil it will be used with. Most folks neglect to consider such astetics!

Er.....that one was a genuine typo Glenn, not sure if it's my fingers or the keyboard, I know sometimes the letter ' ' doesn't seem to work!

I was wondering who would be the first to spot my deliberate mistake.....Well done JHCC. I'll be posting more in the future, so everyone needs to keep paying attention!

There are some drawngs available somewhere on the interweb for a home built leg vice. Someone may have a link they can send you or a quick google may find it. It's certainly doable, is it worth the effort? That all depends on your situation.

...a nest of anvils! now there's a thought.....