mutant

My set up is 33 1/2 sq feet and I make it work until I can get more space. I'm doing small stuff as well.

Super nice!

Use what you have until you can acquire better. Yea, the cheap vise will work and yea, the cheap vise probably won't last a long time. But then again, it's cheap!

Pretty cool! I live in Long Island so I'll see if I can make it as well.

I think it might be part of a farrier's forge. They were small forges with a small opening. The piping was narrow 6-8 inches.

I'm still wondering if anyone knows if that's coal in the picture.

Hey forger, beginner here also. I work in Manhattan and used to live there but recently moved out to the island. That's a really nice leg vise so have fun making things with it!

Did somebody say mutant? Heh.

Head over to alloyavenue.com. It's a forum dedicated to casting. I'm a member there. Tons of great guys that'll answer or point you to the answers. Is it dangerous? Xxxx yea but not as one might think. It's fun and not hard to get started.

I didn't paint the interior of my propane foundry. It already comes rust proof since the manufacturers don't want them rusting from the inside out. Either way, your setup will last a long time. I also highly recommend the use of Kaowool. Don't over think it, if you really get into casting, you'll probably make another foundry anyways. Most of us do. Heh.

Nice! Digging the towel rack. I also have a backyard foundry. I've done mostly lost foam casting but plan on making some patterns. I haven't tried bronze yet

I'll back this up. I do some aluminum casting and belong to alloyavenue. Lots of great advice from friendly, experienced members.

Thanks FoxFire of the info!

It looks great as is! I bet you could make anything you wanted to on that - within reason.

I wasn't thinking about the condition of the anvil over the years. More like it would be nice if I was able to keep this up as a hobby with my son staying involved. When the time comes, my tools would become his and what we learned together, he'll teach his kid. That sort of mushy thinking.

That third photo is of the front foot. As you can see - no serial number can be made out. I hope to put her to good use and my son, who is only 6, has shown interest already. My first project was a hook. My Dad, myself, and my son all worked on it. I was pretty amazing to forge something and to have three generations of my family trying this out together. It would be awesome if it would be passed down to my son and then to his.

I guess I was wondering if it's a true HB only because there's no serial number. It's not a big deal if it's not either way since I'm very happy with it.

Hi everyone! My Dad picked this anvil up for me at an farm auction in upstate NY. I believe it's a 150lbs Hay Budden but not entirely sure. The logo is quite worn but I can just make out Brooklyn and 150 on it. I did weight it and it came in at 156lbs. There's a 105 stamped on the heal and I can't see any numbers on the foot. Underneath has an hourglass indentation . Except for a few nicks on the face, she's in great condition. Rings true and I get an 80+ rebound with a ball bearing. Whatever type of anvil she is, all I can say is that I'm very happy with it and I've already forged a few small items on her. I feel extremely lucky to have one of this size and quality. I was wondering if there's any additional info that can be shed. thanks!

I have that HF table. For me, it's great since I'm space challenged. I like being able to fold it up and store out of the way. I highly recommend it if your projects fit on it.

Would be cool to see a video of this puppy in action. Possible?

It's easy and simple! I looked into this when I was building my foundry for casting aluminum. I'm thinking if you can melt AI , which is a little over 1200 degrees, you can probably do some forging with it. http://www.plansandprojects.com/My%20Machines/natural_gas_burner_success.html

Awww man, I used to love not to far from there. Very cool!

To me, there's nothing wrong with working with or without modern day tools. Doesn't matter to me if you use propane or coal either. For me, at least, blacksmithing both a skill and an art and the tools the artist wants to use is up to them.

Where do you do your forging? I have a decent backyard but the neighbors are still close.

I used to live in the city also. Miss it- my commute went from 3 min to 1hr. 45min. . I work in midtown - just above Times Square. I now live out in Commack. I'm just starting out and yea, I could use another friend of the forge and anvil!