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I Forge Iron

D.C.

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Everything posted by D.C.

  1. Hah! It's my little 8# Enderes tool anvil..I needed to prop up the spike
  2. Not overly imaginative or artistic but FUNCTIONAL. Made some for my kids backpacks and school coats. Slightly off topic..but when did they start expecting 11 year olds to carry 40# worth of gear to school every day? They actually recommended luggage style backpacks with wheels this year!
  3. Twisted, that's the best detail on a spike hawk I've seen. The fullering adds TONS of character. Thanks, making maille is one of my previous obsessive hobbies. That was going to be a hauberk....then I started having kids and that hobby went by the wayside. Now, a decade later, I'm getting my girls working on my obsessions with me.....maybe they can start coiling rings and help finish it off.
  4. So, maybe I can post a couple pictures since the O.P. Wanted some ideas. I'll even include a spike "knife like object"..I'll get some more later off my computer
  5. Oh THURSDAY, if you end up replacing it, please send me a message. I don't know why, but I crave having an anvil like that in my collection. What's it weigh right now?
  6. And honestly Twisted, it's the same problem Smiths face with cast iron anvils, "smelting" metals at home, forging galvanized stock, and any of the other infuriating misinformation that the internet has helped propagate. We're not against the item, were against ignorance. There are quite a few posts here about the wonderful things to be made from the "humble rail spike"...what many of our members are down on is passing on WRONG information. Simply put, HC is not really "high carbon" in a knife making sense. It is totally superior to iron blades made of bloomery iron, but to call it high carbon in today's world is like calling a steam engine a "high performance motor"...in 1850, totally accurate...not so much today.
  7. Personally, I'd use it. Early Spanish anvils looked essentially like this, but with a little peg protruding from the bottom to mount onto a stump easier. Being a Peter Wright, it has a piece of steel forge welded onto the top...That piece is not very thick. Machining it off leaves you with nothing to pound on but the SUPER SOFT wrought iron body. The face as it sits is amazingly good. The pitting will not affect your working material. Btw anvils broken at the waist are not too uncommon....here's a pic from the 2016 ABANA conference of one guys mounting solution.
  8. That is some great work. Good attention to detail!
  9. Thanks arkie! I started with a monstrous spring fuller, but quickly found it's limitations. So now it's an incredibly redneck fullering tool fabbed from rectangular hollow tube and fits 1/2 dies I make from some plow wear bar. It works..But still looking to improve the setup. I struggle with having to hold the stock in place while striking the tool with the sledge. Leads to that "rustic" look....slightly misaligned fullers and the occasional mistrike. Btw..I can't take credit for the design, I'm sure I saw something similar online somewhere.
  10. Wow...I thought working with our hands usually made us tougher..gave us calluses and nice thick skin....
  11. That is beautifully simple. Well done! You mentioned that it's light weight...any idea what she tips the scales at?
  12. I am a little unclear about what I'm looking at...is that the WHOLE forge table, or just the fire pot? In any case, there are a number of forge designs that have no recessed pot or bowl that work just fine for coal/coke. You simply build up your fire, basically mounding it into a good pile of coals.
  13. Thanks Glenn. I'm hoping that while I am unable to do the heavy lifting in the forge-I may be able to get my daughters trained up as strikers. I'll definitely post pics when we start that endeavour.
  14. Well, I'm down for recovery for the next couple of weeks, so I figured I'd share some of the hammers I've made in the past few months. This site has been an invaluable resource, and I can honestly say I couldn't have done any of this without the guidance and support of the members here. Unfortunately, I'm a one man shop, so these were done without the help of a striker. Hence the more "rustic" appearance. Even so, they are my favorite project, and being stuck in bed, all I can do is plan for the next one....
  15. That's an excellent price. I'm sure you'll give it a great home. The work you've done on your Vulcan is proof positive that it's the craftsman, not the tools that create beauty. But all that aside...few things are more fun than "getting to know" a new anvil! ENJOY
  16. C.BAUM....that anvil is possibly THE most beautiful thing I've ever seen on this site. Feel free to post more pictures...lots more...from all angles.. Add to that the power hammer, and you got the deal of a lifetime. CONGRATS
  17. Great work...But I'm drooling over those French pattern anvils.....so distracting
  18. I'm with Charles on the farrier anvils quality. I personally own a cast DUCTILE IRON anvil. Note...ductile iron...Not cheap Chinese gray cast. While many are sceptical of some of the newer USA made farrier anvils, I can and will attest to their quality. Plenty hard, without being brittle(not a chip anywhere on the edges), and great rebound! That being said, there are some designs I'm not so fond of, such as the aluminum bases, etc. Still though, a modern farrier anvil has the potential to give plenty of years of service to a serious Smith.
  19. Holy smokes Dave.....that is invaluable! Like I said, they're pretty lax for requirements. But the history nerd in me is screaming..."build it...build it...." MAYBE not the stand, but the stake anvil is too cool NOT to fabricate. The clamp may be beyond my skills though. Then again, I'm with Frosty...THE TEMPTATION to use the "tongue vice" could overpower me. And that wouldn't be the best demonstration of smithing. Even if it is accurate
  20. Thank you all for chiming in. Thomas, It was a total "duh" moment when I read your post. While the demos are meant to be instructive...it doesn't mean I can't have material prepped..ie twists and cuts. I'm not really expecting a small scale rondy to pay off anything more than fuel costs, but it'll hone my skills. Thanks again....now it's time to work...
  21. Thanks for the ideas. It's only a 3 day event each year, so I have plenty of things to fill some time. I'll be honest, it's the equipment I'm becoming more concerned with. Realistically, I would think that a blacksmith traveling upriver to a rendezvous would bring a stake anvil of some kind. My Trenton is 90# so is at least somewhat portable. But a post vice would be handy.... Any idea about earliest patent on a post vice? Hopefully way earlier than 1840
  22. Welcome! After that course your head will be brimming with ideas....So use this site ad it was meant to be used. RESEARCH! Many of us have been where you are now and have posted our successes and failures. Read those posts, learn from what works, and then jump in and share what's working for you. There is a wealth of knowledge in our longtime contributors, so enjoy their advice, and be prepared for some lively literary sparring!
  23. So I was asked to be the on-site blacksmith at our local rendezvous. In repayment for me doing demos, I'm given a prime location free of charge, and can sell any period appropriate items. Sounds great, but here's where I could use some advice. Equipment: I am knocking together a dirt box side draft(thank you Charles R Stevens) and simple bellows. My 1908 Trenton at least looks the part, but when did things like post vices, and hand drills really enter the scene? Demo items: Well, flint strikers are a given, but I was also considering small "medieval "style knives that are so popular. These can be hammered real close to finished, touched up with a file, hardened and a rough differential heat treat.(knife makers be kind....I stray meekly into your realm). Besides toasting forks and fire pokers, what do you find is easy to demo, but also sells? Thought about nails, but I'd have to practice that. Any and all advice is helpful. I've frequented rendezvous for years, but this is my first time participating. Thanks!
  24. Spent this week moving the shop..So figured it's a good time to get pics of the collection. Top to bottom, 125# GE, 148# Columbian Soderfors, and a 90# Trenton
  25. TPAAAT works well....even in areas where there is a huge demand for anvil and tools because it reaches out to the people WHO DON'T USE CRAIGSLIST. Oddly enough, that seems to be the people who also have anvils and equipment. My best contact is an employee at the local welding supply place. He has put me in contact with more old farmers and metal workers than I could ever have found on my own.
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