archimed

Good advice. That's exactly what I did - it's now seated comfortably out of harm's way. I didn't have it properly bolted to the stump, so it was more of a hazard having it there in the first place ;)

I've got a nice old leg vise that hasn't been bolted down yet.. I have a 4' piece of oak that I'm going to use as a support for it. And yes - after enough practice, maybe some day even the simplest door handle won't take me 10 hours! :D

Thanks. I based the stump/anvil on a design I saw over at anvilfire last year.

I am not a part of the WCBG yet, but I plan to attend the next meeting (when is it again?) and perhaps join then. Great to see an edmontonian on here! will pm :)

This is sort of a thank you to those who patiently took the time in helping me choose/purchase/look for a hunk of RR track, tools, etc a few months ago when I was just getting started with blacksmithing. I thought I'd share with y'all some photos of my work area. As you can see it's a bit thrown-together.. the usual brakedrum forge and RR track anvil that many others have gotten their start from. I'd love to build a proper forge some day, but for now, it seeks to do the job. I found an old oak tree stump in my back yard that I cut a chunk out of, and mounted the RR track vertically on top of. I hang my tools around the edge. As you can see, they developed a bit of surface rust as I forgot to bring everything into the shed one very busy night (and it rained). Lesson learned. Most of the tools I built myself, include the hammer, tongs, and fire poker. The roundstock tongs are not my work, although I wish I could take credit for them ... they were given to me by my uncle who knows a very talented blacksmith. I decided to take these photos because my family gave me a nice NC Tools 112lb "Cavalry" style anvil for my birthday, and I will be getting rid of the (NOISY!) piece of RR track accordingly. Although the NC Tools anvil seems to be made more for farriers, it does a wonderful job for the kinds of projects I work on. Again - I just wanted to thank everyone for their help in getting me off the ground. I've completed a few projects since I started, and I'm looking forward to working throughout the winter once I get a little shelter built! Pretty darned snowy up here!

Just paid $85 CDN for a post vice in excellent shape. Haven't checked out the width of the jaws, but I'm guessing it's a 4 incher.

Great advice. I'm definitely setting a price for myself before attending - I can see how things get out of hand quickly. Thanks again for all the responses in this thread by the way. I found myself a good section of RR track that I'll use as my first anvil I'll post a picture when I get it cleaned up and mounted on a stump.

I'm a bit iffy on it myself - I searched for other farm auctions closer to Edmonton, and there seem to be a couple that have anvils for sale. I'll probably attend one of those over the next couple of months. But honestly, my experience at auction sales over the years has been that people get into bidding frenzies and way overbid for the quality of the equipment. I once saw a used computer sell for more than its value brand new :P

Thanks for the info skloon (and welcome to IFI!). I never thought of checking farm auctions - cool. I'm originally from the Lamont area -- moved to the city years ago :)

Whew.. this thread is getting a little long in the tooth. I really appreciate everyone's time in identifying/commenting on these things. I came across a new anvil this morning - looks to be casted much more recently. No word on price yet, but I'm curious if anyone has come across these "Canadian" brand anvils.. seems to be an interesting design. These were used by a farrier who lives a few hours away from me... he's switched to cold shoeing, so no longer needs 'em. Edit: got a quote on pricing. $500 for the anvil (unsure of weight yet - something between 125 - 150#?). $150 for the anvil stand, and $200 for a NC Tools single burner gas forge. $800 for everything.

Again - I appreciate the thoughtful replies. I did not notice the weld myself and probably would have missed it altogether unless you all had noticed it. $3/# is a bit steep for me too, especially with the low weight. I'm going to send a note to the seller of the PW and see if they're not willing to budge on the price - I might also stop by my local farrier supply - I believe that they sell brand new NC brand anvils.

Thanks for the response new_guy. Yeah, I'm leaning towards the Kohlswa just in terms of price right now. The seller just sent me a few more pics of the Kohlswa:

Another anvil has went up for sale locally - this one's a Kohlswa - the owner believes it's a 100# farrier's anvil. I only have one photo so far, but I've e-mailed her/him asking for a couple more. The threads I've read over the last hour are pretty positive about the Kohlswa's, but any additional input would be great. Selling price is $350, but I might be able to get it for $300. Also available from a different person is a Peter Wright 195# for $500 (second photo)... this seller is a farrier and it looks to have seen more use than the Kohlswa judging by the condition of the face.

Just an update to my anvil quest - it looks like the seller preferred to sell the whole package to someone else for her asking price, rather than sell me the hardies and vise. Guess I'll keep looking locally for a length of railroad rail.

Wow, thanks so much for the replies. I'm probably going to drive out and visually inspect the anvil (and vise) this weekend. I've kept my eye on local anvil sales (within a 2 hour drive), and this is the only one that has went up for sale in the last couple of months. I'll definitely check out the quality of the repair. I did not realize that hardys were that difficult to build (makes sense when I think about what they do)... I'm definitely going to ask if they have more of those. Interesting re: the origin. I did not expect it to be that old - when I go out there I'm going to take a few more photos, maybe one will reveal the exact date. I'm going to put in an offer on the vise ($50) and let them know that the face of the anvil has been damaged.. I doubt they know what they're selling. It looks to be a couple who are selling off items they found inside of an old grain shed on their farm. Until then - I'll continue my hunt for some railroad track :)