So Cal Dave

On the internet, look up "horseshoeing competition" and that will lead to all kinds of farrier videos that show the many ways that farriers clinch shoes. As Charles stated above, many horseshoers just use their pull offs or whatever is in their hands at the time. Good luck.

I 'm a pessimist when it comes to trades or deals. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. You might not like what you see. I would want to see, at least, pictures of the anvil. It would be best to see it in person, to see what you are getting. It might be terribly chipped, uneven surfaces, horn tip broken, etc. As mentioned above, that is an unusually big anvil that might have been used hard and put away wet. However, if it is in good shape, you are a fortunate person to find a once in a life time anvil that you will enjoy your entire life. Good luck.

Nicely done. I had to stare at it before I started to see all the detail in the guitar. Clever!

Someone may not use their tig welder much anymore or they weld outside and a tig welder doesn't work well outside. It would be best if you could test it out and run some passes both with DC and AC polarity. Good luck

You might try some Farrier Supply store. They have a variety of handles in terms of size and thickness. Good luck.

Puncheize lube is $15 and shipping is $20.00. Outrageous!

JHCC: Equal proportions?

Are you talking about Plumbago and graphite? I did see anything about farriers using either one of these materials. Is it mixed with something to make a paste?

I've been watching farrier videos and notice almost all farriers dip their nail hole punches in some kind of lube each and every time they punch a hole. I cannot see what they are using or get someone to tell me what the lube is made of. Does anyone know?

Beautiful!

Thanks John for the info. What I saw when we tested the welding machine, on aluminum, was dirty welds with lots of black junk on all the welds. I personally did not like the welder. It was a very basic tig welder, maybe a 175, with almost no adjustments except A/C or DC positions and a digital readout for the amps. I thought the gas wasn't covering the torch and tungsten area enough to make an adequate atmosphere.

A friend purchased a Miller tig welder, and hooked it up to his argon tank without a flow meter. He has a gauge on the tank and set it for 20CFH, but I don't believe it was suppling the right flow of argon. Can this be done without issues. Is a flow meter absolutely require to meter the gas evenly?

Nicely done. I like the hex shape on my center punches so it doesn't roll around when setting it down on the anvil. What color did you temper it to?

OMG, run as fast as you can , (really take a vehicle), and get as much as you can. You never know during the next 5 to 10 years what might come up or which friend may need exactly what you have. Get as many different sizes that they have and of course try to salvage the newest once they have. You will learn a lot about how these metals forge and what you can make with them. Are they Free? If so, that is even better. Good luck.

I believe Sculpt Noveau has different chemicals to give metal a patina.

Something like this? It gives the impression of a hand.

What I did in my shop? I practiced. First, I had some 5/16 X 3/4 bar stock that I had practiced making a horseshoe . I decided to finish it by making a bar shoe. I hockey sticked the two ends and forged a scarf on both ends. Not a good scarf but I thought it would work. Heated to red and applied the flux, (mountain flux). Gentle taps in the beginning. Three welding passes and when I was working on the inside of the bar, it came apart. I used my one burner NC gas forge and had the forge heating up for 45 min before my attempt. Needless to say, it didn't forge weld. So, I heated up some 5/16 round stock 8 inch long and upset or bumped up the middle for practice. I then flattened the 8 inches just to take out my frustration. It worked. I feel better. It has been around one year since I tried forge welding straight bar stock so I'm not really bummed. I still enjoyed pounding on the metal. The world is good.

First choice: powder coating - expensive Second: marine paint and primer. Third: Use automotive paint and primer with a top clear coating. Good luck