Rmartin2

51 minutes ago, matto said:

 the right one looks to be more of the origanal than you think.  Nice looking vise

Maybe so but it seems out of place. It fits fine though. 

Scored this vise at a scrapyard yesterday for $25. I didn't even plan on going, but it was on my way so I decided to do a quick walk through. After going through it I think that the screw washer must have been broken or lost because there were a couple of spacers used on the screw box. One of the spacers looks like it might have been from another vice. I think I will use that one to make the screw washer. There are some stamping on it. It is dated 1867 or 1887 and there is something written beside the date and above that that I cannot make out. I'm sure it's a manufacturer so if anyone can ID this let me know.

This is is the best I could do with my phone. The date is visible though.

The spacers used on the screw box. The right one looks to be from another vise or tool.

Also if anyone has a spare screw washer they would like to sell from a parts vise let me know.

I saw a Hay Budden at a flea market today with over half the face that appeared to be re-surfaced. I had my handy dandy ball bearing with me and tried it out. The area that was re-surfaced had a really dull thud and maybe 50% rebound. The area not messed with had a lot of rebound and plenty of ring. 

Nice! I was wondering if anyone has tried a portable anvil stand. 

Very neat setup!

30 minutes ago, Jackdawg said:

All the comments about beating the bloke down on price - 2nd hand anvils must be cheap over there, I'd have that for that price in a heart beat before someone else snatched it up..

The ones suggesting to haggle probably have at least one good anvil or a whole shop full of them. I would have gladly paid the asking price as long as it wasn't cracked. 

On May 19, 2016 at 9:10 PM, TwistedCustoms said:

Nice looking Nesmuk! Good job, keep the pictures coming.

Thanks. I did another one from the other half of the stock I cut it from and will post it when it's finished  

On May 26, 2016 at 3:09 PM, SpencerDirks said:

I love the rustic look. Good work!

Thanks. I was going for rustic.

On May 26, 2016 at 3:33 PM, Prevenge said:

I wouldn't say it's that rough at all ... looks like you didnt have to grind much off for the blade which means you forged it very close to final shape right? Well done indeed!

Thanks. You are correct. The only grinding was smoothing out the edges and puting a bevel on the blade.

On May 26, 2016 at 5:45 PM, ausfire said:

Great! I never thought a mower blade would make good stock for a knife. Could you give a little detail about how you riveted the handle?

Im not sure if all mower blades are created equal. My brother in law gave me the blades and I don't know type of mower they came from. The blades I got were excellent stock.

I wouldn't call them rivets as I didn't peen them. It's just 1/8 brass rod from Lowes. I laid the blade on one scale and marked the holes and drilled. Then I used the drilled scale for the template to drill the other one. I do a test fit of everything before I epoxy. I started using 60 min epoxy 

On May 27, 2016 at 7:28 PM, bigfootnampa said:

Although I have heard of mower blades that were not good steel... IME they are usually 1095 steel or something very similar!  Which is definitely decent blade stock!

I have heard mower blades were good and bad. I guess it depends on the blade. These blades heat treated very nicely. Very tough after temper. 

I can't help with the thread size, but I was just cruising a popular auction site and saw just the screw and handle for a post vice for sale. I Wouldn't think there would be a lot of different thread sizes for post vices so it might be worth checking out. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

Matto, what do you like better about the refflighaus? I would love to have one, but they are pricy. My next anvil will likely be a TFS or Peddinghaus. Looking for used, good priced anvils is exhausting. I was lucky that a friend of mine had the Vulcan he wasn't using and I got it for a great price. 

8 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

 

Why is a Mercedes Benze better than a Ford Escort?

Maybe the Escort is better because its affordable. Is it better to drive an Escort than walk? I guess my RR track was a bicycle.

Seriouslu though I do see your points. I guess I can answer my own questions after a few years on the Vulcan. 

Just as the title says. What is wrong with Vulcan anvils? I have a 150 pounder and its a big step up from the railroad track I was using before. Ok they are cast iron with a thin tool steel face? My neighbors love cast iron anvils (because they haven complained yet) and my hammer can't tell exactly how thin the face is. I have dropped a ball bearing on the face without a ruler and estimate 75-80% rebound. My hammer can really tell that this exists over the RR track. So if I were to forge side by side to a better anvil (say a Hay Budden) what will I find that better about that anvil? Why is a Vulcan a beginner/low end anvil?

Looking good.

I cut everything with a 4 1/2" grinder and the occasional recipricating saw. There have been a couple of times I wished for a torch, but I have made it work so far. 

8 hours ago, crappiew said:

The top is 10"x12. The base is 131/2 x 11 1/2.  I could shim one side but the top side will be at an angle.

Nice score! 

Is it possible to build a stand to accommodate the angle on the bottom and grind the top flat?

Thank you both. 

As as far as the rustic appearance goes, I think keeping the forging marks gives character to a knife. This one might be a little rough, but like I said its my first one. Well it's the first one that actually made if far enough to call a knife. 

7 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

What's the screw look like?

Remember that mounting plates can be switched between vises---I've done it myself; take the mounting plate off a vise run over by a dozer and put it on a vise that didn't have one. (The screw and screwbox was part of the deal for the 410# anvil.)

That mounting plate is exactly like mine. They look similar to Columbian mounting plates, but mine does not have the "C" stamped. I could be completely wrong on all of this.

Here is what my vice looks like...

Thanks for all the replies. This will never be stored outside. The thought of it rotting away in a corner of my yard sickens me. I got it from a guy that found it in his great grandfathers barn so It has been out of the rain for most of its life. If claying will promote rot, then I will not do this. I am convinced that the tuyere grate is not original so I will gring it down flat and use it like that. 

Nice score. It looks just like mine. I never saw a manufacturer name on mine anywhere so if you find one after its cleaned up post it. Now something I did find under my mounting plate was a number "2" and a date of 12 - 27 - 1906. check to see if you have a date under yours . Something I see on yours is it looks as if the tip of the post has been cut off. Shouldn't pose any problem. 

59 minutes ago, Charles R. Stevens said:

The lip may be for "claying" the forge. A layer of sand or ash will be good. This will provide some protection for the pan and tuyere. 

Good point. Thanks for the tip.

Yes I beleive it should have been flat and this is a replacement piece. I will grind it flat and all will be fine. 

Looks like it's going to be a nice one. Where are you getting the fire pot and blower? Keep us updated on the progress.

1 hour ago, Jim Coke said:

Greetings Rmartin, 

Both will work just fine.. If you are searching for perfection stop and fire it up and have fun.. I have many small forges and  they are all slightly different . 

Forge on and make beautiful things

Jim

 

Thanks for the reply. I'm not looking for perfection. I just wanted to know if this was the correct piece and if it wasn't would work as efficiently with it able to leak air from around the bottom. I will fire it up and see how it works.

1 hour ago, Stash said:

Actually, I believe that is a grate- the tuyere is the piping underneath. Anyway, that looks like it may be a repurposed grate from a floor drain. Take a grinder to it so it drops in the hole and fire it up.

Steve

Thanks for the replay. My bad on the name. I saw it named that on a site that sells blacksmith stuff so I thought it was correct. I too thought it was a replacement, but wasn't sure. As far as it being from a drain, I guess it could be, but like I mentioned the same exact piece is being sold as a tuyere on a blacksmith site. I did think of grinding it down but if it was original I would have felt like crap destroying it.  

is this the right tuyere for this forge? I have searched and searched for a good image of the tuyere for this type of forge and haven't seen anything that looks common. The way this sits on here it wouldn't see to work as efficiently as one that would sit flat and seal the air blowing around the edges. Maybe I am wrong as I am just starting. If this isn't correct please let me know. Please post a pic if you have a forge like this and the tuyere is different. 

This is is the way it came.

This is is with the tuyere flipped over.

Close up up of the raised design.

8 minutes ago, crappiew said:

It's 40" tall and it has 4 1/2 inch jaws.

I actually told the guy I was just gonna use it as a yard ornament. Because I knew if he thought I was gonna actually use it he would of not come down so much.

Nice play! I will have to try that.

My first forged knife. I made it from a lawn mower blade. The blade heat treated nicely and withstood being batoned into seasoned hickory. I know it's a small skinner but I had to make sure the heat treat and Temper was good. The oak scales are from a barn constructed in the 1930's. 

1 hour ago, arftist said:

In my opinion no, not at all with the possible exception of Fisher anvils.

Modern cast tool steel anvils are simply better in every way. 

The exception for Fishers is that they quieter than any modern anvil so if that were an issue then yes.

Modern solid cast tool steel anvils should outlast  early style anvils markedly. 

I though about this as well. When the time comes to purchase another anvil I will more than likely buy a new one. At least you know what you are getting.