TRBoatsol

I just finished my stand. It's nothing special, just something to help get me started. The block consists of nine 22.5" long 4x4s clamped together by a dozen lengths of 5/16" threaded rod. I also screwed a couple handles to the top to aid in moving it around. I'd guesstimate the block weighs 45lbs. The 55lb Grizzly Industrial anvil is held in place by four 6" lengths of rebar, left straight so I can easily lift the anvil off for storage. My living situation necessitates my setup be temporary/portable. The holes for the threaded rods were a bugger to drill, the green treated wood kept wanting to clamp down around my drill bit.

Why am I not surprised that the conversation shifted straight to the water tower? Funnily enough it seems to be a small source of pride among the college-goers. EMU even uses it in promotional materials.

Thanks, I forgot that bit about locations, it's been a few years since I did anything with internet forums but I still remember most basic etiquette, I think. I have been looking through the forum and there definitely is a ton of info, it's just overwhelming trying to sort through it all. I won't be actually asking anything until enough pieces have come together for me to see the holes, if that makes any sense. It's kinda how i tend to operate anyway, not a reaction to you.

Hi, I'm Anthony, TRBoatsol being one of the more childish pseudonyms I've come up with. I was introduced to blacksmithing via my family's involvement in a historical society. I cranked the bellows for the regular smith and some guest farriers at an event and by the end of the following summer I was hammering out decent pieces and the summer after that I effectively became the main smith. Partly because the other guy was always working his paying job when there was an event on. I moved away from there this spring but still have an itch to shape metal. I've been looking into setting up my own little workspace using gas because my fiance is adamantly opposed to me continuing to work with coal but have been overwhelmed by the sheer volume and variety of designs and materials. All I want is to make knives and hanging hooks and all the little solutions to problems I keep finding that I could solve in a half hour with heat and hammer. So here I am, looking for help and trying to learn what I can. Ypsi-tucky is a nickname for a community SE of Ypsilanti Michigan in which I now live. It came about due to the large number of people brought up from Kentucky by Ford to work in the plant here. Just a little history tidbit because I love those.