Lou L

The best character in Homer's poems, in my opinion of course, is Hector.  He was an example of what the rest of them should have been.  His son, Astyanax, was symbolic of the love a child engenders from a parent.  My favorite scene in all of Homer is when Hector walks in to visit his family and his son is afraid of him because of his helmet.  He takes off his helmet and Astyanax beams when he realizes it is his father.  That scene sums up the whole story to me....thematically anyway.  Point is, Hector or some version of Astyanax would be excellent.

Just take the punt and go for Hera, Hepheastus's mom.  She rejected him for being crippled when he was born.  Don't tell the parents the second part.

On 1/22/2017 at 0:08 AM, JHCC said:

Well, I'm back in CT this coming week....

Sorry I missed this post.  I saw you got to witness the glory of the Bargain Barn though!

Son's basketball game....track meet (I'm a coach) then daughter's basketball game.  Fed the kids put them to bed....now I'm drinking bourbon.  It's been like that for a while.  I did work a little on a design of a wall sconce for a friend.  The reality is that I am so busy parenting and coaching that I haven't found the time to set up my indoor shop.  JHCC saw my cluttered garage which has since been cleared and cleaned.  Now it is stuffed with my forge, anvil, tools and coal and need a major reorganization.  I've only been doing little sessions...holding out until I can set up as I want it.

I'm currently an 11th grade English teacher and coach.  Got a degree in philosophy and the classics and promptly went into manufacturing, construction and then bar tending for a number of years.  I learned blacksmithing years ago at a friend's farm and fell in love with it.  Finally got the equipment and started blacksmithing last year on my own.  

On 12/16/2016 at 0:58 PM, BIGGUNDOCTOR said:

You may have killed the deal by offering what you did. They may have thought it wasn't worth anything near that price, and you piqued their curiosity. The other thing that I do is make the offer in person with the ca$h in hand,  not over the phone.

Personally I start with my standard offer of $1 a pound. Sometimes they take it, sometimes they don't and I walk because that is what I pay. It isn't like I NEED another anvil, but if I can get one in my price range I get it. I use some as loaners for others who are getting started. I am not going to participate in the driving up of prices due to the current craze. 

Sadly, I think this is what happened.  It appears that, if I offered much less, I might have walked away with a quick victory.  It is certainly likely that others offered more, but the sudden silence on email appears to indicate that the seller saw dollar signs immediately after my offer.  Next time I will arrange a meeting and show up with cash...

Congrats on the anvil choice!  I think the arguments about the hardness and alloying properties of Refflinghaus anvils is convincing.  Still, I haven't used enough anvils to be convinced that I HAVE to have the hardest anvil.  But if I can get that much mass and great hardness...well, it's hard to find a reason not to get excited.

Well, I'm a subscriber!  I love your stuff.  Glad I get to tell you thanks for your work here.

I don't understand why the hatred of tumbleweeds.  They get to live a casual life in quiet contemplation and then end it by roaming the world in the wind spreading their seed at the end of their lives.  Isn't that how most of us wish we could have done it?

Like JHCC said, you will benefit from one outside to control your fire...but mostly it is useful for stacking up coal on the periphery of your fire.  I'd start forging without it just to get going and then add something in a size and shape you desire once you figure out what suits your purpose.  

I put temporary shields up on my forge and have only recently determined what I actually want for a permanent fixture.  Don't worry about design until you figure out what you really need.  Have fun!

Hawk, glad to have you.  I find it quite cool that you are in a unique position.  Most of us join here having nothing and trying to figure out how to get into the craft.  You have lots of stuff and have to work through it to get into the craft.  We envy you.  Get forging my friend and join the scale junkies!

Awesome blade Theo.  Is this the one you started with a video on YouTube?  

I'm a newb but I don't think hardness is the ultimate measure of an anvil.  I do know that you have to baby harder anvils more because they are much more likely to chip on the edges.  They definitely provide more force to a work piece fro the bottom when you are working but I feel that there are diminishing returns with this.  I would rather get a 250# anvil that requires one more swing of the hammer (theoretically) over a 210# anvil that is slightly harder if the price is the same.  

If the 250# anvil didn't come with an upsetting block my decision would probably be swayed to the smaller one.  I guess in the end it comes down to design.  If the features appeal to me because of the type of work I do I would buy it.  Either way, I think you should take Judson on his word and check out the Nimba or Fontaninni just to be thorough...I've heard great things about all of those names.  Buy the one that you fall in love with aesthetically.  You want to wake up in the middle of the night and feel the need to go caress it. . 

I'm jealous you are buying your forever anvil...congrats!

It was a complete OSHA nightmare.  At least half of them were wearing face shields!  But seriously, it is amazing what those guys are doing with that equipment.  That huge fullering tool they created would be an awesome addition in miniature as a hardy tool to any shop.

I just happened upon a video on YouTube of some heavy duty smithing in China.  Imagine smith's working outside making relatively complex pieces doing all of the basic techniques we may use at the forge:  upsetting, drawing out, punching, drifting, etc...

Except, now include the fact that their pieces of steel weigh in the tons, their anvil is probably 4'x8', their tongs are forklifts and their hammer is a pile drive.  It's pretty amazing.

Chinese smith's forge a flange

Well, the day I made my offer the person took own the ad on Craigslist and stopped responding to me...not even to say no thanks.  I sent an email requesting a counter offer but all'S quiet.  It doesn't look too good and I'm bummed.  It's sad how the internet is leading to the dissolution of basic social skills.

I was thinking the same.  If they were willing to trade yard art for the anvil then they won't be particularly picky and would maybe do a counter offer.  But today the person took down the post on Craigslist and hasn't responded to me.  I'm thinking someone else offered more.  Hope I didn't just share it here and lose my chance to someone else on IFI.  Do we have a moral code for anvil purchasing  

That Hay Budden blows away my Isaac Hill.  It seems like it has never been used!  I'm hoping for a reply today.  My wife is allowing it as a Christmas present...

So I have a habit of doing a search for "anvil" and "blacksmith" on Craigslist and yesterday I got a real hit.  The poster was asking for the barter of yard statuary for a 149 pound Hay Budden, a hardy tool and a hardy stake anvil (tin smith's I think).  I put out every feeler I could to find a gargoyle statue but couldn't find one so I emailed and asked if they would take cash.  Got a response that they would take cash but weren't sure what they could get for the anvil.  I had a huge moral dilemma.  The anvil is in amazing condition and it felt wrong to lowball so I offered $350 for the whole package tonight and I'm waiting for a reply now.  I think my offer is more than fair.  Debate...

Agreed.  Welcome aboard and enjoy the learning process.  That is a nice anvil and can take some serious work.  I'd love to own it!

Quite attractive!  Afraid I'm not going to find something that nice under the tree.  Gift certificate to a steel supplier might be the best I get!

Nice knife!  I love the blade geometry, it transitions from beefy to curvaceous.

Found in my stocking a few years ago....I felt the love:

This single thread is evidence enough that IFI is a goldmine of knowledge.  The amount of information and experience doleed out in just these past few posts is a few years worth of hard learning minimally.  You guys rock and I absolutely love this place...and I'm not even trying to make an anvil.

Larry, take this all in, plan and then plan again.  You are about to learn to respect what our forefathers were able to do.

1 hour ago, LarryW said:

What if I used a torch for heat treatment

I've seen videos of people who just needed to heat the top of their anvils up to 400 degrees to weld them and it took many hours with a weed torch hitting it for a number of hours.  I am not certain it is possible to achieve quenching heat on and anvil with a torch.  Others more knowledgeable than I am are in this conversation and will have better advice.  Either way, you have an awesome project underway.