Tubalcain2

Yea, what is it, C1?

i don't were gloves for anything but welding. i believe that you should ''feel the heat'' and learn to respect it.( Its a fine line for me between blacksmithing and philosophy. )

i don't use gloves so my hands are always either burned, cut, blistered, scraped, or a combination of the four. I'd send a picture of them, but I wouldn't want anyone to faint. I have yet to find a pair of gloves that fit them, anyway. Every time I make a fist, my gloves rip! (I've got massive hands.)

great work. i have no doubt that it will be strong enough. many of the original handles were plain mild steel.

one off mine is an indian chief and it has 2 wedges.

tp is right. YOUR tools in YOUR shop should be how YOU want them. find what works for you and do it.

it is somewhat common for vulcans to not have any readable markings. because the markings are raised, it is relatively easy for them to wear off, especially on an old beater like that. the weld around the waist, along with the thick feet are characteristic of vulcans.

I don't know who you are, but I agree that Chris a very skilled smith. I have no authority on this forum, but I would ask that you , pureluck, would express your opinions in a kinder way. I hope you do not take offence or see this as a personal attack on you, i just want our forum to stay a friendly place.

i agree w/ Thomas. I happen to know a blacksmith by that name. was the guy u met tall with brown hair and braces?

I am suffering from acute anvil envy. congrats on a spectacular find.

i would definitely suggest that you use half inch round for the barbecue fork. that's what I use and it works great. as to the shoe horn, keep in mind that your steel will be considerably wider when u flatten it for the in-the-shoe part. half inch round will be about an inch wide when flattened to an eighth of an inch thick. if you don't think that would be wide enough, i would suggest upsetting the last few inches of half inch stock before u flatten it rather than using larger stock and drawing out the whole handle. without a power hammer, that would be a big job. jhcc does have a point that drawing out is easier than upsetting, it just depends on how much you have you draw out. personally, I would rather upset 4 inches for the horn then draw out 18 inches of heavy stock for the handle. anyway, that's my 2 cents.

Where I live there is miles of it, laying end to end on big beams. the hard part is to get out the big nails that hold it there.

i agree with c-1. (for once)

fishers are cast iron with hc steel top plates. decent anvils, and like frosty said, very quiet.

I use a 3 foot diameter whit oak stump, and it works great.

that just might be the best anvil you will ever forge on. prepare to have your hammer fly out of your hands and through the roof when u hit it. soderfors have some REBOUND. i have a 160 lb soderfors and the only thing better would be a 260 lb soderfors. congrats on a beautiful anvil.

That face is in remarkable shape. may I ask what u payed for her?

looks a lot better than my first project. way to go.

I have never welded cast iron, but i know an experienced welder who has don it successfully. he said to heat it with an oxy torch before welding and then again afterwords to relieve any stress on the joint. it might be something to look into, anyway.

I have a 160 lb. soderfors and i agree with frosty that they are the best anvils around. the reason they ring so loud is because they are awesome!

I agree with frosty. it is better to save up and get an anvil latter than to go deeper into debt over one.

I agree that a ss bowl is less than ideal,but I think it would work if it was lined right.truth is, u can make a forge out of almost anything if u insulate it enough. my very first forge was a 24 gauge ss grill lid lined w/ mud. ideal? no. good? no. workable? ubetcha. anyway, tha'ts my 1.5 cents.

cast iron rusts to easy to use as an outdoor ornament . maybe a paperweight.

awesome find! that anvil is a beauty.

if you are using regular mixing bowl i would make your cement at least 1.5'' thick. if you use something heavy like a break drum u can git away w/ less or none at all.