C-1ToolSteel

That's not an upgrade. Obviously cast (not forged), so I wouldn't trust that it is steel either. You already have a horn and hardy hole, so I'd recommend that you be on the look out for just a large hunk of steel from the scrapyard. A LOT better bang for you buck!!

What about making things that don't make sense...

As for the anvil question: No, what you are looking for is good solid mass under the hammer.

For the firepot, how big is that wheel? You could maybe make it work in a pinch.

And while we are still picking on Mr. Stevens ()... They are forged, not cast.

You have a Fisher chain vise. Rare and highly sought after! Great score.

Hey there, JT. Nothing sticks out to me in your post as a big oversight. Can't go wrong starting with JABOD, and the hair drier will last long enough to get your foot in the door. As far as tools go, good choice on the hammer. For tongs, 1/2" V bit bolt tongs are a must, and it sure helps to have several different sizes of those. I have also heard good things about wolf jaw tongs but don't have personal experience with them.

1 hour ago, Joshua Taylor said:

Anvil: This is where I hit a bit of a block.

Yep, that's what anvils are for!

Couldn't see the link you posted, but a nice anvil is in fact better than a RR rail if you can afford it...

A tarp will work for now, as long as it is a safe distance from your fire. They are NOT fire proof (Don't ask me how I know...).

Good luck, and happy smithin' when you get back.

Looks like Sfeile and JHCC beat me to it. Both of them have good suggestions.

Definitely not ''too old'' to have a hardened face plate. You can easily see the line where the HC face starts in your last pic, so it hasn't been milled off either. As Mr. Powers will usually point out, it is possible to have an anvil loose its temper if it was the victim of a shop fire. Make sure that the bearing you are using to test with is actually a real (hardened) bearing and not something else. Also, if there is any rust, paint, oil, or anything but bare steel on either the anvil or the bearing, it can throw the results off very significantly. I doubt this, but someone could have decided to "repair" the face at some point... The rolled edge in the last pic does seem to indicate a softer face than most Trentons i have seen which chip before they roll. Regardless of the rebound, it is still a usable anvil as is, and don't try to repair it without lots of experience and know-how.

Wow, thanks guys! Very interesting stuff.

It just randomly occurred to me that with a torch, some thin sheet stock, and a lot of frustration, It might be possible to make some simple "hand forged" origami sculptures like they make out of paper. A quick Google search yielded no relevant results. Anybody tried this?

Nice hammer, and the touch-mark on it looks great.

As far as precision goes, I have always preferred a farrier style hammer, because the faces are extra close to the eye (if you turn your wrist a tad, the consequenses are much more subtle than with a really long face). Thoughts?

Welcome aboard!

Yes to the angle grinder. Dewalt makes great tools, and their 4.5'' angle grinder is no exception. The welder can wait. Bench grinders are good for some things, but even a 4x32 belt sander would probably be more useful to you (just stick with the angle grinder, if you are on a tight budget). You're going to want a good vise (preferably a leg vise), and some proper sets of tongs. You don't need many hammers, but make sure to get one that is the proper size for you. Don't forget about good sharp files, if you don't already have some. As for the forge, gas or charcoal is the way to go if there are other houses near by. Look up the JABOD threads, if you are interested in a dirt cheap (literally!) starter forge. I love working with coal, but make sure you have a hood and good ventilation, because it makes a lot of nasty smoke.

23 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

There has been some work on trying to carbon date iron; but that's probably too young for that.

And this method would only date the age of the iron that the fork was made from rather than the fork itself, correct?

Very cool. Never seen that type of joinery before on a fork.

Cool beans! keep us updated with pictures as you get her looking shiny.

What on earth did you feel you needed to upset it for?? As Frosty said, too big to begin with! I don't think you should feel like a wimp, you just need some practice. To be honest, It would probably take me a good number of heats to upset it very much at all with a hammer that size...

Looks to me like the face may have been milled down, so MAKE SURE TO TEST FOR REBOUND BEFORE YOU BUY IT, or you could be stuck with a $1,200 hunk of Anvil Shaped Object!! Otherwise, looks like a very nice anvil, if you want a big one that badly...

After looking at it again, are you sure that is a Fisher? No mounting lugs at the base (though an anvil that large may not need them), and the casting looks rougher than most Fishers. Ninjaanvilman would know.

I've seen a few of those before in pictures. They aren't any particular name brand, and I highly suspect cast-iron ASO (not good). Not 100% sure on that one, though. Read up on ring and rebound testing to see what your looking for, and pass on it, if it doesn't measure up. In the third picture, I see what looks to me like dents in the face from someone taking a mill-face framing hammer to it. If this is true, then it is probably an ASO.

Yep, gotta have some respect for those guys. 

Alright railroadtrackers, no more excuses...

That turned out super nice, bro. 

Personally, I prefer a rounded ricasso choil, but it seems like the stick tang would give out long before the lade itself. ...but y'all are the experts.

Mind sharing the name of that podcast? Sound interesting.

Nice stump. Keep in mind that it will be messy with forge scale and eventualy with burn marks once you start forging over it. It think it is impressive as is.

The cross thing is one I haven't heard yet. I've heard everything thing from putting a quarter under the anvil for good luck to passing a sick baby over the anvil three times in hopes to heal it...

Cool finds. Think those tongs can be salvaged?

Funny, I was just talking to a local farmer today about anvils, and he told me a story. A long while back, there was a friend of his who was visiting one of his buddy's farms, and he was warned to be careful when he pulled in, as there had always been a sharp object poking up out of the ground there. Evidently he was like me and just had to dig it up to find out what it was, so he did. Turned out to be the horn of an anvil that was almost completely buried in the driveway. They looked around some more and ended up finding more artifacts of what was believed to be the place where travelers had dumped the things they finally could not carry any longer, about 100 years before.

Sorry to hear that, Hans. Prayers for you, your family, and friends.

Two things (other than the welder) stuck out to me in this picture I came across today. Just me?

No, this thread is beyond salvaging. I don't think we can steer it in a different direction without just digging ourselves deeper in the mud. If only someone would start a different chain to pull us out... 

I can feel the tension in the air...