TWISTEDWILLOW

They are nice critters to have around for ticks in my area I agree but I also own chickens and for some reason they don’t get along well with chickens lol. I usually just live trap them and haul them way off from everyone’s farms and let them go where they won’t be a problem. I hate to see them get shot for just doing the only thing they know how to do. I have to save all the king snakes too because my closest neighbor kills any snakes he sees. I personally don’t mind an ol fat king snake in my shop because that means I have less mice running around but I normally haul them off too because eventually they find the hen house and start eating all my eggs. 

Not actually one of my pets but it’s visited the shop the last three nights, I usually catch one a year that moves in the shop during the spring time or early summer. 

I’m with irondragon ive never seen any rebar like that but it’s interesting whatever it is. How hard was it to cut through with a hacksaw? 

Ouch! Glad it didn’t go any deeper! Thumbs are kinda hard to operate without 

For starters a quick google search turned up that  tfs sells a brand new double horn 100 pound anvil on their website for $568 that comes out to $5.68 a pound for a new anvil with no marks no chips no cracks no grinding no welded spots ect.... there are many others if you do your research.  if you are checking your prices on Craigslist, eBay an Facebook then you are seeing the ridiculous prices I’m talking about. There are still plenty of modern anvil manufacturers in the world today that build new anvils at verifying prices. Continue reading on this site and you will find quite a few companies still producing. There is no reason in my opinion to pay $10 a pound for anything used when I can buy it new for that price or less... As for something being rare or antique I have accumulated multiple vises, anvils, blowers, tools machines  ect.. over the years some of which are pushing 200 years old. Some of which I’ve never been able to find another anywhere. Does being rare make them worth a small fortune? Not to me.... I find antique tools and machines frequently using the tpaaat method and it works very well if you haven’t already I suggest you read about it. You might even ask Thomas personally how cheap he finds anvils on the regular using his tpaaat method. 

People on marketplace and clist always ask ridiculous prices for what they think are rare antiques. At $10 a pound you can buy new anvils. $5 a pound is top end $4 a pound is fair and $2-$3 is fair for something beat up. I paid $1 a pound recently for a 105 pound William foster that has no ring and won’t bounce a ball bearing half an inch. It’s not good for anything except a rusty decoration  or a door stop but I had a guy bring it by my shop and he needed money so now it sets In a back corner. Don’t get caught up on online pricing for used anvils they are not rare or hard to find. They are still just tools no different than buying any other used tools. You wouldn’t pay new price for a used welder or air compressor would you? 

Any update on how your heater run? 

I just saw this post and I agree with Duncan I think your flatter has the same mark as the cross peen hammer I found. 

Here’s a hammer I found while cleaning out a shed. I think it might be a old plumb brand but I’m not sure. 

Howdy from Oklahoma chenier!

Awesome find have fun! 

Hello from Oklahoma jgrote! 

If you have the complete champion forge and it’s not all cracked or missing parts then most certainly some blacksmith in your area will be very interested just keep posting pictures as your able to and before long I’m sure you’ll get contacted. 

I’ve bought the wooden jack Daniel’s half barrels In my area and I can say they held water. It took about a week of making sure they were full of water but eventually the oak swelled up and sealed. Also on the gtts subject there’s a tractor dealership in north west Arkansas in Siloam springs on the other side of the state line from me that gives away wooden crates and five gallon buckets and pallets as much as your willing to haul off. I’m sure they have more to get rid of if a body was to ask. 

The anvils look to be in pretty decent shape you should be able to sell them in your area fairly easily at $4 a pound. The champion blower without a stand or forge wouldn’t bring much in my area maybe $40 on the high end. That being said  you may find  a blacksmith in the Dallas Fort Worth area that’s willing to pay more for it. 

Most of the people on this site buy these tools to put them back in operation so if your wanting to sell the tools here you’ll need to get all your info like who manufactured the forges and anvils and their weight then ruffly how much you are wanting for everything. There’s lots of blacksmiths on here that are located in your area that may be interested in buying some or all of your tools so I’m sure you will be able to make a quick sell to one of them as soon as you get some pictures up and prices. 

Do you have any pictures? That would help. Up here in eastern Oklahoma I’ve bought anvils anywhere from a $1 to $3 a pound and forge blowers bring anything from free to $100 depending on the size an the shape. Antique cast iron Forges I’ve seen go for $400 if they are in really really excellent shape much less if they are damaged or missing parts. 

I still have most of my vices but I don’t think sandblasting will help me get rid of them...but it sure does help make my vises look nice lol. 

I’ve seen a couple of larger champions and Buffalos and candy Ottos comparable to this one that were stand alone flywheel set ups on frames. So I’m assuming this scientific 70 was part of a larger set up like that. I’ve got quite a few blowers of various brands and models that I’ve picked up here and there but this is one of only two that I have had a hard time finding a picture of in its original set up. The other is a star but I’ve got that one buried in the barn I need to drag it out sometime and get some pictures of it on here to. 

Here’s a blower made by foos mfg that I found awhile back. The guy I got it from tried to put new fins on the impeller and turn it into a squirrel cage. It spins over but the all the extra sheet metal in there is rubbing so one of these days I’m gonna yank all that out and rebuild some normal fins. I’m assuming that this thing was gear driven in its younger days but I couldn’t find a no70 scientific blower on google to see what it’s original setup was. I did find some no60s and some neat little table top forges the were made by them. 

I’ve had vises sand blasted with good results and then Primed and painted them. I don’t think you will have any problems. 

I agree with everyone that else that the wood floor is safe to use but on the other hand If you are worried about having a thief motivated enough to steal a anvil and stand that weighs 500 pounds personally I don’t think your shed doors would stop them if they want it that bad. Frosty brings up an excellent point of exposure working inside with a propane forge and Thomas brings up a good point on needing something stable under your anvil stand. If your really worried about theft then my suggestion is Build the lean to off the side and pour a concrete slab and anchor your stand to the slab or maybe wrap a chain around the anvil and anchor the chain to the slab.  it seems to me that would be a cheap, safe and effective solution to your problem. You can get reclaimed lumber for next to nothing if not free if you look around and if you make friends with a concrete truck driver in your area I’ll bet they will swing by and pour project leftovers for you (trust me I’ve tried and it works) and sheet metal like the lumber can usually be had cheap or free from projects or tear downs. You could double the size of your work area for next to nothing and be safe from fumes, theft, have your anvil on a stable surface and not worry about catching the floor on fire. 

what about getting a welders blanket at harbor freight  and nailing it down like carpet and set up your anvil and forge on it? For that matter you could put it on the walls around you hot work area. 

Howdy from Oklahoma

Could you use the inside of the the shed for power tools and machines you have and use it for finishing work and then build a lean to off the side of the building to set up your forge and do all your hot work under the lean to?