easilyconfused

In the cold North, I used to make tons of charcoal by just pulling it out of the wood stove in the shop when it was embers. Needed to keep the shop warm anyways and lots of scrap wood around the farm. I have also used wood in the forge when the shop wasn't warm enough and didn't feel like getting it warmed up for a small project. Like it was said before: Time vs Money. For me, I needed to heat the shop anyways so it didn't take much more time anyways. Wood heating was also cheaper than gas on the farm.

Is the hole punched fully? It's hard to tell from the photo's. If not, re-align and call the old hole a new design for ergonomics. If not, you can use the drifts to create a larger hole in line but pay attention to mass if you want a balanced hammer, as Steve pointed out. You could also use the longer side to become the face of the hammer with a little more mass to the front, like a modified cutler's hammer.

I have felt some sharp points on the twist before, to the point of discomfort on tool handles, is why I suggested it. The horns would be possible point to catch as well.

When you look at anvils, for anything but straightening only the area your hammer face hits is used for forging. If it's bigger than your hammer face, it will work stood on end if it has some rebound.

Very well done. The pictures are great too! Sometimes it can be hard to get a good shot of metalwork. How does it feel in the hand? The only thing I would suggest is blunting the tips of the pineapple twist for delicate hands. Just light taps with a light hammer to prevent distorting the pattern. Filing would be safer now that it's cool.

How far are you heating? For smooth curves, you need a longer heat. How long depends on the piece. Could you post a picture of your setup? What you've described should work for what you want.

If you don't have access to a sandblaster, a wire brush on a hand drill will work to clean it up. I agree with the large casters. Bigger if you are going to be off-roading with it. I've seen some farmers put inflatable 8" -12" floatation tires on them in that case.

Far side for me! I use the inside to isolate an area only.

I would make charcoal and keep blacksmithing! :lol:

Being the type of people we are, while I was shaving I started to wonder how many other people use a straight razor.

I would start with as forged and air cooled and see if they hold up. If they bend, then harden and temper them starting with oil unless you know the steel won't shatter with a water quench. @Hwoolridge: Were they coming back bent too? Most farmers I know would rather it bend but keep working than shatter on the first rock. I would think the alloys used would be hard wearing moreso than tempered for edge holding.

I would make the plane dog out of copper to save an accidental clip with a plane iron. Nice job on everything though! Good tip on scaling the shaft for friction.

I would clay line it to make a bit of a firepot. Seems to work with raised fire grates like these.

That is a 156 pound trenton made in 1925 according to AiA.

You need to crunch numbers. How fast can you repair them with a safety margin for complications. How much fuel will you burn per bit, what are fuel costs? Opportunity costs of other jobs being missed if you're busy. That will decide what you can afford to charge. If they want it for cheaper, what's the point of doing something that's loosing you money? You're just stepping backwards then. The only time knowing what other's are charging is to see what the market will bear over your break point.

Remember, other than for straightening, which you can do on something else, only the area under the hammer is required to forge.

That's the line where the body and base were welded together. Does it still ring? It may be a fault down the line but you should still get some use out of it if it is still strongly attached and rings. On a positive side, you can repair that crack with good results and if you keep the face under water, it won't ruin the temper while you're welding. As to what to offer, that is up to how badly you want an anvil, how many others there are and how much it would cost to repair the crack if required.

According to the AiA chart, that anvil is about 1901.

Got them all forged and welded up. All that's left is to paint them which is much less labour intensive! I took your advice Dean and welded on the bottom so the welds are hidden better. I wouldn't have even thought about that being in my hurry to get them done. You're right, much cleaner!

He was responding to an earlier reply to get it cut out by CNC or plasma.

I agree, the workmanship is great! The R and the letters where they join to the cross pieces will smudge though. Here is a brand my soon to be brother in law had me make using forging and fabrication. It was a Half diamond over a 3W in 2 separate brands for ease of application. I cut the flat stock from angle iron so it was tapers. The contact area is 1/8". It was built to his father's spec's who is a brand inspector. Worked great this spring.

As much as I dislike Wikipedia, it has in it exactly what I found searching Pubmed, the major peer reviewed journal database for medical professionals. There are versions that are not absorbed and converted to toxic chemicals, have fewer tissue reactions and are less likely to cause allergies If there is a safer product, we should be promoting it. Even if the amount of exposure to the non-medical grade superglues is minimal. You are right about relative risk but I would prefer to minimize all the risk that I can rather than worrying about the greater of the two evils. I say this so that people can look at the thread and know there are other alternatives out there at the local drug store.

You can now buy liquid bandages (aka Tissue glue) that will work like superglue but use acrylates that aren't cyanoacrylates and are thus safer. Lee valley up here also sells "Gloves in a bottle". I've never tried it but it may be worth looking into.

If you had access to an MRI, you could let the super magnet pull it out. I don't have a serious answer though. Sorry!

From the looks of it, I would put it between 1852-1860. IF you come across a remenant of Solid Wrought written in a circle, that would move it 1860 on. If you find a remnant of England on the side under Patent, that would make it newer than 1910 .