Irondragon Forge ClayWorks

Axle is a chipmunk hunter, every once in a while he catches one and brings it home. Yesterday he came running up with one in his mouth and dropped it on the deck. Then looked up at me to say "I brought you a present". I have a place I put them out of his territory so another critter, hawk, owl or coyote will have an easy snack. This morning it was frozen chipmunk.

Welcome aboard... We won't remember that once leaving this post, hence the suggestion to edit your profile to show it.

Welcome aboard... It's not false economy to start out small, many of us have more than one forge, but starting out not knowing if you will enjoy the craft, a small forge is a wise move. Have you read through the Forges 101 thread? Yes, a smaller forge, well insulated uses less propane. Which you should buy is largely dependent upon what you plan on making. It also depends where in the world you are located and the price of propane there. I suggest editing your profile to show location, you may be surprised how many members are near you to help out.

Who ever made it, it looks like a great anvil to me. Use it in good health.

Ya, I think it's a Trenton too. I hope you have read about not doing any grinding, milling or welding on the hardened face. All it needs is hot steel hammered on it to make it shine.

Also check for French makers, the hardy hole at the side of the front horn, if it exits through the side may indicate French.

Trenton also shared the caplet underside of the base with A&H. Are there power hammer marks under the heel?

Welcome from the Ozark mountains.

Welcome from the Ozark mountains.

Thumbs up....

Probably a wise decision. If you have a heavy equipment repair shop near you, check with them about a piece of steel they may part with. Bulldozers are made of anvils. We picked up this counter weight for $35 the weight is 110 pounds. I made a small bick for it and it is an excellent anvil for small work (knives & such). Would work great as a starter anvil that can take abuse.

Great looking anvil. The small edge chips are of no consequence. Not something that I would try and dress. The only thing it needs is hot steel being hammered on it to shine up the face. I have worked on an anvil like that and if I recall it weighed 225 pounds and was a joy to work steel on it. I'm sure someone will be able to put a maker on it. To me it looks like a Refflinghaus but I could be wrong.

It looks like the mouse approves of everything and so do I. Thumbs up...

Welcome aboard... It will help if we knew where in the world you are located, hence the suggestion to edit your profile to show it. Pictures of the vise will also help. I'm afraid you will never find a standard nut to fit the screw and welding it into the screw box would be difficult. There are several good threads on restoring leg vises in the vise sub section. Don't be surprised if your post is moved there, where it will get more exposure. There is a lot of tips in this thread on using the forum. READ THIS FIRST As usual Frosty & I were typing at the same time.

So do I. Nothing wrong with arc welding objects like that, I do it all the time.

Welcome aboard... As far as anvil size, it would depend upon your shop/work area and if you have to move the anvil around a lot. A 395 pounder is not the easiest to move. As far as working on it, I have found that it's easier to make small things on a large anvil than it is to make large things on a smaller anvil. Of course it's known that Blacksmith's suffer from anvil envy. A reasonably good size shop anvil is in the 150 pound range. Although I have done a lot of work on our 106 pound Hay Budden and 110 pound Vulcan and they both cost under $200 but for heavy hitting we have a 30 pound Star power hammer. The $1600 for a 395 pound anvil in good shape, depending on the make is not bad. If it is a Soderfors, Hay Budden, Fisher, Mousehole or several others, I would be all over it. I must admit I would also try haggling the price down a little, simply because I enjoy haggling. Now if it is one of the lower quality anvils like Vulcan's the price is too high. If it's in your price range and in good shape and you have room, I'd say go for it. If you decide you don't like the craft, you would have no trouble selling it.

Welcome aboard... If you haven't read that we love pictures, we do and knowing your general location will help with answering questions that require knowing that easier. The Read This First thread will help you get the best out of the forum.

I'm with Das and would tack weld them, unless you counter sink the machine screws so the surface is flat.

I have used this method to patina new brass when restoring old muzzleloader's. It works well to age the brass so it looks like it is old not bright & shiny. The brass must be cleaned with acetone or lacquer thinner wearing nitrile or rubber gloves so no skin oils gets on them. Two or three hard-boiled eggs (boiled for at least 5 minutes; the yolk should be solid). A small shallow dish on which to place your brass pieces. A Ziploc freezer bag. The bag must be large enough to hold the small dish plus the hard-boiled eggs with room to spare usually a gallon bag. Chop the boiled eggs. Place the brass on the small dish. Add the chopped eggs to the Ziploc bag. Place the small dish in the middle of the eggs inside the Ziploc Bag. The egg should not touch the metal. Close the Ziploc Bag. Leave it alone! You will be tempted to look but don't! Using a Ziploc bag will help you withstand temptation. You can open the Ziploc bag when the metal darkens to the color you want. Throw away the eggs, and shine your piece leaving some of the detail oxidized. The process usually takes 4 to 6 hours, longer if it's not dark enough. This process works well on silver and copper too.

If you do decide to go the sandblast route, make sure you have the proper PPE. Dust from sandblasting can be a killer, especially if inhaled. I have tried that and was not very happy with the results.

SQUIRREL... I know that feeling well, one of the reasons I carry a small note pad or use notes on the smarter than I phone. The other day I was taking my wife to an appointment to get a CT scan and somehow the conversation turned to my hunting in the Everglades with a Seminole Indian Chief's son. Every detail was clear but I couldn't remember his name. Then a couple of hours later out of nowhere his name came to me (John Jumper III).

Now that's funny I don't care who ya are. I guess I did set that one up didn't I.

Nope (memory fog) it was E6011... what can I say bad boy bad.

What Frosty said. I have welded normalized coil spring to mild with E6011 rod and it is still holding after lifting a lot of weight. I don't have a picture but this is welded to the bucket of my tractors front loader.