andgott

After a several year dry spell (5 + at this point!) I got back to the forge this week! It's kind of like riding a bike- It seems to come back pretty quick after a painful fall or two

I didn't have a lot of time to spend, so I made a couple of small, quick items- All of them were originally 3/8" round stock, a scrap I picked up on the shop floor-



The top two are keychains, though one doesn't have the key ring attached to it yet. The one on the right has a face, but I didn't have any small punches with me, so no eyes or mouth...

The bottom piece is a gate hook.

I made them at the local blacksmith's club shop- It is a GREAT little shop, and pretty well equipped. I am looking forward to getting down there to use it more often!

-Andrew

I second the Craigslist suggestion- I put up a post looking for an anvil and tools, and they came to ME!

It took a few weeks, though- so be patient. A lot of people have this 'stuff' laying around in barn and sheds, and it's just in the way to them. Many don't know that it has value, other than as scrap steel. It's a shame how much of it must get melted down...

-Andrew

]
Please post some pictures!

Andy I bet all that black paint was hard to remove!
good buys though!

After cleaning several years worth of old paint off my 130 lb Arm & hammer anvil, I think I located a serial number stamped on the front foot... It reads

28590

Does anyone know if there is a reference to determine when this was made?

It is an Arm & Hammer, with the 'impressed' logo, not the 'vulcan' with the raised logo....

There were a number of other interesting marks on there as well, Someone stamped an 'A' in a few sides of it, I presume to identify it. Luckily, that's my first initial

Thanks!

-Andrew

Yeah, I suppose if they want something bad enough, They'll take it.

Perhaps I could electrify mine- I've got a spare 220v circuit in the studio- That'll stop 'em!

-Andrew

Yeah, I need more friends like that, too

Sounds like you scored a deal- Regardless of what they are 'worth', it's all worth more than you paid!

-Andrew

Thanks. DK- He had a second, Slightly newer (though in worse condition) Mousehole that he sold the day before for even less- Made me sick

As for security, I have a monitored system installed in my studio, two dogs (not mean but they have a mean bark!), Plus the best theft deterrent ever- My neighbors have WAY better stuff, and don't keep it locked up. So, They will steal THAT first.

Seems to me a thief would have to be targeting blacksmith equipment for them to snatch up an anvil- I can't imagine them wanting to run off with a 130 something pound block of metal otherwise!

-Andrew

I had figured that as well, IF the 10 is correct- I'm not 100% sure its a 10...

Borrowed from AnvilFire and rephrased
The English hundredweights can be read as 3 numbers ABC where A is times 112 pounds, B is times 28 pounds and C is actual pounds


Anvilfire and Jock Dempsey has stated that NO amount of text from the anvilfire site can be copied and used on other sites. I have removed the quoted anvilfire material and replaced it with different wording in order to provide the same information.

And, The one that I'm most excited about- A Mouse Hole- I think this was the 'deal of the day'... About $1 a pound




You can make out the stamp on the side of it- You can JUST see part of the 'ouse', Below that, 'ole', and the weight- 1 - 0 - 10 (I THINK)



I can JUST make out where it says C & A in this shot.... Above the 'ouse',



There is a '1 A' or something in the front of the foot...

I'm not too sure of the date- I have read several pages that say if there is a step and NO pritchel, it is from ca. 1790-1795-

I am passing on a rough guide to age that I am got from Jim Wallace at the National Ornamental Metal Museum. If the anvil does not have a step, and has an even smaller horn than the small one on other Mouse Hole anvils, and is attached directly under the end of the face, then it might not have a steel face, but could. This anvil would have been made in the 1750-1775 time frame. If it has a step, and is made by Armatage, marked as an Armatage Mouse Hole, then the face is hard steel. If there is no pritchell hole, it was made before about 1790-1795. If it has a PUNCHED pritchell hole, it is in the 1795-1850 manufacture range. Some of the older Mouse Hole anvils had pritchell holes drilled in them, to bring them up to a more "modern" configuration.

I picked up my 'new' anvils today! I'm pretty excited- As I have been looking for a long, LONG time now... Gotta love Craigslist!

I don't know anything about them- other than the few things I have been able to find on this forum and on the web.... If anyone knows anything else, Please let me know!

The first one is a 130 lb Arm & Hammer- It's in pretty good shape, and I've heard that they are pretty good anvils. Has a beautiful ring to it



It's in pretty good shape- Nice flat face, and only a few nicks on the edges-



The stamped 'Arm & Hammer' logo, name, & 'Wrought Iron' are clearly visible, as is the 130.


It seems like a good anvil- And considering I got it for about 1/2 what a similar 78 lb one that I was bidding on E-Bay (plus, NO SHIPPING, since it was a few miles away!), a pretty good deal, I think.


(Continued Below)

I'm going to be doing a little comparison shopping this week at local steel suppliers- And it occurred to me that I don't have ANY idea what a 'Good' price is for steel these days!

The previous shops I worked in were a dream- When I needed steel, I went to the back wall, grabbed what I wanted, and started working... If it ran out, I submitted an order for it, and it was there in a day or two. But, I never saw the prices, or dealt with the 'business' end of things.

I know this varies a bit regionally, but when you go to your local steel supplier, what are you paying? I would be buying 1/4", 3/8", and probably 1/2" square & probably round for the most part- What are you paying in your neck of the woods??

Also, Since I really wasn't involved in the ordering before, I just specified 'mild steel' and got what they sent. It all forged well- I have no complaints there- But is there a specific type that I should look for, or if I just tell them I want Mild steel should I be OK?

-Andrew

Thanks... I had been leaning towards the 100 lb tank, the price wasn't too much higher than the 40 lb, and I got a price break when filling the larger size as well... I am kind of still kicking the idea of an even larger, permanent tank- But I think I'll wait and see.

Frosty- I had considered building one myself, But between the time and money involved, I think I'm better off buying!

-Andrew

I'm new here- So I apologize if this is in the wrong place!

I'm in the process of building my studio. It is a Multi-purpose studio, and one of it's purposes will be blacksmithing. The Studio area is about 900 square feet, and is broken up into a 'clean' area where the drawing/painting goes on, and a 'dirty' area where I do the wood/metal work. The 'dirty' side has a roll-up door, which opens to an outside work area that can be used in nice weather.

I have decided to use a Gas forge- Although most of my training and experience is on a coal forge. I did work quite a bit on a gas forge when I worked in a production shop for a while, But I really didn't pay that much attention to it!

I am looking in to a 2 burner forge, and have been attracted to the Diamondback Ironworks forges. I have read some old posts on here, and it seems that people like them. The LOOK well constructed as well. Any thoughts/opinions on them?

I Like the fact that you can get to welding temps in them- I haven't done much forge welding in the past, but like to have that as an option.

My other concern is how much gas they are going to burn- and what size tank I should look in to purchasing. I also see that they make an 'idler' valve that allows you to throttle back the gas flow while you are forging- Has anyone used this?

Thanks in advance,

-Andrew

I just found this board- and I can tell it's going to be a LONG time before I soak up all the great info in the old threads! Good stuff here.

I recently relocated to SE Tennessee, just north of Chattanooga- And I am in the process of setting up my shop. I am an established artist & illusrator, Mostly specializing in drawing. But- One of my original loves is Blacksmithing, and now that I have moved to a place where I have room, I'm ready to get back at it!

I have been away from the forge for about 4 yrs now. I learned what I know through an apprenticeship when I was in High School, then went to Berea College for a time- After that I was the Blacksmith at Cedar Point, an amusement park in Ohio. I am mostly in to ornamental and art iron work.

You can check out my site- Less Than Six, as well as Andrew Gott - Artist, if you are interested in seeing my work, though there is no Ironwork there- Not yet, anyway

-Andrew