brickman

I was thinking about just making some kindling chopper style knives. stuff that needs to be durable enough to be beat with a mallet but doesnt need to hold  a razor edge. More just for shaping practice is what i'm thinking. I also thought about incorporating the bigger ones into a new gate latch handle. The bottle opener is also a great idea, would make good gifts too =D

Finally got my first post vice. Got a steal of a deal for it from an estate sale.

Yeah we have a huge amount of these.most were discarded due to chips in the mouth of the wrench. I might make some knives and bottle openers then, good practice for both =].

Trying to figure out what kind of steel these old wrenches are made out of. They're pretty old and the reason they were decommissioned and put in the "throw away" box is becuase the tips have been chipped on most of them. We have tons of them on the farm and am wondering what they're made from / can they be hardened /  what they would be good for.. Most seem to be from "the billings and spencer co"

15 minutes ago, G-ManBart said:

I just picked it up recently and still need a few pieces of steel for the stand I'm going to fabricate for it, so I haven't used it at all.  

That thing is gorgeous.. Someday ill have one too :P. I'm waiting until i'm good enough to make it matter, so a ways off still i imagine :P.

10 hours ago, G-ManBart said:

I think it's really cool, but my anvil budget is pretty much blown after buying a new 330lb Refflinghaus a few weeks ago.

tell me more about this reffflinghaus.... Thats the anvil i want to buy some day. I'm rocking an old Peter wright and Sodorfors right now 86lb and 130lb respectively. 

12 hours ago, Lou L said:

I just saw one on Craigslist with the heel broken off 2/3 of the way through the hardy hole.  The poster described it as "a small chip out of the back of the anvil".  Then he proceeded to ask big money for it.  These are many levels more pitiful.  Got my sights on what looks to be a thick 5-6" post vice though.  The poster is asking $45 because the bar for the handle is missing.

Ugh i wish i had your luck with post vices. I've been really lucky with anvils but i've been searching craigslist and hit lots of old barn / estate sales looking for one. The cheapest i've run across so far is 200 for a decent post vice. This is the one big thing that i'm really missing right now in my setup

Hit up an estate sale this weekend to look at a post vice they had, ended up being wayy too expensive but found these goodies for next to nothing

All the files were in more or less good shape plus a couple farriers rasps in there. 

and got a piece of 1/4 inch steel plating that's 52" by 18".. going to be half of my new welding table i'm building

17 hours ago, Mikey98118 said:

A natural gas line into your garage will require a building permit, and a certified plumber doing the work. Problem is, this is likely to only be the beginning; if you are pounding steel enough to need a 100 lb. tank changed very often, you have already come to people's notice, so with the final inspection, don't be surprise from a visit by your Fire Marshal, and a whole lot more trouble...

Yeah i'm thinking that might not be worth the hassle.. When i build my shop i'll probably just do a big above ground propane tank or something and get it done by the propane company. No point in chasing natural gas if it's going to be too much of a hassle and then i move my forging away from my house anyways.

2 hours ago, Jackdawg said:

Can you get the shop tank topped up when they come and fill the wife's kitchen tank ? Or do they only refill the stationery tanks?

we have a natural gas line into the house from the city so no tank. But i thought about putting in a stationary on the side of the house potentially. I would need to talk to them to see if its worth it.

2 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

As I recall the fill is at a higher price when they bring it to you. It's easy to load and unload a tank at my shop. I probably will just fill it as needed when I go to town...

I was thinking of getting a big enough tank that you couldnt load / unload and then get a discount on the bulk purchase.. I need to go talk to them to see if it's even worht it but that's what we do at the farm. 

13 hours ago, Frosty said:

Propane also delivers more BTUs per gallon and is a LOT more portable. Imagine wanting to take your natural gas forge to a hammer end for a weekend. 

I run a 100lb. tank in the shop and use a 40lb. one for going portable. I've pretty much switched my forge over to multiple outlet (ribbon) burners and they get much better economy. However that is in MY forge with MY home made burners doing what I do so no telling how my setup would work for you.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

Yeah i'm just trying to figure out what is most effecient for my purpose. I want to be able to go to the garage, flick it on and be hammering as fast as possible, hence the switch to gas. I think i will also run at least a 100lb tank since there is a propane company right down the road from me i might even look at getting a bigger one that i have them come and fill every x often, then just have a small 40lb or so tank that i keep filled for when i need to take it somewhere.. All just thoughts at this point but i'm working with the guy now on getting my new propane forge.

7 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

Yes this is basically "what kind of gas mileage will I get driving, I have a 4 cylinder car..."

I generally budget 1 bbq sized tank for an eight hour day of classes and expect to have some left over for "personal use" running a two burner 10" diameter pipe 16 inches long propane forge, no forge welding in class!

Nice, so i texted the guy also to ask who's building the forge and he basically told me this same. His 2 burner which he's making will do about 8-10 hours but his single burner is ~12 hours. I appreciate the feedback!

This helps a lot. Naturally i didnt want to make any decisions on my own without some info on this since it's regarding gas and potentially explosive material.. I guess my short term plan will then be just to use the propane burner for the time being and my long term goal will be to start putting together a natural gas one with a blower.. Thanks a ton for the info.

Also, how long will a "normal" size propane tank last for forging? There is actually a propane company right down the road from my house where i can get bigger propane tanks and i think big supplies for cheaper if wanted so i want to see what kind of forging time i can get with a standard tank so i know if i need to upsize or not... at first i believe i'll just be running a 1 burner forge.

So i tried searching about this topic but had no luck. It's somewhat specific and maybe i'm dumb for asking but i dont know enough about the difference in properties between natural gas and propane..

Anyways the question is if i have a propane burner forge, can i just get a drop for my natural gas line into my garage and simple plug and play the natural gas line into the propane forge and have it work? Are there other considerations when doing this? are there big downfalls of natural gas vs propane or vice versa?

I've been toying with the idea of doing that since natural gas is very cheap and i wouldnt have to refill a tank ever. 

1 minute ago, ThomasPowers said:

I've found several anvils talking with folks at church

Listen to the man! I just picked up an amazing condition Sodorfors for free from a friend of my fathers at their church after getting the word out to them only a week and a half ago.

If you post your location in your profile i'm sure there are a handful of people on the site that will be willing to help you out. Welcome

10 hours ago, Frosty said:

Mortising mine into a spruce block and bedding it on a number of different things didn't effect the ring significantly. Magnets and chain helped some. The steel stand made it okay.

Right angle grinder with a cup brush to clean it up and a rust preventative something. I used wax and it kept it pretty nice for years. Next time I clean and wax it I'll use Trewax applied to the anvil at about fresh coffee hot my favorite finish. Various polymerizing oils work nicely just giving it a wipe down with an oily rag now and again works too.

Oh paint does  good job of keeping the rust off.

Frosty The Lucky.

Definitely not going to paint it, but i have some wire brush attachments for my grinders and my big dremmel. I'll hand brush and see how that goes first, but if it's not doing to my liking i'll hit it with the dremmel wire brush probably.. I'm thinking wd-40 or some boiled linseed oil rub down will suffice since i've seen both mentioned and have both laying around in my garage

2 hours ago, JHCC said:

When I went from a wooden stand to a metal tripod, I was shocked at the difference it made. Adding silicone just amplified (ha, ha) the damping effect. 

Wait, you mean the metal stand rang less? 

4 minutes ago, Scrambler82 said:

At the moment I am s little under the  wheather but I will try for tomorrow !

ltr

no rush!

13 minutes ago, Scrambler82 said:

On my PW - 162, I am using what came with it, two pieces of heavy walled Right Angle Steel, both the width of the Anvil and one on each end... under the heel and under the horn; without the angled steel it rings a lot, with them it is a quiet !

When I picked it up I tried the Ball Peen Hammer Test, it didn't ring at all, just a dull thud, I got worried and asked for a wrench to release her from her bonds...  bing bam it rings !

So what I am saying is, if you don't want the lump of chain around the neck of the Anvil, which I do not want, try different clamping methods, maybe some of the Silicone under the Anvil too.

Silence is not always Golden !

Can you post a pic of that?

ill probably hand brush it first and see how i think of it. I'll post some more pics

But but...dirt D= lol

I mean on the sides and by the feet :P.. the face will polish up nicely after tomorrow probably after forgin

The chain made a hugeee difference on my peter wright that rings like crazy. i mean night and day. It's a pretty massive chain though, thickness wise

how would you suggest getting the surface rust / oxidation and dirt off it then?