4elements

It appears to me to be an "Acme" anvil as used by Wile E. Coyote. primarily suitable for dropping off of a cliff. As I mentioned above I have one, and I don't recommend them to anyone. There is another thread on this forum where welding a hard face is discussed and the consensus IIRC was that it would take an experienced welder knowledgeable in welding cast iron and the cost of the welding rods and labor would exceed the price of a quality anvil. Please don't let the fact that you now have this one keep you from seeking out something more suitable. All that said I am still using mine after I "heat treated" the face. I went over the entire face with an oxy/acetylene rosebud torch, heating about 1in x 1 1/2in area at a time to a bright orange and immediately quenching with a garden hose, then overlapping the next area 50% until I covered the whole face. The result was a surface hardened to about 3/16 in thick (without knowing if that is even and consistent across the whole) that gives me about a 50% rebound with a dropped bearing. That's not great but it is better than I started with. I have no way to tell exactly what I accomplished as far as altering the metal structure. There are 3 or 4 possibilities that I can think of: 1. white cast iron 2. nodular cast iron 3. malleable cast iron 4. decarburized to an unknown degree. The uncertainty leads me to not recommend this as a method of redeeming a cast iron ASO, however if you wanted to repeat the experiment I would be interested in the results to see if they are repeatable. I for one will not try to get another ASO just to try that out. And if I did have opportunity to do another I would approach it differently. I would prop the ASO up on its heel and build a stack of clay or brick around it so it was similar to a bloomery with the anvil face as one side and try for decarburizing the entire face to steel in a single operation. I have no idea if that would succeed, but I am a curious man by nature. Bottom line, there are many better alternatives in non traditional anvils. Go find one for forging, and experiment with the ASO or use it as Frosty suggested.

the flat topped horn looks exactly like my Grizzly cast iron ASO. I ground the horn but it took hours with a heavy grinder. I have to go back to work now. I'll pick this up later

Gunn, modern. The brooch is a ring of cow bone sawed from the largest end i could find (and keep from the dogs) with a piece of deer antler.

Yeah welcome 93. You're the same age as my son, but we still don't know where you are located. Local clubs and individuals can help so much, so give us the means to point you in a useful direction

I took a selfie this morning wearing my kilt. While it certainly isn't blacksmithing attire, there is a connection. This Great Kilt is 3yds of tartan which cost at the time US$60 per yd. I had just started smithing but didn't have extra cash for the purchase so I made 2 Sgian Dubh (a small knife usually worn in the hose) and traded them to a kilt shop. I made them distinguished by chasing knot work designs in the annealed blades and brazing over the cuts. After hardening I ground away the excess brass leaving only the inlaid designs. I'm sorry I no longer have pictures of the knives to show. someday I'll do more.

Yes, but on a rotating basis. One pair this week, the other pair next week. They last twice as long that way

I was going to say something but realized it wasn't oblique enough to stay within the rules. Something about a UNIXcorn, nevermind. I did memorize The Cremation of Sam McGee, which was always a hit with Boy scouts at winter camps.

I'll have to get a picture of me in my kilt to post, but its definitely not something I would wear around hot metal. also I wish I hadn't misplaced my book of Service's poems. Lots of fun stuff.

I try to get to every monthly event I can, which are usually held in Longview wa. These generally have an instructive demo and an open forge time. Yes, the website seems to have less forum traffic than here but that doesn't mean nothing is happening. I find it very worth my time including a 3 hr drive each way. NWBA is a regional organization and the region is large. Some events are held in Oregon too

blacksmith.org is the NWBA web site

Another read you might like, just for fun and in keeping with your user name is "How McPherson Held the Floor", a poem by Robert Service.

I'm 3 mi south of town. Have you heard of the Northwest Blacksmith Association? There are smiths all over. Check out blacksmith.org. I'm a hobby Smith with limited time and tools, but I'm totally addicted and I'm really glad I've found IF I and NWBA to shorten my learning curve.

Hi Scott. Looks like you live in my neighborhood

Don't worry, plenty of other people on this forum will joke about donuts for you. Come to Swaptoberfest and see what you're missing. go to blacksmith.org for info

Methinks you armed yourself with twisted humor

I know monel doesn't tarnish, but around here green slime grows on everything

it's black, you smote it. You're a blacksmith. The level of your experience doesn't deny you the title

He judged the temp by rubbing a wood stick on the piece. If it left a good black mark that didn't then burn off, it was the right temp. So, no mark or too light a mark is too cold, and a mark that burns off and disappears is too hot. the aim is 400F to 700F IIRC. Also not all alloys are suitable As for the ball on the dome, I didn't have my climbing equip with, so I could only get the shot at a distance. I didn't see any shininess, but that could be the angle of the light, or patina from the years of exposure. My guess is that it's about 3 to 4 ft diameter, with no real basis than "it looks like that from here ".

...And body piercing. Electrical can only do body cooking.

I went to the NWBA monthly demo and open forge in Longview WA yesterday. Demo was on hot forging aluminum. and for Frosty I stopped at the WA capitol on my way home to get a picture of the ball on the top of the dome as mentioned above.

Ok, ice (snow)house. Skyline Lake above Stevens Pass. Everett wouldn't look this good even if it did get 8ft of snow.

You guys are so hung up on the moon, the sun and the polarity of the earth, you've totally missed the feminine influences. A perfect forge weld can always be achieved when Venus transits Virgo

Stick and tarp is just for summer, for winter its igloos . too bad my phone won't post pictures or I'd show you Stevens pass last December

Humphreymachine, could you try a sample flatware handle like Kozzy suggested and take a picture?

could the shoulders on the tongs be useful for keeping a ring in place when the tongs are open?