I'm brand new here, and just getting ready to start smithing. Hope to hammer my first steel this coming weekend. Not quite done with my set up. Need to get some piping to go from the blower to the forge and arrange things just right, and I'll be set.
The anvil is 110# Columbian. Got it at a farm auction a month or so ago. $85. I haven't tried a ball bearing, but a hammer bounces very nicely and it sounds great. Also got a beautiful Columbian 504 1/2 vise at that auction for $35. I need a better stump, but that one was handy and should hold me for a while.
I have two Champion 400 blowers, given to me by two different friends. Both were seized up with rust, but I got the shorter one going great, bent the crank out to its proper position, and put a new wooden handle on it.
One of the aforementioned friends gave me these two Hardy hole pieces. The smaller one is too big for my hole so I need to file it down at some point.
That same friend also gave me the two tongs and the straight peen hammer.
Last but not least, that same friend gave me the forge table. It is a heavy, cast iron beast. My brother helped me fix it up yesterday. We put a new clinker trap door (is there a proper name for it?) on the bottom, drilled out and reattached the part that the blower pipe goes in where the ball valve thing is, and put three new brackets to hold the fire pan on to the table.
PPE, another straight peen hammer, and a book with 40 beginner products will be here tomorrow.
Today I picked up 40# of antracite coal, a heavy ball peen hammer, some steel chisels, and some bar and flat stock.
I'll get the new blower air piping this week and make something (I'm thinking a fire poker/rake thingee for my first one) this weekend.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or critique.