humphreymachine

Is that number 42 cast into the metal or painted on using a stencil? If it is cast in then almost certainly it is cast iron. I can’t imagine that a chunk like that would have needed to be cast steel. I have a handful of large chunks of metal kicking around none of which I had a clear use for when I came upon them but uses become evident with time. At its most basic you have a great surface for straightening/flattening long piece of stock and an upsetting block if you leave it lying on the floor. I could see making several round shank hardies to put in one hole and a ‘V’ shaped hardie to put in the other which would support the stock and keep it from shifting. Nice find!

My 300 pounder is 30.5 inches long by 13.75 inches high. 19 x 5.25 inch table. 1 .5 inch hardie hole.

Thanks Jim. I like your idea as well and will give it a try on my Peter Wright with its irregular hardie hole.

Good idea and easier to forge the angle iron to a thinner cross section if need be. It would still be advantageous to use a piece long enough to rest on my anvil stand – no chance of it going anywhere.

This seems almost too simple to mention but I thought I’d share how I use small shank hardies in my large 1 ½ inch hardie holed anvil. I was, as I’ve seen elsewhere, going to make short sleeves, cut down at the corners several inches and fold down the four sides so that they rest on the anvil’s top. When I noticed that the square tubing I intended to use could rest on the wood base for my anvil it seemed far easier and in some ways preferable to use simple straight pieces of square tubing as sleeves. With this method the hardie rests on the anvil’s surface rather than the sleeve’s sides. Some of the sleeve’s walls have been forged thinner at the end to accommodate hardies which did not fit well in the tubing as it was. I also have a Peter Wright anvil with a one inch hardie hole which I hope to make sleeves for to accommodate ¾ inch shank hardies. The Peter Wright’s hardie hole seems quite tapered and rather irregular so sleeving will not be as easy.

I have a 300 pounder manufactured in 1915. It purportedly came out of a mill in Pennsylvania. I recently saw a 500 pounder and boy did it look more than 200 larger than my 300 although the proportions were a little odd. Not that tall but very long.

Pictured are several swage blocks around my shop. The tall thin example served some task specific function in the smith shop of a paper mill. The little 8.5 x 8.5 inch block also appears task specific but for what - a smith making carver’s gouges? The large block is fairly generic and measures 18 inches square. The 12 inch square block secured to a large bearing support casting came in handy while bending a right angle in several ¾ x 2 ½ inch pieces. I don’t have a vice securely enough mounted for that task and bending in the block seemed easier anyway.

I would have loved to own them but he sold them for good money. More than I could justify.

These belonged to a friend of mine. Both are 24 inches square. The closer example reminds me of Swiss cheese. I really liked the unusual half rounds seen on the upper right of the rear block.

I have a 300lb Fisher and unfortunately do not feel as confident as Stuarthesmith about really pounding on hardies or that end of the anvil. While I love the sound deadening properties of the Fisher’s steel on cast iron construction that same construction makes me weary of its ability to hold up as well as a forged anvil of the same size. A lightly used anvil should last for many generations to come. One that is worked to the limit will almost certainly not last as long.

Very nicely built! Thank you for posting. What HP motor does it require to run a press of that size?

Great idea. I’m really digging the press as well. I guess I need to start following that section of the forum. A great alternative to a large power hammer for some uses for us home shop guys who are trying our best not to irritate the neighbors. Can you share a shot of your press?

This may be a little more involved/time consuming than most want to undertake but I wanted to at least attempt a legal code compliant installation for they can be fairly strict in my community. I headed others advice that minimum 10 inch diameter pipe should be used. New double insulated 10 inch pipe and flashing kits etc are quite pricy so I spent about six months searching out used stock on CL finally finding some for a very fair price. These older section have a 14 inch outside diameter and were quite heavy. Rolling them up the ladder and lifting the upper pieces into place was no easy feat. The excess weight also necessitated building a sturdy angle iron bracket/hanger for them to rest on. The chimney cap was a total fluke find in the metal bin at my town’s landfill---designed for the same diameter pipe --- with enough open space not to noticeably effect draft –and with a cool industrial look ---I was happy! The uninsulated 10 inch pipe came from a plumbing supply house and the large ‘hood’ is a piece of used ventilation ducting which I was lucky to find and fit the forge perfectly. I would have preferred to leave the hood open on the sides but found that it smoked without the extra sheet metal – particularly when lighting the fire. The front flap hinges upward for larger or angled pieces and the end piece is held in place by the coal making removal easy for long pieces. I learned through trial and error that the top of the front flap should be inside the hood when closed otherwise some smoke would find its way out. This installation took quite a bit of patience and scrounging but the result was a safe, weather proof, good drawing chimney and a smokeless shop. I was also strongly considering an inline exhaust fan which I think is another rout to a truly smokeless shop.

Years ago I forged some quarter inch thick by two inch wide stock by heating it in my parent’s fireplace (don’t tell them), a woodstove should be even better! It just won’t be as hot or as quick as a blower fanned flame.

I don’t mind the paint. I was expecting an even coat of new grey which wouldn’t be pretty but this has a vintage time worn industrial look. I know a furniture restorer who uses a workbench mounted to a barber’s chair base. It gives him great flexibility. Lower it to work on the top of a chest or raise it to work on its feet. I think the oil can come out of these if not careful.

How do you guys treat roof flashing on these large diameter spiral pipe? I also assume that you live in places where snooping building inspectors are not a problem. Code will often require double insulated pipe at wall or roof penetrations.

Pictured are several items I recently received from a fiend who was scrounging this stuff long before I became interested in smithing. The large 6 x 6 x 36 inch swage block and accompanying hammer came out of a Fitchburg Mass paper mill. With the two indentations it was clearly designed for a task specific purpose. Machinery crank shafts? collars? Etc? It shows evidence of having been machined with an iron planer on all sides so this was clearly a well finished and precise tool when new. It could still come it handy for straightening square bars or flat stock on its sides. The roller was found in a Nelson New Hampshire barn cellar and is marked Kinsley I & M Co Canton Mass 3. It is slightly larger than those more commonly found by this manufacturer. The two six inch moveable rolls are unfortunately missing. The originals I believe are cast iron with steel or wrought iron pins cast into the ends. The calking and bolt heading step vise is marked B B Noyes & Co Greenfield Mass and has jaws(one missing) for forging ¼ 5/16 & 3/8 bolt heads. There is an adjustable stop below the jaws for different length bolts. Anyway --- I love seeing photographs of others shops and finds and thought I’d share these.

You don’t see too many hammers come up for sale in New England. You could spend a lot on gas chasing something else. Love that its made locally!

So the other day I wet down the coal around the perimeter of my fire to keep it’s size contained and the second I started to crank my blower there was a deafening explosion/backfire in the three foot or so tin pipe connecting my blower and forge. Apparently the addition of water and the resulting steam pressure forced coal gas down into the air supply pipe and as soon as I started to push it up into the fire it ignited. Needless to say—it startled the XXXXX out of me! Has anyone else had this experience? I know that it can be a problem in coal stoves.

I went with 10 inch chimney pipe which works well once the fire is up and running. I found that adding removable tin shrouds helps reduce the intake of ambient air in areas which do not improve draw and helps increase the intake of ambient air in areas where it positively affects draw. Not super good looking but it works! Unfortunately larger diameter insulated chimney pipe is very expensive. It took me six months of searching Craig’s List and a two hundred mile drive to secure a collection of used 10 inch insulated pipe and the all important roof flashing kit. Saved me a bundle though so it was worth it.

I had a fantasy of the suspended industrial style forge hood open on all sides but like others here found that the draw was poor. After much experimentation I found that adding tin on three sides was the only way to achieve a smokeless shop. The rear shield is the only fixed piece. The front hinges upward(its upper edge is INSIDE the hood when closed) and the two pieces on the forge’s right side are held in place by the coal/coke and are easily removed for heating longer pieces of iron. While not super attractive, I now have a smokeless shop except for the few wisps which escape when first lighting. The hotter the fire the better the draw and when the work merits a hot fire the front shield can be lifted up and the side panels removed and still no smoke in he shop. The chimney pipe is ten inches in diameter and has proven capable of drawing all fumes and smoke even when the blower in running at full capacity. The hood was a recycled piece of sheet metal ducting I was luck to scrounge—though it probably would be preferable to have the hood slope uniformly up to the chimney rather than flat on top like mine. The sketch I included is an idea I had for a removable shroud to use when a small fire is all that is needed when using a forge with a telescoping hood. The shroud could be placed directly on the coal and the hood lowered down to mate with it. I haven’t tried it but it may work for small low draft fires? I have never seen a side draft hood in use but question how they can possibly work effectively when really cranking the blower to heat thick stock? Seems like the blower pressure would force smoke and fumes in directions other than sideways into the chimney?

These open far enough to use standard handled top swages---no striker needed. Has anyone tried it?

I’ve tried two of these blowers and had trouble with shorts tripping my breakers on both. Thought I was going to use a newer electric blower but hooked up my hand crank champion as an interim and it works so well I may stick with it. It’s amazing how quickly one can heat a 1 1/4 square inch bar and no risk of burning work when distracted. I start my coal fire with a small ball of paper and a small scoop of hardwood charcoal and it’s up and running before my arm has time to tire.

Boston & Maine Railroad forge shop North Billerica Massachusetts c 1910. It’s a little tough to discern in the image but each forge hood vents back to back forges and have a space in the middle with shelves. Each hood has hinged doors on either side. There was a railroad shop like this only older where I went to school in Oneonta New York. It was torn down in the mid 1990’s. I’m not sure when the B&MRR disposed of the shop in the photograph.

Here’s a 300 lb 1915 Fisher with some use wear but in overall pretty nice condition. I’ve had a 150 Peter Wright for years and prefer the idea of a forged anvil but for the sake of my neighbors I was intrigued by the reports that Fishers are quieter and indeed it is though I’d be reluctant to really wail on it with a large sledge because I’m skeptical that it can take it. The previous owner had a large piece of rough sawn 5 x 20 oak which he’d never got around to making a base with. I used a hand held power planer to smooth and true it , sawed it into four pieces and drilled it for through bolts. Next step is to mount tool holders.