Chelonian

I guess I'll keep it simple then, thanks! I'll see if I can find a nut that fits.

Hi, a couple months ago I got a 6.25" jaw post vise, and it was missing some parts: the spring, mounting plate, wedges, and nut for the pivot screw. I made all the replacement parts except for the nut, which I just didn't think was too important since the bolt stayed in fine without it. However, after stumbling across a thread on here about vises, I learned from one of jlpservices' posts that the pivot nut and bolt assembly is an important part of holding the tapered vise cheeks together. Having learned this, I would like to find some way to replace the nut. The threads on the original bolt are rather messed up near the end, so I'm not sure if there's enough good threads left to work with: What should I do? Is the original bolt salvageable, or do I need to make a replacement? The other bolt in the second photo is just a bolt of the same diameter. Thanks!

Really interesting video. Thanks for taking the time to make it!

Really nice looking hammer. Do you have a photo of the punch/punches used?

I'm interested in learning more about this as well. I've used a rather crude oval shaped punch on all the hammers I've made, but I like the idea of using a round punch. Is your method of punching the eye similar to how Torbjörn does it in the video linked below (minus the power hammer of course), or is it a different technique when working with a hand hammer?

Nice video Jennifer. I missed most of the herb hook portion of the competition in person, so it's nice being able to watch it now.

Looks great to me; certainly a lot better than the anvil I've been using for well over a year now, which is missing its entire heel and has several chunks missing from the edges. It still works for nearly everything though, especially with a few work-around tools I've made. You even have an intact hardy hole on yours, so all you need if you want perfect polished edges is to make an edge block to go into your anvil. That way you can have four different edges to use, each with a different radii ground into it.

I believe that's a Soderfors. Very nice anvil if it still has its hardness. How's the rebound tested with a ball bearing? If it isn't good, the anvil could have been through a fire and ruined the temper. Otherwise, I'd guess it's just the dirt deadening it.

I understand the frustration with some of the anvil prices, but two months really isn't that long in terms of finding good deals on these old tools. For instance, I've been looking for well over a year now for a good deal on an intact anvil, and I haven't come across one yet (my current anvil is missing its heel. Works fine for nearly everything, but it makes some processes take longer). As for tongs, you can just make them. There are ways to make them just holding the stock with your hand with long enough stock, so you don't need tongs to make tongs. I was lucky to have some old hammer heads that I could make handles for when I started, but if you really can't find an old one, a cheap hammer from HF or similar will work fine for forging once you dress the face.

I've been looking for a large chunk of steel with a hole to use as a hardy hole for well over a year now to go with my truncated anvil, without success. There just don't seem to be any scrapyards around here that let people buy the scrap.

120' of 1/2" round mild steel should be around 80lbs. EDIT: Beat me to it

I don't know a whole lot about the company, but they did make pretty good vises. Unfortunately, it looks like the rear jaw support is broken off on yours, just like my Wilton in my profile photo. Also, it looks like that originally might have been a model with a swivel base that has since been broken, but I'm not sure. I think during certain time periods Wilton bullets had their manufacturing dates stamped on the key of the slide, near the back. Might be worth looking anyways.

I use anthracite in my forge. I was not successful using my hand-crank blower in the beginning, so I switched to an electric one. My hand-crank blower is a Champion 400, which I believe is a larger type than the one in your photo, but perhaps other differences in our setups will allow it to work. (For instance, my forge is a side-blast)

My Wilkinson suffered a similar loss at one point in its life: Stamped weight of 213lb, now weighs 185lb. I've been using it for a little over a year now, and even without the heel it does most of what an intact anvil would. (At least with the addition of a few other tools to replace some of the missing features) Thomas, do you have a closer photo of the prosthetic hardy hole on yours? Is the square tubing just supported by the slant of the foot, or is there an added support? I'd like to add something similar to mine at some point. Thanks

It's definitely a cast anvil from the mold line, so my guess is that it's a Colombian. I can just barely make out the triangle on the side in which the "C" was originally cast. That combined with the radiused sweeps along the waist of the anvil that were pretty unique to Colombians makes me fairly confident. Still could be mistaken though.

If they were dies from a press I'd imagine they'd be some type of tool steel. The sparks from the grinder in your video don't look very high carbon, but there could be other alloying metals that don't noticeably change the spark characteristics.

I'm not sure on the brand for that one. The feet look like those of a Colombian, but it doesn't have their markings I suppose it could also be another Hay Budden, just the type with a separate steel face plate. Looks like a great anvil to me. The chipped edges aren't too big of a problem.

Really beautiful chisel. I hope one day to be able to make things of that quality. Looks like it would be a joy to use.

That anvil is in great condition; please don't clean it up with anything other than hot steel and maybe a wire brush. Any material removed from the thin face plate takes years if not decades of useful life from an anvil.

Yes, that's a Hay Budden, and in remarkable condition. Looks like the solid-steel upper half type as well. I can't read the serial number, but if you can I'm sure someone with a copy of AIA would figure out the year of manufacture. Really incredible anvil. Sure makes my broken-heel Wilkinson anvil that I've been using for the past year look sad.

Given the slight gap on the bottom (meaning it's not one piece), my guess is the horn broke off, and someone bored a hole into the end of the horn and jammed that extra piece in as a replacement.

The edges of step on the anvil look to be in good shape, so you can always use those if you are doing a set-down of some kind that needs a nice edge.

Sure looks like is says "RFP" to me as well

Please let me know what you think of it after using it for a while. It's one of the welders I'm considering.

If ~$100 (scrap price) is all you want for it, I'm pretty sure someone would very quickly buy it from you at that price. It would save you from bringing it to the scrapyard, and save an old machine.