Yanni Rockitz

Reaper.IWP -- That's a heck of a story. Glad you're ALIVE, brother. ;-) As someone who has used track for an anvil, I'll tell you it works just fine. You probably know this, but the whole buzz about needing to have a hardened face on your anvil is a fairly modern phenomenon -- and kind of a fallacy. Most RR track is about 1085, as I understand it. If you use it right -- i.e., only lay HOT (thus soft, in its hot state) stock on it and only hit the stock with your hardened hammer -- never hit the face of the anvil with the hammer (bouncing lightly is okay) -- then the only thing that 'hits' your anvil is softened stock that deforms. As long as what you're forging is softer than the anvil, it works and holds up. All the old-school anvils for many many hundreds of years going back in history were "soft" wrought iron and the most amazing iron work ever done (think European cathedrals, castles, etc.) and the very highest level of mastery attained in sword making was done on 'soft' anvils. One good thing about softer-faced anvils is that they're easier to re-dress with grinders and flap wheels when they get beat up -- or just cut a quarter inch off and start fresh. You can always get a taller stump or block to mount it on, if your piece of track gets shorter. Personally, I think everyone should squirrel away their pennies for the really nice classic 'real' anvil purchase some day -- a secret coffee can they never tell anyone else about and NEVER touch until they have enough for their dream anvil one fine day -- and use a hunk'a RR track in vertical orientation like this in the mean time -- or any of the twenty other things Charles mentioned -- like big chunks of 2" plate or shop 'drops', or just go get the biggest sledge hammer you can find, remove the handle and mount the head in a carefully-carved out recess in a good hardwood stump -- works fine. Hearing your story, I want you to get your smithy built, man -- take your time, slowly re-acquire what you need -- DO it! ;-)

I think THAT 'green' is the original color! There's significant debate out there about what the original factory color of the Champion blowers was -- no one seems to really know, definitively and all the old catalogs are black and white. My Champ 400 has a very faded-out blueish-green around some of the lettering and in the crevices -- 90% surface rust, but a teeny bit of what looks like this teal-green color in your pics. Can anyone confirm? Is that the ORIGINAL Champion / Lancaster factory color??? I'm asking because I'm going to resto mine back as close to original as possible and really wanted to get the original color identified.

A reasonable price is the lowest price you can find one for in a reasonable amount of time. Online sellers are going to be twice (or more) what you'll find a decent / old, but functional Champion 400 blower for from a blacksmith's event. There are some smithing associations that have annual events where they do tailgate equipment sales for far less $$ than you'll find this stuff selling for online. I looked for the past couple years -- couldn't find anything under $400 -- almost always with issues and missing important pieces -- then I connected with another smith who had one he was willing to part with for $275 -- all original, 100% complete -- with the tripod post stand which is often missing -- and everything works -- gears in good shape, just the typical surface rust and worn wood handle (all restorable) -- so I gladly gave him the $275 he was asking. I'd suggest you do your best to connect with other blacksmiths in your area and find local events where they sell stuff -- probably going to be your best bet. In terms of cost / value perspective, these things sold between $28 and $35 back in 1905. Adjusting for inflation, that money today is between $800-$1100 USD -- so imagine that's what one would cost new -- take half off for the age and wear -- this suggests $400-$500 is 'reasonable', but you can do better. Most of the established guys who got their gear back in the day will be horrified at those prices, but a thing is "worth" what someone will pay for it and if people are paying those prices, you've got a challenge finding one for less. When you do eventually find one, inspect the gears first, if possible -- especially the bronze gear that interfaces with the spiral worm gear on the shaft -- that one wears quicker than the rest. You want good full, sharp teeth. Be reeeeally careful taking it apart, if you decide to clean it out and fix it up. "Blacksmith Joey van der Steeg" has a good video series (long, but worth it) on how to do a full restoration on one -- as does Hand Tool Rescue, but watch out for people who stop the gears from turning by putting a screwdriver through them -- the bronze gear can bend and then you've ruined a nice antique. Also -- no heavy grease in the gears or bearings -- light oil works fine. Good luck!

"...and the gentleman threw in a Bufco blower ($25)" -- man -- -- some cats get ALL the canaries. I've been looking for a good hand-crank blower for ages and can't find anything under $300 anywhere near me (southern Maine), though I'm SURE there are plenty around -- they're just never for sale online. I need to get to know more local smiths... 90% of the ones on ebay are "Local pickup only" on the other side of the country and the nicer ones are at least $500. Stoopid supply and demand... Smithin' gear is STEEP these days. Don't even get me going about anvils! One begins to understand why so many guys get nifty with the repurposed boiler fans and whatnot.

How come I can't view any of these photos people have posted -- the links all appear broken -- error 404: File not found -- in Chrome, in Firefox... Anyone know? Do they expire after a while or something? It's like a 9 year old thread, I know, but would love to see everyone's pics!

Awesome — Thanks for the welcomes, fellaz. Looking forward to expanding my skills in the smithy!

I’m a 48 year old married dad in southern Maine. Beginner blacksmith. Always been a fan of good craftsmanship — whether it’s a home brewed beer, a bit of art or music, furniture or anything finely built — particularly musical instruments, tools and weapons. I’ve been fascinated by blacksmithing / bladesmithing in the last couple years and knew I had to do it, so when I found that rusty old farmer’s anvil in an antique shop, I had to have it. Now I’ve got a few different hammers, a bin full of steel to play with, a post vise and I’m almost finished building my new gas forge. I went through a phase last year, restoring old crosscut saws, axes and hatchets and I’ve gotten Into some leather work so I can make sheathes, scabbards, blade masks and whatnot. A lady down the street was moving out and gave me an 8 x 12 shed, which I had to disassemble and bring to the house in pieces. That’s going back up soon to be half of my new back yard forge and workshop. discussions on here have been very helpful and enlightening I appreciate you guys sharing your hard earned knowledge. What do you think? Do I sound like a guy who might fit into this crowd?

Crazy Ivan -- your diagonal peen hammer is legendary. Looks like Thorin the dwarf should be weilding it in his hall of fire. ;-) Regrettably, Crazy Ivan, Turbo, Metal Mangler, and Quint have not been to the site in a long time.