Randy Griffin

Prayers and condolences for you and your family.

Is that motor fan cooled? Sounds like the fan hitting the shroud.

Give us some pictures. We love looking at anvil pictures. All angles.

Post some more pictures. Sometimes an anvil can be id'ed by certain features. Let's see both sides, top, under the horn and heel and of coarse the bottom of the foot. I never get tired of looking at pictures of anvils.  

Cast iron ASO. A good boat anchor.

Mud - what you have when you add too much water to your Adobe.

Thanks everyone. Surgery went well. The doc got all the tumors and some other stuff he couldn't have seen without the new technology he was using yesterday. Still in a lot of pain but got plenty of pills that help with that. 4 shots of morphine didn't knock it out completely yesterday but made me very nauseous last night. The continuous burning I've had for the last few months is gone this morning. Looking forward to getting back in the shop and see how long I can hold up now that it's gone. Of coarse that's at least a week away. Keep praying. I'll need it. I grow these tumors pretty fast.

Guys, I need your prayers again so bend a knee, ring the anvil or send knee mail. I'm going into surgery again in a few hours to remove more tumors from my bladder. This is the third time and with your prayers, maybe the last. I'm hoping one more round of treatments and I will be cancer free.

4 hours ago, Benona blacksmith said:

Absolutely not. Cast iron ASO's are dangerous as is an anvil that's too hard.

Yeah, bad example to get my point across. Should have said maybe we're paying too much for London patterns when we can get good anvils for cents a pound at the scrap yard.

However, I believe good anvils with good rebound help most people. When you've been doing this as long as some, maybe rebound is not so important. If you can swing your hammer with enough force and accuracy, you could forge on a piece of wood.

I, on the other hand, need all the help I can get.

13 hours ago, basher said:

I have found rebound and anvil hardness to be irrelevant when it comes to results from forging hot material.

So, does this mean those cast iron aso's we all steer clear of are actually worth their weight in gold? Or rather $4-$6 per lb. like some of the more cherished names?

Sounds like a great place to live with a lot of family history.

Some how I missed this. Glad to hear he's doing better. Get out there and help him in the garden.  

And, No, don't stop praying. We all need it more than we know.

I saw the second video last year. Well, part of it. I turned it off.

I haven't watched any of his videos since.

2 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Now to braid my beard....

Do you have one of those beads to put in the braid?

41 minutes ago, Tim Lively said:

Ohio, I looked at a lot of smiths around the third world populations for inspiration and noticed that most sit while forging. The Japanese usually work on their knees. I can't do that. I kills my back and my knees.

I'm thinking about trying the sitting. I have arthritis in my knees and bladder cancer so can't hold out for long. I could get a lot more done sitting. I can even lower my jabod. What is the correct height for your anvil when sitting?

I chose to burn my charcoal the semi direct way and got about 50/50. Just covered the drum and let it go out. I used pine and it burns hotter than anything I've used yet and I have no sparks and very little smoke. I can start my fire and be hammering hot metal in less than 5 min. I have an unlimited supply of pine. I can stand at the barn a see at least 10 dead pines.

Thanks Pnut. I've got that bookmarked to read tonight.

How'd it work out? I'm making one now but grinding the urasuki the hard way. I cut a wooden radius and glued emery cloth to it.

Steve, have you tried grinding a urasuki on a single bevel with it. I bet it would be great for that.

I made charcoal the week I was on vacation. I have a 55 gallon drum almost full. I don't mind piling it on now.  

I think you need more fuel. If the trench is 4" deep, pile the fuel 4" above the top of the trench and your hot spot should get a lot bigger.

I don't fish for fun. That costs money. Eating is what it's all about. So, dynamite sounds good to me.

Ever heard of telephoning?  

METAL DETECTOR.

Need I say more?

There are old homesteads everywhere. I used to hate digging old chains because they sound so good when you find them. Not any more. A lot of those are wrought. Lots of good metal at old homesteads.

In a hour I can dig more iron and steel than I can carry.

Then you get the occasional coin or other bauble to keep things interesting.

Old logging railroad spurs from the turn of the century. 20th century that is. 5 gallon bucket of 100+ year old rr spikes in a half mile. There's two within a half mile of my house.

I have no idea how many old axe heads I have dug in the last 15 years.

Sometimes you just have to work for it a little.

Again, go to the forges section, solid fuel forges and read the jabod thread. It's going to take you a while to go through the whole thread but will be beneficial to you. All the answers are in there.

Good luck.

Get you some runner ducks. Best eggs I ever ate and they lay everyday. Best layers I got.