gburgsmith

Frosty, 

That was pretty much my motivation on this project. Needed a hold fast, made one. 

Makes sense to shape them to what's needed at the time. I'll likely need a swaged bar holder next, so that'll be the next tool. 

Cheers, 

Zach 

Goods, 

No worries, I think your question is definitely valid and I'm interested to hear any input as well. 

This hold fast is an expedient tool for the bottle opener I was working on and is based on a simple design I found online. Adding a v or notch would be little work an may be advantageous.

Looking forward to further thoughts. 

Cheers, 

Zach

I made a hold fast as part of the day. Pretty pleased with the results. 

Cheers, 

Zach 

Just got my post vise, Chris. 

Made this attempt at a stand today. It's not as stable as I would like, but I think I'll be adding another steel plate like the ones I have now as a counter weight stand. 

Obviously the plan is to bolt it down eventually, but I need it portable for now. 

This little beauty jumped in my truck this afternoon. 

Threads are in great condition (to my eye), screw box is looking okay. A little bent. Jaws are good. Everything came apart with no issues (except the thrust washer on the screw box, the slot has been shrunken/bent, but the washer moves freely). 

Overall very pleased and excited to start cleaning with the wire wheel. 

Cheers, 

Zach

Woowee!

I took it at 4.25" and 100 coils, to be conservative. My eyes got lost counting the coils on the Pic. Didn't think to count while I was out there. 

I think by the formula you posted, Chris, I'm sitting on 110 feet of steel? Not great at math, haha. 

Cheers, 

Zach

The business I run with my dad and brothers deals in overhead doors among other things. So, upon liberating the drive tube from a worn out specimen, this followed me home. 

3lb Hammer for scale. 

Plus the drive shaft.

I think I might be good on spring steel for a while. 

Cheers, 

Zach 

Thanks very much for the welcome.

Its very difficult to see in the pictures I have, but yes, it's a Peter, not a Henry.  From what my dad's cousin (my second cousin?) was saying, it's been on the family farm since his great grandfather's time at least. I'm glad to have given it a new home and some work. Just wish he would have sold me the 16 x 16 swage block he has as well.

No plans to touch it as yet. My one worry is a couple of deep gouges in the face that might mar work in the future, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I'm pretty happy with the acquisition thus far.

Thanks for the encouragement!

Hello all. New around here, but have been diligently reading through a lot of great material.

Here's my first real anvil, bought from my Dad's cousin, before and after clean up with a wire brush. Seen a lot of use to this point in its life, I think. I may end up doing something to the chipped area in the future, but per the "mistakes to avoid" guide, I'll let it be for the recommended year before making any decisions. It's worked well for a few projects so far.  Any opinions on some light grinding to get rid of the dings on the face, or same deal there?

Glad to be part of the forum and looking forward to learning as much as possible.