Charlotte

Excellent

Daswulf 's .02 cents is worth a lot more than that IMHO.   I've collected a bunch of hammers over the years.   Each one has its special characteristic  in shape, weight and balance. To this day I still prefer one of the first hammers I acquired.  I paid $2.00 that day It was used by the CCC prior to WW2 I have dressed the face and the pein and rehandled a couple of times.  I got it at a country auction around 1961.  The prior owner worked for the CCC  (Civilian Conservation Core).  My # 2 hammer is a Hofi Hammer bought here.

It seems to me that a $140 driving hammer custom made for a Farrier  might be justified.  They have special requirements for their work.  For general beating on iron the hammer is chosen mostly by what seems to fit the job you are doing atm. Personally I spread the same money over a number of hammers.   

I was talking to a corporate VP and he interrupted to my answer to his elementary question  with " I Know"  I responded to his eruption with " If you knew the answer you wouldn't have asked the question"   My career did not prosper after that. 

Gave me a lot of satisfaction at the time though. 

Hardies I've always used what ever Jack Hammer bit was available.  driven punches I use cheap import sets for non critical sizes.  Hot work carving or exact hole dimensions I use H13 because I can forge or grind thinner and more precisely with the expectation tool will hold its shape.  I have also spoiled more than one piece of H13 by over heating while forging. 

1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said:

First thing to invest in when doing stage combat or re-enactment swords is a million dollar liability insurance policy; usually the metal is the cheapest part....

Actually,  the above applies to a lot of work done by independent craftspeople.  Product Liability adheres to a lot of smith work.   

1 hour ago, Steve Sells said:

wow Honey boo-boo got an anvil

I used a tool very similar to that to stretch brake springs when changing shoes. 

The above MFG calls their blanket

INSWOOL-HP BLANKET

INQUIRE

Ceramic Fiber
BlanketIron
Steel
Ferrous Foundry
Copper/Nickel and other
EEC
Cement/Lime
Glass
 INSWOOL-HTZ BLANKET

INQUIRE

Ceramic Fiber
BlanketIron
Steel
Ferrous Foundry
Copper/Nickel and other

Ceramic blanket is the usual term when talking to Mffg.  There are different grades according to temp ratting.   Depending of your intended max heat and time at heat different strengths are required. 

To the best of my knowledge Kast-o-Lite is not a cement but a refractory clay composite. The above is from product catalogue http://www.anhrefractories.com/refractory-products

One inch thick refractory  cement is way thick.  Cement is not the same thing as refractory liner.  A thin coating will last as long or longer than a thick coating.  Most folks apply a coating of hardener to the inside surface followed by thin coatings of cement and reflective coatings.  Frosty  recommends, and I have found that a piece of ceramic kiln shelf in the bottom works well to ease the wear and tear.

Cobalt Drills are a good investment when drilling alloy steels. I keep three sets to drills.  One hardware store quality for wood and casual handyman work.  A better quality of highspeed steel with better sharpening for mild steel.   Cobalt drills bought one at a time from machine shop supply houses.  The above suggestions need to be followed carefully.

Your wife is very fortunate to have such a lovely gift.   I know she is extremely pleased!

Forging is usually done on about 6" long area at one time.  Long pieces tend to bend.   One of my friends builds beds with Iron head and foot boards.  He lays out his pattern on a platen table, puts clamps and fixed points at critical points then bends the pieces with a big propane heating torch to his pattern.  Even heavy stock bends like candles left out in the hot sun when heated. 

I've seen vids of a big time famous sculptor bending long pieces from a long oven but he had a crew to help him handle the long red hot spaghetti.   

http://www.pineridgeburner.com/

And still he/she stands

His/her brow is wet with honest sweat,
He/ she earns whate'er we can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
 and wonders that so few understand

Read the Info on the supplier site.   but length seems a little long for even heat

Acetylene produces a hotter flame because of the energy stored in the triple bond between the two carbon atoms.  Unit cost of propane is substantially less than acetylene pre BTU.

I use the same tips for silver soldering and brazing that I use with acetylene  when doing small, pinpoint, jobs.   The metallic working end units of acetylene equipment can be used with propane but they don't work as well.

If I had invested in propane equipment I would use the same brand tips provided by the manufacturer.  For larger jobs I have seen hard silver solder joints in stainless steel done with propane air, Turbo torch, units.

All things in fuel rigs depend on exactly what you are doing to determine what the best is

Whimsy,  I love your vision.

Mild steel works adequately for many purposes.  Tongs made with better grades of steel tend to be lighter.   But starting out you can work for a long time with mild steel. There are many examples of people making small but serviceable tongs out of railroad spikes.   People have also made tongs with rebar.   If you have access to a welding machine people often forge the jaws from heavier stock and weld on lighter handles. 

Peabody Energy, one of the world's biggest producers of coal, has warned that it is at risk of going bankrupt in the very near future, thanks to a lack of "sufficient liquidity to sustain operations and to continue as a going concern" caused largely by the continuing downturn in the coal mining industry.

In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, the US-based producer said: "There can be no assurance that our plan to improve our operating performance and financial position will be successful." Peabody has undertaken a huge program of cost-cutting in recent years to stave off a massive crash in the price of the commodity.

The above appeared in a business article today.

Many of us have experienced difficulty is obtaining "smithing grade coking coal"    It actually looks like our difficulties will continue to increase.  I posted this for your information.

40 minutes ago, Nobody Special said:

A thin steel hook works well for catching chickens by the legs in the open. Works best with three or for young'uns to drive the chickens.

Grandad used  coat hanger.  He was kind of sneaky,  They never knew they were on the way to dinner until it was too late.

Forging Carver  you missed the point.   With that plate he can bend around a variety of different points.   He can add additional points as he needs them by drilling more holes.

13 minutes ago, EricJergensen said:

IR is more than just tiring on your eyes. IR will damage your eyes. Various IR frequencies damage corneas (cataracts), lenses (worse!) and retinas (yikes!). As noted, didymium does not block IR, but it will make you *feel* comfortable staring into a forge and getting a pretty stout IR dose.

I personally use #3 and judge heat against the ambient color of the forge. I'm not really looking at color, just relative intensity.

I suspect that a brief look into a forge will not do damage, but it's sometimes hard not to just stare. And, for something like welding heat it's pretty hard to get by with just a glance.

I totally agree and would like to add that since the human eye has tricks in evaluating color, if you start with #3 shade welding safety glasses in polycarbonate material, you will have a consistent evaluation of color.  Polycarb safety glasses absorb both UV  and Ir

Not all Peanut Oil is really peanut oil.  I have friends that have gotten caught out  with Oil that flashed when frying turkeys when the temperature said it should be ok.  Suspect that it was adulterated with cotton seed oil.   

Really, the recommendations by the knifemakers  to use real quench oil are what I would follow.  The only benefit of using grocery store oils is convenience.  Since veg oils go rancid quickly when exposed to air and grow things in the long run well thought out quench tanks and purchases of commercial oil is the was to go.

That is my opinion but of course I don't make knives for anybody but my self and family. 

Mark Aspery describes creating a "portable Hole"  for use in creating shouldered anvil tools.   Chapter 16  : Anvil Bottom Tools

The Skills of a Blacksmith,  Volume I,     Mastering the Fundamentals of Blacksmithing

WWW.markaspery.net