M3F

I think you made the right choice on passing.

When i did mine by hand I made a guillotine tool and die. It was much more effective than just using the horn. I drew it out and cut/ restacked 3 times and I'll never do it again. Saving for a press haha.

Supposedly they make good engraving chisels as well.

Ugh, Anvil envy. That thing is awesome!

I haven't forged in 10 months or so because of shoulders, back, forearm, eyesight, headaches blah blah blah. Getting old just snuck up on me. For the last few months I've looked into this subject quite alot and I'm getting ready to get back into it soon. Ive avoided surgery thus far. I highly suggest stretch stretch and more stretching. Especially right before forging, also doing some type of light physical therapy to get strength and range of motion back to your problem areas

Looks like the lettering spells out Wilkinson. If so manufactured in Dudley, England.  By the looks of it it's considered the "old english" style which dates it to 1800-1852

Funny stories lol. One morning on my way to work, I was at a 4 way stop, and had the window all the way down to enjoy some crisp winter air. Well the car that passed me hit a pot hole and I got a face and mouth full of slushy, dirty, salt water. 

I could be wrong but I believe the only way to know for sure is to request the data sheet from the provider you bought it from.

I've heard of putting a block of wood UNDER the piece being forge welded to reduce the heat sink from the anvil, and I've heard of forge welding with wood to show that it doesn't take alot of force to set said weld. My thought is yeah you could do it to prove a point but in practice, good hammer control does the same thing. 

Man that stinks sorry to hear it. In times like those I can only remind myself not to get upset over things that are out of my control. 

Those railings are beautiful. Just amazing. BillyB are going to etch the wrought?

Very nice space!

Just came across this post and was wondering if you made any progress?  I have some thoughts...

With all the etching you've done it has to come down to the cable. I hear elevator cable gives good contrast vs other types since most others use very similar steels, so etching them doesn't lend to dark/light contrast. 

Also when I think of getting high contrast I think of regular pattern welds. High layer count gives better contrast because after the etch there's that much more nickel steel raised to hit with high grit paper. (Remember to use a hard backing with the paper.)

So in comparison with cable I would experiment with the ones that have as many individual wires as I could find. 

I think the only other option would be to unwind the cable before forging and add high nickel wiring or strips.

Ahh thanks, makes sense. I've always used the tool to cut since I'm usually forging the cut end anyway but I'll make this style too!

I just saw the same design in a book I'm reading and it got me wondering is there any advantage/disadvantage to this design versus a hardy hot cut with 2 bevels?  (Like a knife edge)

One thing too be careful with the vehicle in there while grinding etc. You'll end up with a million little rust spots all over your vehicle that don't come off. Ask me how I know. Lol

Hard to say w/o any identifying marks.  Try wire wheeling the body under each side of the face or get some naval jelly and use that first to get all the rust and grime off it. Hopefully some markings come out.

I get mine from Steel Stamps Inc. Best bet is to get ahold of sales and ask for a quote. 

According to Richard Postman an anvil with or without a Hardie hole is no indication of when it was manufactured. He goes on to say they were probably added sometime in the 16th century. 

Interesting. From what I see it appears to be a very early Trenton then like I said 1897 or early 1898. Pretty cool if you ask me!

If so from what I'm seeing it was manufactured by the Columbus Forge & Iron Company of Columbus OH.  The anvil bible shows that serial number indicates it was manufactured in 1898

What's the underside look like?  Does it have an hourglass depression?

What's in the box?!?!?

Yours and the rest all look amazing! I love low layer count patterns, really awesome work!

Really nice stuff. It all looks great!  I hope to find the time to do the course someday.