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John, I've enjoyed all of the Birth of a Tool videos on Youtube. The blacksmithing, the filming, and the music are all captivating. They are very inspiring and peaceful. I'm glad you're here and thank you for sharing your work.

I have that same anvil - it was available and I could afford it. There's nothing to be ashamed of - it's made of good steel. It may never become a collector's item but I think it's a reasonable choice especially for someone starting out. It seems unreasonable to dislike a product that pairs its products with a school. Lots of manufacturers have a "starter kit". Culinary schools often get a visit from cutlery dealers offering packages for students. I've found that putting a U shaped bolt in the pritchel hole quiets it immensely. It's not ideal but it's not difficult either. Proper mounting makes a big difference, I've been around 100 pounders that were raising a racket too. The hardie location in the horn is weird compared to the rest of the anvils I see but it's never really been a problem for me either. I've used the turning cams many times and the little shelf off the horn can be used like the sideways beak on a Hofi style anvil. The bending hole at the heel is useful in it's own right. I've used it to drift tomahawks and hammer heads. I've had opportunities to try heavier old Peter wrights and they're certainly nice. I'm still learning - I doubt I'll out grow my anvil any time soon. That said, if I had a fortune on hand, I'd probably upgrade. One thing I've never understood about anvils is why it's so rare for them to have a provision to bolt them down.

I have a book on the topic which was interesting to comprehend how they work and how improvements came along to make them harder to pick. It's fine detail work to be sure. There's a Woodwrights shop episode with Peter Ross where they show some of the old lock making techniques. http://www.pbs.org/woodwrightsshop/video/2700/2712.html I love watching these guys work.

I liked how he smoothed the chisel cuts using planishing blows with his hammer. Barely a file in sight and nobody cut their hands on sharp metal edges.

Ciladog, People buying insurance aren't paranoid. Voiding their policy based on your opinion of what's needed doesn't make it right. People screw up home improvement projects all the time which is why most property sales require an inspection. I had steady work for years from Realtors who needed weekend warrior stuff fixed so they could sell the property. Lots of "custom one-off fixtures" wired with speaker wire soldered together and dangling from a drywall screw. I sincerely doubt any of them thought they'd done anything wrong or they wouldn't have it hanging in their kids bedroom. I replaced plenty of receptacles and plates that were scorched from corded fixtures that shorted out. Lots of them were right where a bed would go. Insurance company claims adjusters occupy a special place in hades for their efforts to escape liability with any technicality they can find. I've never met someone who felt they got a truly fair deal out of their insurance company when they really needed it. A carpenter down the street from me had his tool trailer robbed. He had an insurance policy on the tools and the trailer that included theft. The company denied the claim because he'd parked the trailer in the street in front of his house instead of the driveway as he'd told them he would when he applied for the policy. So the tools would have been covered if the trailer was parked anywhere BUT in front of his house. A distance of 15' made all the difference on the claim though it had nothing to do with the cause of the crime. You are absolutely entitled to your opinion. At a minimum I think we should all agree that anything not UL listed must carry full disclosure to the customer. That means telling them the truth that it may well void their insurance even if it didn't cause a problem.

Jimsship, The underwriters laboratory lists the entire finished assembly. They're taking everything; the trim, base, and intended application into consideration when they test it. A little known thing is that the National Fire Prevention Association was created to help insurance companies determine who's at fault. It's a standard practice for insurance companies to require that everything in the system be to code. The insurance companies rely on the Authority Having Jurisdiction to enforce code standards at the construction phase. Taking this to it's logical extent, an insurance company may deny a claim because an unapproved light fixture was plugged into the system. The examples I gave of inspectors signing off on fixtures was limited exclusively to individual hard wired fixtures that were hand made. The inspectors didn't charge extra for it, their inspections are typically paid for with the permit fees. Their word is final and binding (keep in mind that it's rare for them to allow this). You could argue with them but you'll eventually learn that they just enjoy it! Commercial properties in my area are subject to random fire safety inspections by the fire marshal. Any cord and plug connected equipment comes under their purview. It's not uncommon for them to write tickets for any violations they find. They can and absolutely will order a business closed if they feel it's necessary. Again, there's no appeal. The hierarchy as it pertains to building out here goes #1 God almighty #2 The Fire Department #3 Everyone else Getting back to your question, I'd say your most professional and least risky paths are to either get it UL listed yourself, or pay a light manufacturer to get UL listing for you. I've never done either but I'd imagine that subbing it out is less trouble for a one at a time maker. Hard wired fixtures might be approved by an inspector but I'd hate to be in your shoes if your client paid for a fixture that the inspector won't approve on principal. Some cities can't afford a full time inspector so they contract it out to freelancers who aren't insured by the city. Those inspectors are much less willing to exercise discretion as a result. I'd say you could easily pass the costs of UL listing on to customers who are discerning enough to want hand made iron work. After all, you took the time to forge it, why short change the part that keeps their insurance company in check?

Jimsship, The Underwriters Laboratories are a testing agency that certifies that a given assembly meets industry standards for it's application. What might be fine for a dining room light is utterly wrong for a mine shaft. Electricians in North America use the National Fire Protection Association's guidelines written as the "National Electrical Code". It's part 70 of an omnibus covering many, many, things. It's the lone example in the United States where a trade has only one code book for the entire nation. Builders use different code books depending on their region - electricians don't. Technically it's international because Canada recognizes the NEC as well. The National Electrical Code requires that all equipment shall be listed by and organization acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction. I have yet to encounter an authority having jurisdiction that didn't recognize the underwriters laboratories label. http://www.ul.com/global/eng/pages/solutions/services/finder/detail/index.jsp?cpath=/global/eng/pages/solutions/services/finder/detail/data/101_safety-certification.xml The thing about light fixtures is that although parts are available in hardware stores which might be used to assemble a lamp, there's no guarantee that the assembly will function safely. There's also no guarantee that what's sold in a hardware store meets current code standards. A very, very common mistake people make is failing to consider the effects of heat. A lamp-holder that's pointed down will place the lamp-holder and the connected conductors above the heat source. Over time that heat will bake everything and it will degrade. Hardware stores still have cardboard sleeved lamp holder replacements for sale. Those are not only hopelessly outdated, they're a fire risk when the lamp is pointed down. The difference between a riveted, bolted, crimped, and soldered wiring connection might not appear any different on the surface. Consider that wirenuts must be capable of supporting 14 lbs of weight. Why? To hold the light fixture up in the case of a catastrophic failure (earthquake, severe weather, etc.) that knocked the fixture loose of it's box. This stuff seems less complicated than it is. The standard "Edison base" lamp-holder will accept a wide range of lamp wattages. Higher wattage fixtures are built to dissipate heat. It's not an arbitrary decision to rate a fixture for a given wattage. Being UL Listed doesn't necessarily make it perfect, but it signifies that a sample passed their tests. The Authority Having Jurisdiction is in most cases the electrical inspector. I've had four occasions where an unlisted fixture was approved by the AHJ after they inspected it. On two of those occasions, I was directed to modify the fixture to suit the inspectors demands. I've also had more than a dozen instances where the inspector flat out refused to allow unlisted fixtures at all. It's asking a lot of an inspector to take on that liability. I'd recommend that blacksmiths either go through the trouble to get their fixtures properly UL listed, or simply leave out the electrical. Some larger cities have small scale light fixture manufacturers that will do one-off wiring deals including the UL Listing.

Frank's idea works well- Just be prepared for a heck of a bang! Water turns to steam most rickety tick on hot steel. I scared the heck out of myself the first time I did it. Once the scale is loose, brush it off the anvil before continuing. John's point is well made as well. A generous bed of coke at modest blast seems to create less scale than a stingy bed with a high air blast.

I would suggest caution. Wire that's rated for such use isn't made to be hot-glued to anything. Lamp cord is often wound through fixture chain to protect it and offer a means of getting from here to there. Your other option is to attach some kind of conduit (pipe) that's large enough to accept the lamp cord. That's a troublesome point since you're largely done. In the event you're trying to sell it, a UL listing is typically required unless the local inspector is willing to sign off on it. Alternately you could opt to keep it a non-electrical chandelier.

I was thinking about this a bit and remembered reading somewhere about the differences in how stock moves under different hammers. For example, lets say a fast swinging lighter hammer would deliver the same energy as a slower moving heavy hammer. What I read indicated that upsetting stock with the faster hammer speed tended towards upsetting the struck end rather than deeper down into the stock. So riveting operations were better suited to lighter hammers and bumping up was better suited to heavier hammers. Of course that assumes all other things are equal. I'm nowhere near controlled enough with my hammers to make any scientific conclusions but lighter hammers feel better with lighter stock for me.

I recently asked a Physical Therapist which was better ergonomically a heavy stubby hammer or a lighter long hammer. She said lighter long handled one. Dunno - it's none too easy to sum it all up concisely.

Sorry, I interpreted the bit about wanting to get rid of crap bosses as meaning you wanted to start your own thing. I wish you luck it's tough out there.

Lots of folks go to school to either "find themselves" or because they believe that education = earnings. Lots of new graduates are unemployed and in debt. Apprenticeships sound great but it's no guarantee either. Two weeks after I'd reached enough hours to test for my Journeyman Electrician's license my doctor was talking about career reassignment in answer to severe back injuries. Injuries I sustained during my apprenticeship. Most of the guy's in my graduating class are now "travelers" who must chase work around the states. That's a tough way to earn the family's bread. I'd encourage you to "live the life" you're imagining through internship, shadowing, or visiting shops like the one you seek to open. Figure out what they actually needed to get going. Make a list of them and apply yourself to those well-defined items. Pay particular attention to where the work's coming from. It's an invisible fortune of opportunity until you know how to access it. Take all of that and seriously consider if it's viable with whatever's permanent in your life. For me, there needs to be a significant and sustained economic recovery before there's any reason to start something myself. Good luck.

Private Entrance, I started that sentence with "As an art piece.." I didn't mean to imply that art pieces should be used for cooking or food.

Just thought I'd mention that some AK's had chromed chambers and bores. The fumes of that stuff at forging temperatures isn't good for you or anyone around the forge. The other thing that occurs to me is that AK's are made in many, many countries with a wide range of quality in materials. I once watched a program where the host traveled to various dangerous places. One of which was a godforsaken village in the Mountains of Afghanistan where people were making extremely crude copies of Soviet firearms (among others). There were little kids in the street assembling ammunition by hand - seating bullets with carpenter hammers. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if their metal stock came from whatever came to hand. I also wouldn't be surprised if some of it was crudely smelted with whatever scrap they could find. It seems to me that a billet of mystery metal with impurities aplenty would be susceptible to strange behaviors in forging. Without knowing the lead, mercury, or whatever content, I'd be concerned about using the spoon for food or cooking. As an art piece I'd consider riveting a split piece of empty cartridge brass over the interior of the spoon. You could use a loose bullet as a rivet to attach them together. As for the flaking, I'd say file it. I wouldn't expect things to improve with further forging.

I'm with John and John! Many years ago I was running a motor rewind shop. We had a standard bench fee/ hourly rate that covered up to one hour of labor. Anything after that was time and material. One afternoon a customer walked in with a motor that wouldn't start. I took it to the bench and determined the capacitor needed to be replaced. I grabbed a new one off the shelf, installed it, tested that everything was working OK then brought it back to the customer. I rang him up for our bench fee and the capacitor. He complained that it didn't take me an hour! I politely told him that I'd put in many years earning my degree and work experience, not to mention stocking the shop all before he'd come through the door. He wasn't much impressed by that but did thank me for getting it fixed quickly.

I agree that it'd be wasted as an anvil base.

Asking blacksmiths if they prefer forging to casting will get predictable results. Asking foundry folk will likewise get predictable results. Ruger casts the frames of their guns and Ruger's are justifiably famous for being very strong. Terrible import tools are infamous for being poor castings. There's a large amount of engineering knowledge that goes into making something a success regardless of the process.

Cowboy, I think we've all had off days. I used to live in a rain drenched bog that had about fourteen sunny days a year. I had a motorcycle in the garage and I'd dream about riding it all the time. I can still remember the frustration of having a sunny day off, wheeling the bike out and struggling with it for three hours before it sputtered to life. Just as a thunderstorm down-poured rain on me! I would have ridden anyway but it stalled out and wouldn't start again. I sold that bike nearly fifteen years ago and to this day I can't see one like it without tasting bile. Since then I've learned to be more careful with my hobbies. I don't seek to actually complete anything in any sort of time frame. I try my best to get my equipment as fool proof as I can although I'm still forging outside. Time and money are constantly in trade for a lot of folks. It's important to be satisfied with how you've spent your time since you're trading a portion of your life for it!

Steve, Sadly, you have some sound examples of the deplorable state of schools in the U.S. I maintain that the administrators acting in this fashion are forwarding an agenda - it's hard to believe they genuinely lack basic judgement. However either case is equally offensive to reason and justice. Giving ground to fanaticism and/or lunacy is a common preamble to tragedy. Again, I prefer to see reasonable peopole leading by example. Not that it's always successful, fair, or easy.

Beyond the fear of liability I'd suggest it's difficult to get the balance right. That and the midpoint where you can apply force to parry. Lots of sensitive tradeoffs for the maker to get just so. The foils used for competition had wiring and push-button tips. The wiring method was simply terrible across the board. There's lots of room for improvement in the design but it would involve all the governing bodies of the sport which may explaing why the lowest common denominator is the only acceptable option. As far as "today's climate" and the idea that "weapons research" pertaining to fencing is risky, I think halting your inquiry would be capitulating to histrionics. Let them clutch pearls- you're asking about an Olympic sport, a classical study, and ancient history. We should expect people to be reasonable and and should lead by example whenever opportunity presents.

Any chance you could inlet a mortise into your anvil stump to support the dolly on it's own?

Reading this thread got me thinking of a company called Serengeti Gunstocks. They take a highly figured and very beautiful blank and re-saw it into slabs which they then laminate back together with a kevlar mesh weave laid in. The stocks are beautiful and don't look like lamination's at all. It just got me wondering if something similar could be done with hammer blanks. Obviously we've got fiberglass handled hammers- it seems possible to blend wood and fiberglass to good effect.

Thomas, I like your fire shaking shovel idea! That's a great one.

itsme Bending the claws through nail pulling sounds suspect to me. I wonder if you might have gotten a dud or one that was subjected to some heat.