hheneg

You could melt a piece of old coke bottle into the hole, polish it up and make a pendant or something to hang in the window

1750 to 500 on a small motor, put a 2 inch pully on the motor and a 7 inch pulley on the tool, it will be really close. This is a 3.5 to 1 ratio. If you need to use different size pulleys, keep that ratio and you'll be okay. Just remember physics really doesn't care about math. So, if your motor pully gets too big, say 7 inch pully on motor to 25 inch pully on tool, the starter surge may not be enough to overcome the angular force it takes to start the motor.

Beautiful workmanship on the shop, I think it is perfect for you are interested in doing. Good job on reusing material, we help mother earth every time we find a way to avoid waste. And, your shop comes complete with some history attached. Just noticed the comment on coal smoke. Because you are using steel siding, you might want to consider putting your forge against one wall and having the box pass through the wall and the chimney sit on top of it on the outside, that way you don't have a hole in your roof for snow to dam up and possible leaks.

Hi, I have worked in everything from the uncovered patio in a back yard, to a open sided shed to a large steel building (multi use). So it really depends on what you intend to make and how you work. In retrospect, my work was mostly affected by helping my dad in the early 60's in a little building (probably 10 by 10) area for the forge anvil and vise. He just worked on farm equipment, lots of it mule drawn, we raised tobacco. That being said, always get as much space as you can. Try to be comfortable (you may not need it now, but being in your 60's is just around the corner, trust me on that one. I just finished framing and siding two new shops at the site of our cabin. Its another story how we started with a weekend cabin, wound up full time there and sold our house. I specifically built the blacksmith shop as 12 by 16 because that is a comfortable size for me. 6 inch reinforced concrete floor (good shoes are cheap compared to dirt floor maintenance learned the hard way), 10 foot to the ceiling joists (smoke rises). I know from experience that I can fit my coal forge, a gas forge, 2 by 4 foot layout/welding table, tiny wire welder, and three vises and an oliver hammer all comfortable and convenient in that space. If the picture posts, the larger building is 20 by 24 Wood Shop. If you don't do anything else try to make all your horizontal surfaces at the same height as your anvil, you won't believe how convenient that is for working anything over 4 feet long. I don't do production work, just kitchen knickknacks and replacement hardware for antique furniture, or fix something I bent or broke clearing land. PS, I'm retiring in August woo hoo. Good luck to you

I've never had a spring on a post vice, and its never been a problem.

Very nice. I had a fully open shop in the 90's that was really a 12 foot octagon, wish I had built it square like you have there. The people who bought that property made a gazebo out of it. Your tool and hammer storage is very creative, and your work layout forge to anvil to bench looks great - good job.

There are tool users, and tool collectors. At the end of the day, a tool user can probably do about anything on one anvil. A tool collector can find a reason to continue to acquire anvils for the rest of their life. I own three, one inherited from my grandfather - born 1886, a genuine blacksmith, (actually he worked the coal mines maintaining mining equipment), (112# Peter Wright) one I found at a yard sale, too good a deal to pass (100# Fisher Eagle), and one my wife bought me for my 50th birthday (150# Emerson). Over the years I've been both, age is making me more of a "collector". How many do I need? All of them and none of them. But, there is something esoteric about an anvil that rings (resonates, pun intended) with man like very few other objects. Every culture, every person, every age (above infant) will immediately recognize and be drawn to them, regardless of size or style. I would suggest that they are as ubiquitous as the cross as a symbol. The anvil is the work bench on which every other item on earth that is manufactured, is manufactured. To quote Moxon, ".... by the hammer and hand, all the trades do stand." In reality without the anvil, the hammer would have little to do. I love this question, because it is the root of why "ironwork" by an individual as a hobby, or a professional's livelihood survives today, and will likely always survive.

Love the lines, and the indication of continuity in the scrollwork. Very Nice

This seems like an interesting forum, so I thought I would try it out. I sold my place in 2004 and had to pack all my forge equipment away. With plans to build a new shop in 2005 smashed along with the new house we built by good ole hurricane katrina, I only now getting pulled back together well enough to set up a new shop and pull my tools out of storage. I am excited at doing so even though the financial toll of rebuilding a new house have greatly shrunk the scope of my plan. I'll try to post some in progress picture in the event that anyone is interested. harlen