Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 (edited) Well, I been afoging now for about 35 years. When I really got the bug I was working as a Certified welder/fabricator. Found a hundred-year old blacksmith shop that had turned to fabricating, but still had a very complete blacksmith shop - three Little Giants, 2 hundreds and one fifty. The walls were just dripping with tools of all description. Oops, guess I shouldn't turn this into a biography. Anyway, I worked there for a while and in the late 70's started my own shop. Almost exclusively industrial work. Kinda, sorta retired about eight years ago and now I just manufacture blacksmith tools, do some tool & die work and do some consulting for some eastern forge shops. I've attached a few pictures of my present shop, they're pretty self-explanatory, but if you have any questions, raise your hand and I’ll get to you in order. note: I think there is a fire extinguisher in every picture! Now you know how I feel about that! Only recently started patronizing IFI. Once I got used to the threaded format I really came to like it. Ran into old friends and starting to make a few new ones. Like it or not I think I’ve found a home and I’m settin’ up housekeeping here. Hope to learn a few things and share some of what I’ve picked up over the years. Thanx, Grant Edited June 7, 2009 by nakedanvil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 Quite the shop Grant! Glad you like it here. Please feel free to stake your farmstead anywhere and set up shop. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Dean Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Howdy from East TEXAS!! and welcome to IFI! Noticed you've been here for a while and just now introducing yourself. Looking forward to seeing a lot of you AND some of your work. Is that shadow cast from the east or west? I was born in Seattle and spent a lot of summers up in that area when I was a kid...long time ago. Love the area and would enjoy taking my wife up there sometime. We could see Mt. Rainer from the beach on Cameno Is. on clear days. My grandmother had property there and we would lived on the island for several summers in the mid 60's and early 70's. Opps, sorry about the bio. anyway, welcome and ejoy the stay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted June 11, 2009 Author Share Posted June 11, 2009 Over time I'll try to annotate these pictures. The first on is my screw press that I do most of my forging on:http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f82/my-100-ton-fly-press-11998/ To the left is a little Ingersoll-Rand Drill-sharpener/upsetter. We're talking rock drill there. I use for the great/fast pressing action in the front. I'll try to post some things about that machine in another post. The next picture is my grinding shed. Surface grinder on the right and a nice little 2 X 60 belt grinder on the left. In the background is a large-ish industrial belt grinder 3 X 120 with 14" contact wheels. This has two grinding belts about three feet apart. Each is driven by it's own 7-1/2HP motor. I use 24 or 36 grit in it and when I really lean into it it's like a flame-thrower! Sure takes metal off fast (flesh too, but we won't get into that)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 Very Nice Shop Grant and Welcome!!! I've enjoyed your posts so far...and look forward to many more. Semi retired huh...OK,..... what was your REAL shop like:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted June 11, 2009 Author Share Posted June 11, 2009 (edited) Very Nice Shop Grant and Welcome!!! I've enjoyed your posts so far...and look forward to many more. Semi retired huh...OK,..... what was your REAL shop like:) Busy! Had 15 - 20 employees most of the time. And noisy! 5-6 hammers, five large upsetters, wheelabrator, induction generators (one was a 175 HP 3600 RPM motor/generator), rotary forging machine, etc. You should have seen my electric meter spin! 2000 Amp 480V service. Had high pressure (15 psi) natural gas too. Fun stuff, indeed! Edited June 11, 2009 by nakedanvil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 Indeed, Power and gas company must have loved you! What did you make mostly, besides noise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted June 11, 2009 Author Share Posted June 11, 2009 After noise? SCALE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 Not much of a market for THAT:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lumpkins Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 Welcome to the IFI family.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted June 11, 2009 Author Share Posted June 11, 2009 Actually in the later years I mostly manufactured paving breaker bits (what most folks call jack-hammer bits) Under the name "Apex Alloy Premium Breaker Steel. We made everything from little chipper steel bits to 6" Diameter X 48" bits for the boom mounted breakers and everything in between. Also made commercial fishing gear, mostly kedge anchors (think old fashion anchor) in sizes from 15 lb to 300. They use them to anchor longline gear and they lose a lot of gear every year. We usually made about a quarter million pounds on them each year. Then there was rigging gear, mostly for big ship and the navy and for off-shore drilling rigs and platforms. Hooks, rings, shackles etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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