AddictedToSwedes Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Here is a bit of the history and acquisitions I've made so far in starting up my workshop. Some background; I have a decent history in woodworking, having been something of a hobbyist for a while now. With woodworking Ive always wanted to create small embellishments, handles, hinges, etc.. but have always had a hard time finding local artists as I live in a town with no active blacksmiths. About two years ago my cousin started taking blacksmithing classes and it intrigued me greatly, but again with no local smith and no community classes I was rather stuck with limited options. Which all of this leads up to last October...I would like to say that I blame all of this on a post vise. It was my gateway tool, finding one for $20 that was lonely and shoved in a corner in an antique mall... It is a Columbia with 5" jaws and missing the spring at the time. The jaws lined up very nicely and didn't have any chips or gouges. I spent a bit of time cleaning the grime out of everything and put a thick layer of boiled linseed on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AddictedToSwedes Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 My user name is probably a bit akward at first glance, but it has a good reason. I have always loved the swedish steel, specifically straight razors. In fact I have had a decent sized collection of them over the years and have always been fascinated with attempting to make a few of my own straights. So when my cousin sent me a link to a craigslist posting for a Soderfors 150lb anvil two weeks ago I knew I was in trouble. A big hunk of swedish steel, it looked amazing (it also looked like about 2500 razors worth of steel by weight). It was a bit outside of the price range I wanted to spend, but when something speaks to me I generally lose rational and just buy the darn thing. And so I did. The anvil was in near immaculate condition with very little wear to it. The previous owner told me it had been in the family passed down father to son for 3 generations, but in this latest generation there was no son, and no family member that wanted it, and so I was lucky enough to start a second life of this anvil with the chance of it being passed on to my son. My cousin inspected the anvil before purchasing it and found that it had a 93-95% rebound with the 1" ball bearing test and that it had great resonance all across the face.In the end it cost $700 but came with a nice wooden stand and several hardie tools. So about $600 for just the anvil which wasn't too bad at $4/lb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AddictedToSwedes Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 Well, I have two of the bigger essentials for my shop acquired... I figured it would be a while before adding on my forge...wrong. It popped up on CL a week after the anvil. The ad was fairly obscure but you could definitely tell it was for a good quality looking forge. So I sent the link off to my cuz and he began to freak out a little. Apparently I had stumbled across a Chileforge Habanero. So we got in contact with the seller and picked it up the next morning. One of the unexpected add ons was that the gentleman gave us the cart the forge had been used on...which was actually his old coal forge. So two forges for the price of one. The only downside is that there is a hairline crack in the refractory that needs to be patched, but we have plenty spare from when we built my cousins forge. Overal I was very happy paying $600 for the forge(s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GottMitUns Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Well your started now!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Off to a real good start. Got a hammer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I've run across worse addictions than Swedish steel. That's a beauty, wear ear protection a missed blow is dangerously loud, especially on horn or heal. Let's see, you have THE anvil, a top line forge and a really nice post vise.Where are the pics of things you've been making? Hmmmmm? tongs are an excellent start, you don't need tongs to make them.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AddictedToSwedes Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 I've run across worse addictions than Swedish steel. That's a beauty, wear ear protection a missed blow is dangerously loud, especially on horn or heal. Let's see, you have THE anvil, a top line forge and a really nice post vise.Where are the pics of things you've been making? Hmmmmm? tongs are an excellent start, you don't need tongs to make them.Frosty The Lucky.Well, unfortunately the forge and anvil are sitting in my cousins garage until I can get there next weekend in my truck to pick them up. However, we do plan on making some leaves and bottle openers during that trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Well, complaining that he won't deliver might be a bit much. That's the heart of a terrific kit have fun with it.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AddictedToSwedes Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 Off to a real good start. Got a hammer?Yep, it was made this weekend in PDX by one of my cousins instructors. I pick it up with everything else next weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rashelle Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Cool. Like they said above you're off to a good start. If you're not already a member the NWBA has monthly demos followed by an open forge at Longview. Welcome and enjoy the journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Coke Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Greetings Swede,Welcome ... Looks like you have a great start with some wonderful equipment... Just a note... On your post vise ... File the little burr off the nut where the ball end meets... This is a gotcha area .. I think your forge was set up for charcoal rather than coal... Love the flip down 3rd wheel on your stand ... I have been using that system for years and it works well.. Have a blast and work safe. Forge on and make beautiful thingsJim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AddictedToSwedes Posted April 5, 2015 Author Share Posted April 5, 2015 Well, my cousin and I fired up the forge for the first time at my house and really put it through its paces. We made a small pile of hooks for hanging coats and pictures, a fire poker, and went to town on making a 7" deba style chefs knife. I wish my belt grinder had showed up today, but it should arrive Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norrin_radd Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 (edited) Man that's good stuff you guys are killin it out of the gate. Makes me want to go forge! Edited April 5, 2015 by norrin_radd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Looks like a FINE day's work you put in there. So, what do you think of that anvil, work okay for you? You do nice work.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AddictedToSwedes Posted April 5, 2015 Author Share Posted April 5, 2015 Looks like a FINE day's work you put in there. So, what do you think of that anvil, work okay for you? You do nice work.Frosty The Lucky.The anvil is fantastic, we chained it when doing some work on the horn as it was incredibly loud and chimey. Previously I've been working on my cousins 200lb Peter Wright and there honestly was no appreciable dropoff in the lighter anvil. My hammer did cause me a hiccup, it was made in a very humid environment, working with it today with 5% humidity made the hickory shrink quite a bit and almost threw the head because of it I really appreciate the compliment on the quality of the work. Truth be told my cousin is the key to making things look so refined, having a forging partner that has some formal training is invaluable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I know it is open for interpretation, But. I prefer to make the point of my coat hooks, roll on the outside. Nobody can then catch their clothes on a tiny burr you missed.I know, SHADDAP, Thats Howz I made Themm.Hope to see you in Longview, in May. NWBA Spring McConference.Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Absolutely, working with an experienced smith is worth many times the time and effort figuring it out yourself. Loud is too conservative a term for how a Soderfors sounds under a missed blow, the horn and heal are REALLY loud. I wore ear plugs and muffs and still winced at missed blows. The steel stand made all the difference, now she's only a little worse than a fairly quiet anvil. Not Fisher quiet but still much more bearable.It must be nice to get started with such fine tools. Oh wait, my Soderfors is the first factory made anvil I owned too. . . Ain't it GRAND?Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AddictedToSwedes Posted April 5, 2015 Author Share Posted April 5, 2015 (edited) I know it is open for interpretation, But. I prefer to make the point of my coat hooks, roll on the outside. Nobody can then catch their clothes on a tiny burr you missed.I know, SHADDAP, Thats Howz I made Themm.Hope to see you in Longview, in May. NWBA Spring McConference.NeilI am hoping to make it to a few functions in Longview, any word if there will be a hammer in this month? Or is the next function the conference?good point about the umm points. I will have to make a couple more tomorrow with the spiral outward. Edited April 5, 2015 by AddictedToSwedes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AddictedToSwedes Posted April 5, 2015 Author Share Posted April 5, 2015 Here is a pic of the knife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammerfall Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Great cart/forge deal Great cart/forge deal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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