Technician.Austin Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Hello all!First off, this is my first post here, the site has already been a wealth of knowledge for me!I'm posting this because I believe I may have found an object I can use for a beginning anvil, It is the short arm from a very old Two-Post car lift.It's very similar to the one in the attached picture, and the area that I plan on using is the plate where the arm attaches to the black area of the lift itself.the plate's dimensions are:4" wide x 8" long x 3/4" thickThe entire arm weighs about 60lbs. It has a nice ring when struck, but I haven't done a rebound test yet. I am not planning on forging large items.My questions are, can anyone help me identify what kind of steel the arm is made of and are there any ideas to cut/weld to improve it? Thanks for your help, I'm glad to have joined the community! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Do you have the rest of the lift? If so, the base plate would be a better choice. I used to service automotive lifts when I was back in CA and we scrapped a lot of old lifts. Some of the baseplates were pretty substantial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technician.Austin Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 (edited) I did as of this morning, But I had no way to cut the base plate from the tower. The only torch I have in the shop is Oxygen Acetylene, I don't think I could cut steel that thick with it.EDIT: Now that I think of it, the base plate on this lift was the same thickness as the plate on the arm, About 3/4", but I also had a lot of welded gussets. Edited April 25, 2015 by Technician.Austin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Even a small OA cutting torch will do 3/4" thick material, and all you needed to cut through was the upright which is a lot thinner. If it was me ,I would have cut the upright around 2' up, and used that as the pedestal for the now upside down base. Weld the other baseplate to the first, and Bam! You have an anvil. The arm has the weight needed, but it is all spread out, and tubular in places. Take the arm, and cut off the tabs where the pivot pin passes through. Now stand the arm on that end. On the other end you want to weld a chunk of steel big enough to cover it, and then some. You may have to play with the height to get it around the closed fist knuckle height. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 What brand of lift was it? The more that I think about it, a lift can be repurposed for a lot of projects using the hydraulic pump, cylinders, uprights, etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 If not the local scrap yard may be willing to trade you for a largish solid chunck. Expect them to profit from the deal tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technician.Austin Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 It was a 1980's Challenger Lift, But as of yesterday morning its all in the scrap yard. The arm I received was a gift from my shop foreman at our dealership. He heard I was looking for something to beat on, I can't complain with what I got for free.I may do the cut and weld like you are mentioning though, ideally I want a plate big enough to stand itself up, the tube in the center (and for weight I may weld the 2nd part of the arm into the first) then weld a plate on top.Charles, my local scrap yards are shut to the public. We cant even walk our automotive junk yards here. It's a joke. Does anyone know of a scrap yard within driving distance that does still sell to the public? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I was thinking "trade" might get around any off shore contracts. Liability insurance is another isue. The chiniese came threw a few uears ago and contracted to be exclusive buyers, they even hit up autosalvages for motores and transmitions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 (edited) So did you go upstream and ask forklift and heavy equipment repair places about scrap for an anvil? Farm implement dealerships? Heavy truck repair places?If your state has any mining done in it there will be heavy scrap around in places other than scrapyards! Edited April 25, 2015 by ThomasPowers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technician.Austin Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 The mining industry is much further south-east from me, We have three "farm implement dealerships" and they are all big box stores. (Rural King, Mahindra, John Deere) As far as forklift, truck or heavy equipment repair I can't think of any off hand. We do have a Caterpillar rental/service outlet up the road, I may give them a call.Charles, Isn't it a shame that we can't even get first pick on our own supply? Won't be long until our paychecks come from China as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I'm from New Mexico! I drive 200 miles just to visit my shop. And having lived in both VA and OH I am familiar with the state of WV(Though WV is the only state with less open water acreage than NM IIRC) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technician.Austin Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 Im an actually on the Ohio river, so I have plenty of "open water acreage" lol. Have any "feelers" in the area Thomas?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I installed a lot of Challenger lifts, heavy units compared to a Rotary.Check with rental yards for a bent forklift tine. If they are hesitant, have them cut it half so it cannot be used on a forklift again.Thomas, my daily commute is 200 miles roundtrip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 (edited) If you are looking for blacksmith tools etc, go to where blacksmiths gather, not a scrap yard. Usually the ABA has a spring and fall conference in Ripley WV. There are NO EVENTS listed on the ABA web site for 2015. Edited April 25, 2015 by Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 You might want to plan around going to Troy, Ohio the last weekend in September to the Quad-States event. This is the biggest blacksmith tailgating event anywhere. There is always lots of everything there. Save up your money...it's only 5 months away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I try to get out to Quad-State every other year or so and it's a 1500 mile trip each way for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technician.Austin Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 (edited) Quad city in troy is now on my calender.I will begin my hunt for forklift tines on Monday, I've already emailed Walker CAT about equipment steel.I'm joining the ABA soon. It appears the website is dead but they do have an active facebook. Aaron Cutright is the current president. EDIT: Just found the dates for the quad state at http://www.sofablacksmiths.org/ Edited April 25, 2015 by Technician.Austin added link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean1017 Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Good on ya for using what you had on hand! You'll come across all sorts of other stuff you can use as time goes on - anvils, vices etc....Good luck buddy and keep having fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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