February 6, 201610 yr So I have been a lurker on this site for quite some time. I have had set back and set back. But I am pleased to announce that my forge area is running, ( not complete but functional) and got a good bit done towards my first Fredricks cross. I ran out of time to finish up the cross, was setting up my "anvil" and forge, and had to finish cuting the blank for the cross (hacksaw) and smoothing my hammer (hand sanding).
February 6, 201610 yr Nice. Wish I had had an anvil like that to start with. Used a 4" thick piece of SA-516 Grade 70N until I could upgrade to a piece of rail. The plate is the same stuff they make boilers out of basically and while tough, it's as soft as a horrible freight ASO . Only suggestion I could make would be to drill some drain hole in the bottom of the bucket your anvil is in so it doesn't fill with water. The wood blocks will stay stable longer even if they are treated. Unless of course your area is covered .
February 7, 201610 yr Author I did punch a few small holes, my first piece of rail does have some serious rust, but I will be covering either with a tarp or smoker covers (have several of both). And the steal bar for my anvil was a lucky find, found a scrap yard that let me look around and it was almost buried under a big pile, there were several pieces much larger but since they would not fit in my little vehicle and were much to heavy for me to move by myself, I stuck with that piece which cost me $.30'cents a pound and weighs 90 lbs.
February 8, 201610 yr I like the plastic bucket with shims for an anvil stand. That's one I never would have thought of myself which is what's great about this place. The photos may dissapear and posts might be occasionally devoured by the IPS gremlins, but you come across ingenious problem solving if you hang around long enough.
February 8, 201610 yr Author When I first got interested in this "hobby,trade,obsession" it was hole in the ground forge, and an unsecured piece of rail. Man did that thing bounce around. Then I stood up the rail and has it in a bucket but I did not secure the sides. And if I struck off center it would shift right over. So I searched, and searched, and looked some more. Scrap yard after yard. When I found this bar which was the closest I had found I was like,Hurray!!!. But I knew I would need to keep it upright and straight better then my previous piece of rail. so I tried the shimming you see and it held really well. The piece of rail is going to get put back to work real soon after some alterations. Many have done similar in previous posts, going to make parts of the webbing into fullers, and a cut off, I am also thinking of bolting on some heavy square pipe opposite my post vice to use as either a light hardie hole(for say bending jigs) or a hole to finish punching through. Not 100percent on that yet.
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