June 12, 20188 yr Hey anyone! I'm trekking up north to Portland, Maine in a week (6/19-25) and I'd really like to find some other blacksmiths and crafters to meet and hang around with! Also, like most I'm sure, I'm on the hunt for any tongs, hammers, or punches I can get my hands on. In an ideal world I'd really like to be driving back home with a small anvil as well. If anyone has any interest, leads, or ideas, I'd really appreciate them ~laurel
June 12, 20188 yr One of my daughters was given a 1 pound machined steel anvil as a zeroth birthday gift. (Looked to be a shop class project)
June 12, 20188 yr Author Oh hah, yeah, specificity slip. I’m trying to find something in the 50-100# range. I have a small work area and have to move everything around often. I have a nice (it’s painted red so it works faster) little 1# anvil I have nailed into my bench I actually use pretty often for little copper bits
June 13, 20188 yr Look up Bob Menard, Ball and Chain Forge, Portland ME for a nice shop visit. For tools go a little further north east to the Liberty Tool Co. in Liberty, ME. (mid-coast) Giant permanent tool flea market and a museum.
June 13, 20188 yr Ooh, excellent. I've got a business appointment tomorrow half an hour away in Camden. How timely.
June 14, 20188 yr Update: Liberty Tool is quite the place, although currently a bit short on blacksmithing tools. The lady behind the counter said that they've been seeing a lot of movement on tools like that; I'm guessing this is more of the Forged in Fire effect. No anvils at the moment (some expected in a week or two), although there was at least one post vise. Lots of files, punches, a few hammers (not many), a couple of sledgehammers, etc. No tongs. Reasonable prices: I picked up a nice adjustable-angle drill press vise for $21. Wish I'd had more time to explore in detail, but they were only half an hour from closing when I arrived.
June 15, 20188 yr Glad you made it there John. I bought a bunch of machine tool stuff last time I was there. When are you going to come visit? I'm 15 min. from Middlebury College.
June 15, 20188 yr Not this trip, but I did get a chance to stop in and say Hi to notownkid in Woodstock.
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