Justin Topp Posted June 25, 2020 Author Share Posted June 25, 2020 Small axe I forged in between heats on some tongs. 1045 on a 16 inch hickory stick. Charred for grip. went through a 4x4 in under a minute so I’d say it works well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 Was that a pressure treated landscaping timber? If so don't forget to treat any chips as hazardous waste! (AND NEVER BURN THEM!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Topp Posted June 25, 2020 Author Share Posted June 25, 2020 Yea. It’s on a sand pile that’s all being hauled to the landfill soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Topp Posted June 26, 2020 Author Share Posted June 26, 2020 So I am going to an auction to buy an anvil and it is listed as 300+ lbs. It looks bigger than that though. 90% sure it is a Söderfors anvil. I am willing to pay a lot for it but I was wondering what y’all thought of it. Chipped edges but no major damage. From an old coal mine. I’ve been looking for a larger one and this came up and oh man how I’ve wanted a Swedish anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 It will say Soderfors on the other side and this side should have the weight stamped in. Chipped edges are normal for a Soderfors, they're VERY hard pushing 60r. The condition looks excellent form here. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Topp Posted June 26, 2020 Author Share Posted June 26, 2020 I’ll check it out in person tomorrow at the auction. Very hard is nice Id think. Mines a tad soft as is right now. Other than the light chipping which is much less than my anvil has now it seems great. Fingers crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 I'll keep mine crossed for you too. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelonian Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 That thing looks enormous to me. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 Lovely anvil; but I would expect a hideous price! I got an anvil that once was used in the Copper mine(s) in Arizona. Also large but severely damaged by the mine maintenance crew using it as a fixture when doing air arc gouging on mine equipment. It was back when anvils were cheap in Ohio and I even got a better deal on it as the owner was tired of moving a 400+ pound anvil around and he was changing locations fairly often. He still "might do some smithing in the future." So I traded him a 125# PW, a screw and screwbox from a trashed postvise and US$100 as boot. About 50 cents a pound. I also took it to an Anvil Repair day down here in NM and now it's my backup main shop anvil and the reason why I'm ok with selling of the 248# PW I picked up in the "hoard" deal----no need for an intermediate sized anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Topp Posted June 26, 2020 Author Share Posted June 26, 2020 I was Willing to pay 2k when I saw the picture but in real life when I saw it. 1600 max. Sold for 2300 anyways. It was 285 lbs Söderfors Sweden. The other edge was torch cut a bunch and the horn had some. Plus about half an inch was torch cut off the heel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 Bummer but not unusual to see auction fever drive things through the roof. Did you see who was shilling for the auctioneer? Getting a bid duel going is good for the auctioneer so they'll have shills in the audience making bids to drive prices as high as they can. They're the guys running around and or pointing out bids. They're the main reason I rarely go to an auction anymore. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Topp Posted June 26, 2020 Author Share Posted June 26, 2020 It was me vs someone else mainly. This guy wasn’t working for them I don’t think. He was hesitant to start bidding And once I stopped he looked like he regretted his buy. There was a fair bit of damage (repairable but still there) so I wasn’t terribly sad although I would’ve loved to have it As a side note any idea why the Söderfors had a handling hole on one side but not the other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Topp Posted June 27, 2020 Author Share Posted June 27, 2020 So I found two wheels of steel that I’m going to use as a swage block for drifting holes in stuff. 9” round 4” thick. A 2.5” round hole in the center. 66 lbs about. CAst Steel. Originally tractor weights I think. They were mostly buried in my grandmas front yard. I stubbed my toe in one haha. Just need to make a stand for the one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris C Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 Thought ought to work great, Justin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Topp Posted June 27, 2020 Author Share Posted June 27, 2020 Until I can get a proper swage block it will be a good alternative. Nice and heavy. And it’s free! Haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 Good Morning, Big enough to put an axle in the middle and make it rotate, with different shapes across the outside. Rotate to your next desired shape. Machine or grind the shapes in. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Topp Posted June 27, 2020 Author Share Posted June 27, 2020 Probably because they are made to go over a tractor axles haha. I do like that idea though. I may have a friend with a milling machine different swages in the edge or I may grind them in. Make a stand that I can use the hole in the center for drifting or hold it and spin (with a lock) for different swages. Good idea. I might also make some impressions in the flats of the steel for forming. Like spoon swages or half spheres ect. Since I have two I could make one with the swages on the edges and face and one with a few different holes through it like a square or round holes. We will see. For now it will likely stay as is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 Ah come ON Justin where's your blacksmitherly panache! Get out your hack saw and files! I don't know why that Soderfors has that arrangement of handling holes but the foundry was a high production facility, largely automated for the day. The anvils were cast in steel molds. I have no idea what machinery or equipment they used to finish anvils. About the only detail I THINK I know of the anvil making process is. Molds were allowed to cool for a set period of time after pouring, broken out, flashing removed. The anvils were quenched under a water flume with a metered amount of water and allowed to self temper with residual heat. Temper was stopped in a bath of moving water and sent to the finishing shop. That's about all I know and it's dug up outta my dented head. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Topp Posted June 27, 2020 Author Share Posted June 27, 2020 I just thought it was weird to have only one hole. But thank you for all the info! man that would take ages to file and hacksaw haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 Make some good cold chisels.. Few hundred whacks with a hammer and you would have any shape you want. the skill of using a chisel to a high degree is called chipping. It was it's own skill set and part of any early blacksmith and machinist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Topp Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 Oh geez that sounds even worse than hacksawing it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 There are even special vises called a chipping vise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 Nah: Chipping, scarfing out, etc. isn't as hard as it sounds. There's a rhythm to it and a not particularly heavy hammer. They don't look like the typical cold chisel. If you've ever wondered what that diamond shaped chisel in the set is for, it's for breaking welds or scarfing joints in preparation for welding. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Topp Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 Huh today I learned. Thanks for the info everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 13 hours ago, Frosty said: Nah: Chipping, scarfing out, etc. isn't as hard as it sounds. There's a rhythm to it and a not particularly heavy hammer. They don't look like the typical cold chisel. If you've ever wondered what that diamond shaped chisel in the set is for, it's for breaking welds or scarfing joints in preparation for welding. Frosty The Lucky. Originally there were hundreds of different shapes.. Diamond, cape, inside corner, outside radius.. Ogeeve, etc, etc, etc, I had a book that was all about chipping.. It was amazing the work they were doing.. Crankshafts for any need both large and smaller were done with chisels for oil grooves.. It's like all things.. Todays technology (last 150+ years) a lot of common sense approaches to a difficult job were relegated to machining centers and power equipment as a way to be more productive with less skill set as labor is always the most expensive part of the product.. With this, at the turn of the 18 and 19th century hand labor with all sort of chisels, files, sanding paper etc, etc, gave as accurate results based simply on ones ability.. For me there is something about chipping a long thin chip like a metal planer and there for sure is musical appeal or both rythym and prowess with a hammer. I should do a video on chipping in the future. It might be interesting to some.. Of course the advent of the pnuematic chipping hammer and modern finishing practices did away with hand chipping.. But it is amazing how accurate and fast it can be.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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