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What did you do in the shop today?


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Since my portable hole was really much too light, I decided to add a thick block on top for additional mass. This is made up of 1-1/4” x 2-3/4” bar, stood on edge and bricklaid around a 1-1/2” square hole (slightly oversized, to fit square tube hardy stems).

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I ran out of flux-core wire just before I finished, so I need to get some more to finish off the last few welds. 

Total size of the new block is 6-1-2” square. 

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1 hour ago, JHCC said:

Total size of the new block is 6-1-2” square. 

just need to fill in the bit in the middle and it will make a nice little anvil :)

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Give the new mobile forge a try and fire it up. Burns like xxxx and able to heat up 10in material at the time (low cold blow on the hair dryer and half open ash valve). Use the try out to prepare 3 sets of fire keeper tools – cokes shuffle, slack poker and extinguisher mob.

Forged the eyes and taps with the air hammer and preserve them with a linseed oil coating.

Also picked up the 150 lbs UAT anvil, wire brushed them and use the linseed -results in a nice little xxxxxxx with a rebound of 90% +. Made an anvil stand I copycat after a well-known IFI member starts with a J  jhcc; only deference ‘bevel it and give it a paint job’. The anvil comes on my first metal anvil stand which is a combination of a stainless steel base plate and mild steel legs (no other fitting base plate available).  bubba682; please have a look at the black & white stick welding with an Aisi 309 filled weld.

So the mobile forge/anvil is ready to go. Looking forward to the first fair or social project again.

Cheers, Hans

 

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Hi Jenny, I m a little confused to, and I feel very sorry about it. Even got an admin warning about inappropriate language use for another miss step I partly XXX-ed out (hope the one and only).

I mean ‘coal coke’ with is translates by Google as ‘Steinkohlekoks’ straight from German my mother tong.

Apologise to all of you, but it’s still a German/Belgium/Dutch cosmopolitan talks to you -and I didn’t spent some longer time at the North America continent yet.

And yes, give the first workshops, and want to supply every student with his ‘own’ anvil and forge.

Also placed the double/tripple features on the Dutch/Belgium/German CL to refund some money to continue this expensive hobby. Maybe this explains the ‘gearing up’  the amount of tools and equipment (beside of my disorder to do things right and not only half).

Das, Frosty, Sfeile, Bubba thanks for your reply’s -it’s an honour.  About the ‘borrowing’ of ideas on IFI, there is now bigger compliment then being copied (look by example at Frosty’s T-burner or AS’s square forge and Aus’s sculptures)

Mike, a very nice tool stand instead of the plastic I use. I handle the ‘1in –rule’ to give some space between the tools to grab them properly. Do this with the tongs and hammers but also with the space between the vice opening. So with some turns open or close you are able to clamp most of the material you work on very soon.

Wish all of you a nice Pentecost Monday. Hans     

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What I did in my shop?  I practiced.  First, I had some 5/16 X 3/4 bar stock that I had practiced making a horseshoe .  I decided to finish it by making a bar shoe.  I hockey sticked the two ends and forged a scarf on both ends.  Not a good scarf but I thought it would work.  Heated to red and applied the flux, (mountain flux).  Gentle taps in the beginning.  Three welding passes and when I was working on the inside of the bar, it came apart.  I used my one burner NC gas forge and had the forge heating up for 45 min before my attempt.  Needless to say, it didn't forge weld.  So, I heated up some 5/16 round stock 8 inch long and upset or bumped  up the middle for practice.  I then flattened the 8 inches just to take out my frustration.  It worked.  I feel better.  It has been around one year since I tried forge welding straight bar stock so I'm not really bummed.  I still enjoyed pounding on the metal. The world is good.      

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MotoMike; when making a tools stand I try to put the tools I am most likely to use up top and the "seldom" tools down lower. Nicer for my back.

Hans,  you did mention in an earlier post about selling the "extras" to fund your endeavors.  The site is getting busy enough that it can be hard to keep track of things...simply marvelous! 

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Hans, No problem here..  That is a really nice Siding down fuller/ butcher tool...    The admins here are tough but fair..  No profanity at all.. I'm good with that.. Also staying respectful of others..  I'm respectful of all, but i'm afraid my dyslexia and leaving words out might get me bounced some day.. I still feel badly about the other thread.. I never even noticed how it sounded till it was to late.. :( 

Well, my friend the students should have a good time..  If you were closer I'd lend you a few of my anvils..  I've been stocking up for when I open the smithing school..  My current count is 14 anvils..  The plan is to have 4 work stations and then the master station which will be my forge with my gear as the teaching station..  The rest will be work stations..  

And since this thread is about what was made, this is what I did this past week..   After the discussion on hammers and technique I needed to figure out a way to articulate what it is I have been doing all these years so sat at the forge just making stuff and getting in practice..  As well as filming for the next installment on directional hammer use.. 

The pic with the bar on the anvil is from the tapers video.. I welded back together all the stubs that i cut off before the next taper.. Turned into a 1/2" bar..  Few left,  The hinges were to perfect the "Perfect welded hinge eye/barrel"   There has to be as much pin contact as possible and this is created by having a tight weld seam, and drifting the eye open.  I wasn't happy with the first few so just started making hinge eyes.. 

Then using different forging areas of a hammer I forged a 3/4" bar with the whole goal of showing the difference between directional/smearing and regular forging.. 

And last pic is of a thumb latch that needed a thumber, but it's a gorgeous latch at only 1/16" thick cusp 5" across and only 4.125 tall..  Just fantastic.. I came close but ruined the wrought iron when I burnt it.. I was able to lap weld the burnt area but it's still a reject.. Now I'll fold it all back up and weld it all back together and start again.. 

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First Quad-State our local anvil collector here in New Mexico attended; he bought 30 anvils and a trailer to get them the 1500 miles home. There were plenty left...  I gave up counting how many folks at Quad-State had over a dozen anvils for sale 2 years ago and the one or two sellers were thick on the ground...

Shall I expect to see you there this year?

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12 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

Shall I expect to see you there this year?

That would be awesome for sure! Problem is I would blow my budget just getting there and then get in trouble for drooling on them all.:lol: Anvils are pretty darn scarce around here unfortunately. People are either keeping them,  have scrapped them, or they aren't worth anything more than scrap. I found one, just one, that was over the 200 pound mark and half of the hardened top plate was missing. Half of what was left was separating off the body. Well, I take that back, there is one other in pristine condition. got to be around 4 or 500 pounds, but it is the "mascot" of a store and has been my entire life. The store is in it's 3rd generation in the family that I know of, so it's not going anywhere any time soon.

I'm a little jealous of Jennifer's Rigid anvil as I've always been drawn to that style and would eventually like a bigger anvil, but my little Vulcan is serving me well for the time being. At this point I'd rather put money into building improvement for my shop. It's in bad shape and needs replaced actually. 

If I invested money other than for the building, I think it would be towards a band saw, a better drill press, and a 2x72 grinder. Or a few classes both on smithing and knifemaking so I can learn how to actually use the stuff that I already have instead of just beating and guessing haha.

 

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Hi Glenn. It is a 110 pound anvil. There isn't actually anything I'm doing at the moment that I "can't" do on it, there are just features to the German pattern that I like. The double horn, upsetting block, an actual round and pointed horn. And I just like the look of them.

I know I can build a hardy tool to compensate for the horn (mine is sort of flat and bulky similar to the cast ASO's), and either use the face or a different block for upsetting. I think the only things that would be an actual improvement that I couldn't do something else to compensate for would be more mass by getting a bigger anvil, and having a cleaner face that is true. Mine has a little bit of a sway in it.

It is working for now, and is a major improvement from the piece of rail track I started on. Just at some point I would like to move up in size. I'm not rushing though as I do need a lot of work on my skills and shop.

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Hate to tell you this but PA and OH are dripping with anvils compared to out here in NM; we  never had the population or industrial density back in the smithing era leaving few to make it down the years to now.  Start turning the crank on the TPAAAT!

(and as I'm looking at a 1500 mile drive each way; I understand how such a trip can impact the budget...why I only get to Q-S every second or third year now; and only because we have kids and grandkids in AR and OH making a trip out there a "family" trip.)

Have you tried to find someone to carpool with?  Camping onsite is cheap and a lot of fun.

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In all fairness Thomas, I actually have not been looking very hard since I acquired my Vulcan, so you are probably correct. I know in my part of PA, they seem fairly scarce, or the people that do have them (because I have found a few) just don't want to part with them.

There are a few people I've met on here that I may be able to travel to in the future, and the PAABA does some stuff I'd like to try and get to as well. Hopefully I'll be able to do some of that soon. I think the two closest members I have found are Daswulf and he is 4 hours away (As is the PAABA), and MC Hammer who is around 3 1/2 hours away. I probably have to be able to plan a weekend trip as there wouldn't be a lot of time if I did it in a day.

I did find one smith in my town actually, but he is retired and not doing anything at the moment. He sent a lot of his stuff to his kid. He mentioned his shop needed set back up from moving things and I offered free help, but I only got excuses. So I'm not pressuring. If he decides to do anything, I'd still be happy to help him.

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If you wanted to attend a PAABA meet you can always spend a night or two at my place to do it. I don't make it too often but any excuse to go is a good one. ;) same with any excuse to get up in the shop and fire up the forge. 

Same with Quadstate. I haven't made it to one yet but a kick in the pants might help and I'll drive. 

 

 

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