New and looking for advice

[ThomasPowers]

Reusing scrapped hammers is not an unknown method of making your own stake anvils. I've done a few that way my self and have a dozen more to do once the power hammer is working.  The spike drivers on the right are the types that were used for the stake anvils on the left

and the spike on my "traditional anvil"

[Daswulf]

They are reworked sledgehammer/ railroad hammers with heavy torsion bar for the shafts. The tortion bar was forged down to fit the eye of the hammer then peined down on the top. Then pointed on the bottom for the stake part

 

I have another where i just upset the hexagon end of a truck torsion bar and pointed the other end. It works but just for small stuff. The sledgehammer head has more area than it. 

[Iron Fangs]

Just went scavenging in my grandfather's barn, tons of old broken farm tools he has no use for, got a head from a pickaxe, sledge hammer (I think a 15 pound?), and a rail hammer, a vice Clamp (this also has a flat striking surface), and some steel gears from some sort of vehicle, not sure if it's from a tractor or a car though, time to assemble me am anvil! I'll provide pictures of my haul so I can get some advice on what to include in the anvil and what to leave for stock material

[Frosty]

The flat surface on the vise is NOT an anvil, it only looks like one and is NOT suitable for work much heavier than straightening nails. They're a legacy from a time when you could buy "complete" blacksmith shops in one thing, vise anvil, forge, grinder, etc. in the Sears and other catalogues. 

We'd like to see some pics of the haul. We might have trouble believing it otherwise. We're like that, yeah we are.

Frosty The Lucky. 

[Daswulf]

Drill and chisel out a depression in a stump to fit that sledgehammer head and you have an anvil.

That pickaxe, depending could be mounted as a bickern. I have also cut one half off and forged it into a hammer/top tool eye drift. it all depends on the size and shape and what tool you need/want more. I have a bunch of pick axes as possible stock. 

[Iron Fangs]

Here is my first Scavanging Haul from my grand dad's out of commission farm, I dont actually know what some of it is, and I'd love to know what to use for anvil and what to use for stock.

BTW, what the heck is the thing on the far left of the bottom shelf

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

My wild guess would be some sort of flat iron for weighing down frying bacon and stuff that likes to curl up while cooking. My grandmother had something like that only with a wood handle.

[Iron Fangs]

That's one heavy bacon press lol, either way it seems useful for making curves on the top, but if I mount it upside down it might give me a nice sized work space. Thoughts?

It's huge, and very heavy, useful? Not useful?

[JHCC]

The big sledgehammer head on the lower right should make a good anvil. The RR hammer could make a good stake anvil at some point; definitely worth hang onto. The spikes on the pickaxe head make hammer eye drifts. You don't want to go hammering on that vise, but you can either use it for filing, drilling, and such like, or you could clean it up, sell it, and use the proceeds for tools, steel, and fuel. The angle grinder should come in useful, but PUT THE GUARD BACK ON!!!!

Looks like there a couple of useful pieces of stock, but don't put anything galvanized in the fire.

That "bacon press" looks interesting, but if it's cast, it might not stand up to hammering.

[Iron Fangs]

The angle Grinder actually did not have a guard. So I will probably have to find one for it, the bacon press, all I really know about it is that it's really heavy, I'm comparing it to a 30 lb bag of dog food I bought today and it is certainly heftier, it's not perfectly flat on the bottom, in fact it seems to have legs, I'm going to test the pipe in vinegar to check for Zinc, the gears I thought would be useful, I have my eye on that squar bar of metal, and any suggestions for the pickaxe if not for anvils part? It's most likely tool steel right? MC?

[Daswulf]

No it wouldn't work as an anvil because of the lack of mass under the flat of it. As it sits, (If it is steel but may be cast and at risk to break,)  it Might make a usable fuller. Don't know what it was but might be useful. 

The sledgehammer head is the best anvil in the lot. 

I've made a fun spider using a spider gear like in front of the grinder. 

[Iron Fangs]

That is really cool, any good test to see if it's cast iron? 

[Daswulf]

Drilling, spark test, knowledgable physical look of it and looking for mold seams. Sometimes trial and error. Lol.

It almost looks like it could have been a barge clete or something similar. The larger pick isn't giving much away. 

[Iron Fangs]

After wire brushing the pick I I jot see anything that looked like a seam, the press thing looks like it has welding marks almost

[Daswulf]

The pick is most likely steel and possibly medium carbon steel. 

[JHCC]

Agreed. If you think about the stresses placed on a pickaxe, it doesn't have to take a sharp edge, but it does need a lot of toughness. 

[Iron Fangs]

So maybe I cut the spikes off of it for chisels or tongs?

[Daswulf]

Yes you could. It might be useful for other things as well. You haven't visited me yet so who knows. It goes in the possibilities pile till you are ready and committed to the project. Just don't jump the gun cutting things up because you can before you are committed to a project trying to use it. You may find a better use for the piece as is and better stock for the project you had initially planned. 

[Iron Fangs]

You are very right about that, I should not think narrow minded about my stock

[JHCC]

Very true. 

[ThomasPowers]

Remember "tool steel" is a large group of alloys with quite a range in content. One type is not necessarily good for universal use.

I like punches and drifts from pickaxe ends.  I have seen some miners' picks that sparked as HC; but don't have the heart to mess up the "local history".  If I find one like that with a busted eye I might use the HC for a blade or 6...

It is also easy to confuse mold lines with drop forging lines although they are very different processes.

[Iron Fangs]

On the subject of alloys, I have submerged half of the short pipe in the picture in white Vinegar and there has been no change on the surface appearance and there is no evidence of anything coming off in the container, I also tried to stick a magnet to it and the magnet did not seem interested, do I assume stainless steel and the Shiney silver color is from Chromium, or do I assume the pipe is Aluminum?

Also, any additional insight on that mystery object? At this point I just want to know what the heck it is even if it isn't forgable lol

[Daswulf]

Weight plays a factor in determining. Also spark test.

If it is heavy like steel then may be stainless. If it is lighter then steel may be aluminum. 

Aluminum will not spark, stainless will. You could actually scrape aluminum on concrete and see if it grinds away. If it is light like aluminum but looks chrome sometimes it is brass. Scraping on concrete/rough rock will show a yellow color for coated brass. 

Honestly in the picture if it is the ovaled piece of pipe it "looks" like stainless. 

And vinegar will have little to no effect on chrome. Usually pipe may just be chromed on the outside, but if in doubt, don't bother and throw it in the scrap pile.

[Iron Fangs]

I do have a collection of files, I'll see what happens, I am not sure of the exact alloy but the product description said "crafter from Hardened Steel" which should be suitable for scratching aluminum yes?"

[Iron Fangs]

Update on mystery object, I had my brother-in-law post a picture of it in an antique forum and if he is correct it is basically an anchor, but for horses, a portable hitching post to deter your caravan or carriage horse from wandering off

Unfortunately this would most likely be a cast iron piece if that is true, still very interesting