It's shiny. Isn't that enough? I might have to think about where it belonged in my shop but if you can't find a spot, I'll FWD my address.

On a seriouser note, it'd be a terrific bench top anvil for fine work. I wouldn't want to do any heavy work on it, I'd be afraid it'd mar.

Frosty the Lucky.

yeah that was my worry as well it has one unfinished end i was thinking of turning into a dishing tool but its just so dam nice as it is
the bench anvil idea was what i was tossing around as well right now i am using it as ballast on my anvil stand

......it turned out to be a 100lb rectangle of 4018 ss......

There are some really nice anvil stands for blocks for knifemaking. I would suggest making one of those stands and see if it will work for you as a knifemaker's anvil.

sounds like a good idea i have really not been happy with the quality of the face on my main anvil for when i am doing clean work the knifemakers anvil sounds like it might be a solution

I finally took a very small plunge into the world of machining. I picked up this Unimat DB200 lathe with a nice set of extras this weekend.

Stainless may be very soft and gummy and may mar as an anvil block very quickly. I'd check how soft it was and if soft keep it for non-ferrous forging---copper, silver, etc.

as always Thomas you do seem to have the proper heading plotted out
i do some silver work as well and this had just seemed a bit extravagant to for that but it would be nice to have a very substantial block for that and i can look into seeing how i can modify it

I finally took a very small plunge into the world of machining. I picked up this Unimat DB200 lathe with a nice set of extras this weekend.

Nice, I see the milling attachment is included. My father have one he bought new in the sixties, if my brain cells are firing right he also has a little book showing how things go together.

Nice, I see the milling attachment is included. My father have one he bought new in the sixties, if my brain cells are firing right he also has a little book showing how things go together.

Thanks Jacques, I also have a couple of books that shows what each attachment does and how it goes together. They are in the case under the bottom of the milling attachment holder.

I have never used a metal lathe before so I thought I would start small and inexpensive to get the principles down before I upgrade to a larger, more capable lathe.

i loved wood turning and i am slowly putting together a inch atlas lathe
and that one you have looks even slicker

I went to the scrap yard today and this follwed me home,

The large piece is 18-3/8x10-3/8x2, 106 lbs, the bar is 2-1/4x2-1/4x13-1/2. The 2 jackhammer points have never been used. I am not sure what type of steel they are, the big plate and the jackhammer points had almost identical sparks with the 4 in. grinder, lots of long straight sparks, the bar had simular sparks but less of them like it was harder. 160 lbs for $56. Not sure what I will use them for but the big piece will probably be used for an anvil, it weighs 2x what my anvil does. It also makes me think of a swedge block, has anyone made one of these?

Nice haul. I made a few hardy cut offs with jack hammer bits. They work very well. :)

I also went to a used tool shop on Mon. and got these for $15 the pair

I figured that I could reforge the jaws a lot easier that making new.After getting them home and looking closer at them I realized that the chain tongs are wrought iron and have forge welded reins. I think that I will leave them the way they are, I'm sure that I will find them useful as they are.

I went to the scrap yard today and this follwed me home, The large piece is 18-3/8x10-3/8x2, 106 lbs, the bar is 2-1/4x2-1/4x13-1/2. The 2 jackhammer points have never been used. I am not sure what type of steel they are, the big plate and the jackhammer points had almost identical sparks with the 4 in. grinder, lots of long straight sparks, the bar had simular sparks but less of them like it was harder. 160 lbs for $56. Not sure what I will use them for but the big piece will probably be used for an anvil, it weighs 2x what my anvil does. It also makes me think of a swedge block, has anyone made one of these?

That 2 1/4 bar may be tulbar- what is used to attach farm implements to and pull behind a tractor. I bought aa new one and it was 1070 steel, some are 1045 also.
Rob

Higher carbon usually has more and more bursty sparks for the plain alloys.

Today I helped an old timer clean off some of his old burned down barn. Got a burned post vice, (seized then, now usable gotta make a spring), 10 hammer heads, (need to be grinded down), and various other steel bits and peices, a jack hammer bit, old chisels and 2 pairs of tongs. Set me back $7.00. I'm a happy boy for now, I found another pickers paradise (18 acres of accumulation from100+ years of makers), gotta either build a bigger shop or rent one... I think the blacksmithin' bug got me and won't let go

I drove around and found 2 metal fabrication shops that let me do a little "dumpster diving" at the end of there work week and take what ever i want out of the bins for free......i also was fortunate to make freinds with a railroad track maintnence crew boss........i give him some beer time to time and he gives me boxes of RR spikes, peices of track, bolts of diffrent sizes and lengths, and other little goodies. Then there my other 2 freinds that are farriers...they leave boxes of used horse shoes in my drive way........

Hey forgot to add this to the last post...if you are looking for jack-hammer bits try your local equipment rental yard..i worked at one years ago and we use to just throw the old hammer bits in the trash...ya never know what else ya might find in there dumpsters...

Hayden; burn over hammer heads can still be quite useful *without* retempering! I have one that I give to new students as it's dead soft and they can't mess up my anvil face or tools with it---but it still does a good job on red-hot steel.

Also if they have been burnt up then it's a great start to modify them by forging and/or grinding and then re-heat treat.

Now is the time to start thinking about what you will use vs what you think is neat but won't get around to using before you have to move it again!

However do keep in mind that some stuff makes great trading materials to other smiths and so is worthwhile to get.

nothing like fall to show you were there is nifty stuff left in the grass
i was dropping off some "clean fill"
and i saw in the pile
the great weighs well over 100lb and i have been wanting to make a table that had a section that i can clamp things to to grind and or to weld on and this seems like a good chunk of steel to add to that project that other thing is what appears to be a unused scraper blade of some sort its about 5ft long and flat so i know i can find a use for it

I'll use all but one of the hammer heads. 3 of them are Atha, ones a Hinnard or Hubbard, and the others are various brands, no chinese. A few of them are hand forged, and they'll be reground, and tempered for my uses

The scraper blade will make a great anvil face. That is what they welded onto the shop built anvils out at the college.

good stuff that had been my hope after i had been walking with it for 10min or so
now just to find a good large piece of steel to make the base out of my thought is down the road if i build it right i can make it into a striking anvil

I'll use all but one of the hammer heads. 3 of them are Atha, ones a Hinnard or Hubbard, and the others are various brands, no chinese. A few of them are hand forged, and they'll be reground, and tempered for my uses

Wasn't there someone who posted a wanted add for some atha hammers about a week or so ago? Maybe you could sell them and get something you need more, sounds like you have plenty of hammers now.
Rob

that was me but i was just looking for one that was a 2-3lb one like my 6lb one if its not to pricey i would be interested but i am on a pretty tight budget to the point where i am looking into trying to make a similar hammer out of a drive shaft from a tedder that got a bit of a twist in it this year