March 5, 201313 yr Went to the scrap yard Saturday; the piles are getting pretty low and I had to look hard but I did bring back a 7' x 3/4" rod of real wrought iron plus some other smaller stuff I could use for $2 total. I think they cut me a deal this time as I brought in a fireplace poker to show them that I had forged from a piece of scrap I got off them on an earlier visit.
March 6, 201313 yr Man you guys are lucky. I live in Flint, MI. A heavy industrial town with TONS of scrap yards. Theres is not a yard in town willing to sell anything out the yard. I mean nothing. Once it makes it through the gate it cannot be resold. One guy even told me he thinks its actually illegal here to resell scrap. Same here, they have single buyer contracts so they can't sell to anyone else or face litigation. Of course, maybe meeting some of the guys who work there for a beer after work bearing some nifty forged goodies MIGHT be a good thing. Frosty The Lucky.
March 6, 201313 yr To the best of my knowledge, it's a liability issue. Here, in Sourhern PA, some of the older, well established Scrap Yards sell "retail", ... but the upstart "Recyclers" claim their Insurance ( or lack thereof ) won't allow anyone other than Employees, in their Yards. But that's OK. The "Recyclers" don't seem to have much but Aluminum Cans, old Appliances, and Junk Cars.
March 6, 201313 yr Rihanna has a remake of an old song. "Don't let the fellows(or somesuch) get you down!
March 11, 201313 yr All the early sunday mornings at the swap meet finally paid off...I got a killer steal on a big Rock island (model #75) vise package deal...got the big vise, a Morgan 10A, small columbian anvil... all for 50 bucks!!! The big rock has a crack on the tail and the morgan is pretty much cracked all the way around the mount bracket but i figured the acme screw would be handy to have. The anvil looks pretty good to my eye.
March 12, 201313 yr That Anvil is an ASO, but will still be useful for some projects! I dont really intend to use it. I had recently picked up a small columbian bench vise of about the same condition so i was going to make them a set and keep them around.
March 13, 201313 yr Got this Champion 400 for a steal. The forge has the No. 401 nameplate on it as well. I am in the process of cleaning it up. All of the gears, including the bronze are in pristine condition, and it turns very smoothly with an incredible draft.
March 13, 201313 yr went to the livestock sale today to check out beef prices, in the tailgating section there is a Mennonite guy who sells tool handles, i picked up 9- hammer handles for $50 because they were "seconds" (a little too thin, need more shaping, heart wood is off) and 3 sledge hammer handles for $20 and an 8lb cross peen sledge for $20. Not a bad day at the sale!
March 16, 201313 yr Posted this in the vise section but needs to go here..Totally unexpected find at the flea market..Huge old parker 79x vise in wondeful condition..Thats a 200 pound fisher its setting on..
March 29, 201313 yr Well went out today to look at a leg vise ended up coming home with four! They all need a bit of tlc, some more than others but all should clean up well. http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37017-photo-1/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37018-photo-2/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37019-photo-3/ Oh also picked up this lot, all of which was acquired at a very good price! http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37020-photo-4/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37021-photo-5/
March 29, 201313 yr Greetings Curley, Nice find... The Pexto sheet metal anvil alone is worth 150.00 American.. A man can never have too many vises... Jim
March 30, 201313 yr After reading almost all of the posts in thiz thread, I feel compelled to share my last grab: 3 big chain hoists (2 YALE and 1 unknown) 2 or 3 ball peins of various weights and conditions (Plumb and ???) 5 or 6 files, almost all Nicholson, various sizes A box full of wheels - some casters, some fixed A handful of glass cutters of varying sizes 3 "pipe wrenches," all marked Ford 3 or 4 sets of slip-joint pliers, at least one is Channel lock brand Some random electric motor (will research further), spins freely A couple 14" diameter, 1" thick steel disks (probably going to be bases for tool stands) One small set of nippers One Fulton anvil with a broken heel, painted thick One crazy long set of tongs (probably 3-4 feet long, with nondescript jaws) The anvil is rough. I took a wire wheel to it today and it helped a little, but I have a lot of work to do on it yet. The face is flat but the whole thing is rough. Some welding spatter and some pits. Also, one edge is pretty chipped. Still beats the steel plate I was using before. Weighs in at 113 lbs. I am gladly accepting any tips for getting it in shape. It's not all blacksmith-related (like glass-cutters) but I figured I'd share all I can recall. All told, I gave the guy $100 for everything. I'm sure I missed some other things I got too. Also, he called me the other day to tell me he came across a post vise. I'm on the fence about it because it's missing the spring. I'll probably see if he can hold them and collect a few more things before I head back down. Took some pictures but am currently unable to get them from camera to computer. (edited to fix some typographical errors and add a few more details)
March 30, 201313 yr Greetings Curley, Nice find... The Pexto sheet metal anvil alone is worth 150.00 American.. A man can never have too many vises... Jim Thanks Jim, paid 300usd for the whole lot so pretty pleased with that!
March 31, 201313 yr "Also, he called me the other day to tell me he came across a post vise. I'm on the fence about it because it's missing the spring." Half the ones you find are missing the spring. It's an easy fix. .
April 3, 201313 yr Greetings All, As if I need yet another power hammer BUTTTT I just could not pass up on this one .. It has not run in 45 years .. It has a few minor problems but by the look of the wear on the parts it has not been used much.. Things turn up when you least expect them... I answered an ad for a anvil for just an extra for the students and after I bought it the seller sent me an e-mail on his friend that had the hammer and wanted to sell... Fire up the truck and I'm off for yet another picker adventure.... Lucky Jim
April 8, 201313 yr I've been to two different flea markets in the past two days. I brought home a post vise that needs a spring and a mount (it has both, but ugly home-made ones), 11 5ft long of 3/8 round steel, some files, and a couple of cheap mini anvils, and more that I can't remember. And I only spent about $60 for everything. :)
April 8, 201313 yr It followed me home..can I keep it? Got a deal for the area at $40. Needs taking apart with a little cleaning and grease, but I'm tickled pink. And I got a commission. Guy collects tools, and will take trade. Starting by making him a branding iron. Had anvil's at $1 a pound, and swages/hammers/punches etc. coming out his ear. The kind of thing that makes you a little sick that someone's taken so many good tools out of circulation, but still........... http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37075-post-vice/
April 10, 201313 yr Last trip to the scrapyard yielded: 7 auto coil springs, of varying length and thickness 1 set of truck leaf springs Not my favorite price but acceptable at $25.
April 11, 201313 yr only just started the fun of forging but the things that have followed me home include a pair of leaf springs from an ambulance ,bed of a milling machine could only just lift that one ,four ,five foot lengths of stainless steel 5 inch flue pipe,too many lumps and lengths plates and offcuts of steel to list oh and a cast iron fondoo set thing i liberated from a skip (it looked like it would come in handy).any ideas ?
April 22, 201313 yr Got this 4 1/2" vise last week for $50. A little elbow grease, straightened the leg and forged new wedges ready to work!
April 23, 201313 yr pics didn't get uploaded that time...really nice vise for $40 Nobody, and I thought I did well!
April 25, 201313 yr So on the way to do some errands with the family, we drive past a garage sale. The seller is barking *real garage sale prices, two dollars for that hatchet*, said *hatchet* springs into my hand as if of its own volition, there to stay. Then the seller says *I will make you a deal on that cart, two dollars!*. Now, I've been looking for a metal table of some sort as the basis for the MkII forge. Something waist high, about 2 foot by 3 foot or thereabouts. Maybe with a shelf. I've looked at plant stands and patio furniture, I've lusted after metal mesh cafe tables, scoured restaurant recycling stores and considered wheeling hospital furniture away under cover of darkness. This cart is waist height 18x30 inch sheet steel, heavy wide casters, quarter inch steel rod welded all around the perimeter and two bucks to boot, I could have plotzed right there. So I'm four dollars in, but having a five in the wallet, I grab from the ground a couple of V Blocks, about 4 x inches, and an inch and a quarter thick, square bottomed V groove in one long side, marked Eclipse-made in England and E 106 on the flat next to the V. I suspect they are a larger version of the little one inch V block I used to hold round things that need holes drilled in them. Five bucks and I'm glad I had both the wife and the mini van, the cart just fit in the back, the V blocks chocked the wheels to keep them from rolling around and we were off, I don't think we were at the sale 10 minutes. Michael Michael I wish you can get whatever quality you want. You may approach to some online websites for purchasing a metal table of your sort.
April 25, 201313 yr That is a purdy vise; I'd suggest straightening that leg quite hot as it may be real wrought iron!
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