I had 68# steel come priority mail; I had to pick it up as the box had been totally shredded. Luckily I had asked my shipper to label the two pieces inside seperately so it all found it's way here.

I've had steel/iron I shipped disappear and now build an internal box that fits in the PO box with it's own label and armouring to try to get it to the person it's supposed to go to.

Check with the PO for specific numbers but I believe 70lbs is allowed in a flat rate box. More and it'll be charged for the weight.

Frosty

Check with the PO for specific numbers but I believe 70lbs is allowed in a flat rate box. More and it'll be charged for the weight.

Yup, that's the deal ship up to 70 lbs (weight limit for any US mail packages) from anywhere in the US to anywhere in the US for $8.95 or $12.95 depending on which flat rate box you use.

Postage Box size
------- --------
$8.95 11" X 8.5" X 5.5"
$8.95 11-7/8" x 3-3/8" x 13-5/8"
$12.95 12” x 12” x 5-1/2”

You can do it to Canada and International too, but it costs more and can only go up to 20lbs. Of course when you're sending heavy metal stuff pack it tight and tape the box well as the boxes really aren't designed for the load (not many are). It's a good idea to put an address label inside the box too. You can get the boxes free, either at a PO or via the web.

USPS - Priority Mail Flat Rate Shipping Supplies
Category - Flat Rate

The last steel I sent that did not take up enough space and was too heavy for my comfort, I filled up the remainder of the box with an oil absorber. It is lighter than Kitty litter but does not compact like foam peanuts do. It only added a couple of pounds and since i was well under the total weight it worked out great. I have received 20-30 packages from Don Hansen III with W-2 in it. He tapes up all the steel so it does not move around too much and I have had no problems at all. He told me of all the box's he has sent he has only lost a couple and another was repackaged by the post office. Over all it works really good for those of us who ship heavy items.

They seem to be as bit rougher with the boxes out here as I have had close to 50% destruction rate---and that is with boxes I spent an hour packing so there is no movement and all edges are multiply layered and taped for protection.

For one shipment of WI rods I ended up drilling partial holes in wood the right size to fit in the box to cover the ends and precent side to side movement as well.

But it's still cheap and I don't have to drive 80 miles to a non-USPS pick up site.

Thomas

a few years back the first time i heard of these flat rate boxes they told me that there was no weight limit, i thought this was great, they said that you couldnt fit more than 70lbs in one anyway... so i mailed myself one full of lead... they dont like me in the post office anymore lol

They told me there wasn't a weight limit too; but when I demanded to know it they coughed up the 70# number; they were not happy when my friend sent me a 68# box, had only two items in it...

I once worked for a company that recovered silver from photo processes like X-ray and photo labs. We would regularly ship boxes with 1000 troy oz bars of 999 % silver (1 000 troy oz = 68.5714286 pounds). They were about the size of a small building brick. It was fun to take a stack of these into UPS on a dolly and have the young lady reach across the desk and try to lift one off the pile. Then the look on her face when you told her that you wanted to insure them for $10,000 ....... each.

This forge followed me home from an antique store.



Does anyone know if the gears in the blower should be greased?

This is my first post. Looks like a lot of good info here.

Nice find there Radar.

It looks like a collapsible cavalry forge.

The blower should have an oil port on top of the gear box. Just put a little oil in it before use. Don't use real sticky or heavy oil, it isn't necessary and will make it really stiff if it gets very cold. 30w is just fine.

Welcome aboard. Glad to have ya.

If you go to the top of page and click on user CP and enter your general location it'll really help put you in touch with people in your area.

Frosty

There is signs of hinges for a lid and a latch, so it could be an old cavalry forge. I won't have to worry too much with cold weather down here in South, MS. :)

Good find radar! Like Frosty said, use a thin oil. Tranny oil works great! Welcome to IFI, looking forward to seeing your work out of this new "toy".

this little fella came home from work with me

Man you must have a big lunchbox!

Nice, how many horses is that band saw?

this little fella came home from work with me

Nice score on the bandsaw.

That's quite the anvil on your bench too.

Frosty

if you go to my photo gallery on this site you will see more pictures of the anvil, and how i made it, im just getting around to hard facing it now.
dont know about the horses, ill have to see if i can find some making, and lunch box nothing. the boss got out a forklift and picket up and put it in my truck bed

Does anione know a good location, preferably in england where a good anvil could be found, bartered or bought?
thanks
YungSmith

YungSmith,try google...anvils uk .check out Bakers horseshoe site.they have Vaughan anvils,which i use,and they are an excellent tool.being British made is just a bonus!

Yungsmith,

If you have transport (parent taxi!) and you are lucky, you can possibly find one on eBay near to you. There are usually a half dozen London-pattern anvils at any one time on eBay.co.uk. Quality and size varies considerably. Read up on what to look for when anvil shopping. You can check local car boot sales too, put ads in your local paper, newsagent window etc. if you live in an industrial or rural area. Talk with farmers, you never know what they have squirreled away. I would suggest looking in scrapyards, but most don't like persons of such a tender age wandering round .

Vaughan's anvils are apparently very good, never used them myself though. Get a Saturday job, and a Sunday one and an after school one though if you want to buy one. Their price list isn't on their website, but e-mail them and you will be sent a rather nice inkjet-printed one gratis.

Don't just think of anvils as London-pattern though. It's something to pound stuff on. I use a 32lb length of railway iron turned on end. It does the job. Don't forget that for a while at least you will ding your anvil face up every now and again -- no point in buying an expensive, high quality anvil to make the top look like the surface of the moon...

mother dragged me out on a walk today and usually i would have protested but it was easter so i let this one go. It payed off however when i found a load of scrap metal and a rusting car chassis. After poking around for a bit i found a middle sized drum thats a bit rusty and is questionable. I left it for now after realizing that i had no method to move it other than to roll it for a few miles and leave it outside when we stopped at the pub we eventually got to. So no picture yet but im going to head back over tomorrow with mother in tow, preferrably driving to bring it home. Im thinking of trying to turn it into a forge but we shall see

There're all kinds of ways to make a forge from a drum, check the blueprints for a couple of them.

Good sig line Youngsmith. I can't agree more.

Frosty

Yeah cool sig. yungsmith . Well I got 3 free old style propane bottles for my gas forge:) I gotta get them exchanged for new ones but it save me around 50$ a bottle . There the small grill sized ones , 20 lbs. I think

Finally found a good deal on a nice quality cast metal blower. $100 at a local auction... This one is all cast metal, gears inside are in great shape, very heavy... We're in the process of cleaning it up and giving it a new paintjob then it will replace the current blower we're using.

Someone junked the tractor and I got the tires. Don't know that these will work for a tire hammer, but they followed me home.