perhaps someone converted it to a bench vise and then converted back?

That was my thought, or they shortened the vice by cutting out a portion and then welding them back together.

I have around ten railroad spikes in my garage, plus various other bits and pieces sitting in The Frame, my blacksmithing bag from LLBean. also, i have no clue what an acorn is, other than the seed of an oak tree.

My wife brought me a jug of used soybean fryer oil from work. After I’m all excited I decided I should ask and my fears were for good reason, they cooked fish in it the day they changed the oil out. I’m ok with that since it was free. 

I had some scraps of 1/16” and 1/8” sheet along with a small piece of expanded sheet follow me home the same day. 

Owen, Acorn and Weldsale are brands of platen tables, the big cast iron plates with a grid of square holes for fixtures. They have been around for more than a century, and are still a great tool to have available for any sort of large fabrication project.Whether you arc weld items on top of it, (student project below) use it for straightening, riveted or collared blacksmith projects, etc.

Also see beaudry's layout table pictures in the shop section.

Came across this old gal today and the price was right. Not sure what I’m going to do with it but she’s mine now. 

My childhood passion for Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner insists that I, one day, own one of those Acme house brand Trentons.

Picked up this block and stand from my buddy Aaron Cergol, came from a small shop in northern England that closed in the 70's.

Are you going to run some lights around the cutouts in the legs?  Sweet set up like that deserves some bling!

On 12/6/2017 at 7:38 AM, JustAnotherBiker said:

It just stuck me as a bit odd.

 

No worries, we all get struck odd from time to time, often if you're lucky. 

Frosty The Lucky.

On the way home from a BOA meeting we stopped at a "junk shop". Picked up a nice pair of tongs, 3 Nicholson rasp's and an old file, a chisel and punch, 2 star drills, a large punch and a handled hot chisel.

Nice finds Irondragon!!  I love the junk shops - you know, the ones you have to dig through piles of stuff.  Those are the best.  If my hands are getting dirty sifting through the stuff I know I'm going to find something great.

1 hour ago, MC Hammer said:

Nice finds Irondragon!!  I love the junk shops - you know, the ones you have to dig through piles of stuff.  Those are the best.  If my hands are getting dirty sifting through the stuff I know I'm going to find something great.

Except the ones where you smell cat...evidence..first thing when you walk in, and the guy at the cluttered counter says "Yeah, (cough, cough) we've got a little bit of everything...".   Those usually have everything BUT what I am looking for.

You had me laughing C-1   I know just the type of shop you are talking about.  I think there's something in the hunt though that's so appealing.  Though you smell a dead mouse or cat evidence, you just know there's a hardie tool or a pair of tongs hiding in there somewhere.

Helps to develop "the eye".  The ability to walk past a pile of junk; stop and dive into it extracting the treasure it was hiding!

Like "seeing" the corner of the shank for a small hardy in a crate of plumbing fittings---and then asking about the anvil it went to---(at home in the garage, mint condition with the original paper label on it and for sale at 50 cents a pound...)

I once had a lady of antique shop ask me what in the world I wanted these old "tent" stakes for.  Well they were nice masonry chisels and I just told her I like having tent stakes on hand...especially for 50 cents each!

I was driving around for my job and happened to have "the eye" working and it spotted a pile of lumber at the curb with square nails sticking out of it.  I stopped and my hunch was right, I found to really old lag screws in one of the pieces and lucky for me they just turned right out of the rotten wood.  I'll be happy I have those lags someday on a future project.

 

My friend that I'm helping get started forging needed some angle iron for fencing on his forge table so it was a good excuse to head to the fabrication shop to rummage through their drops. Brought the cordless sawzall and angle grinder to cut larger pieces. They are always nice to us and glad to sell some drops and leftovers. 

Found a nice block of steel for a block anvil or whatever other use it could be, and a round of 4140 for some smaller hammers that he threw in the deal for free.  I also got some stainless round and square bar for forks and spoons. Among other stuff I'll split with my buddy. 

 

On 12/9/2017 at 9:27 AM, John McPherson said:

Owen, Acorn and Weldsale are brands of platen tables, the big cast iron plates with a grid of square holes for fixtures.

thanks John. that is not what i expected. how much do they run for?

@Owen Hinsman, please don’t quote big chunks of graphics and text; it clogs up the feed and slows down browsing for our members still using dial-up

If you need to quote something specific or from a few comments previous, highlight it and click the “quote this” pop-up.

If you could please go back and edit your post to take out the photo, that would be great.

there you go. sorry about that, did not think before posting. something that should always be done.

LIve and learn! Thanks. 

Owen, platen tables run from scrap price per pound, up to $10K, depending on the usual factors: advertising - or the lack thereof, location, accessories, condition, supply, vs demand, and just how the heck are you going to move a couple of tons of iron? A 5 X 10 weighs more than a Chevy Suburban. Tractor forks would not touch it, you need a BIG industrial forklift.

Ten years ago when the economy tanked and machine shops were being auctioned every week, I saw them stacked like pancakes in the scrap yards.

Weekly trip to the trash transfer station and dumpster diving in the steel bin.

24 pounds of round stock 1/2 inch x 20 inches long, 4 bed frame's angle iron, 4 gate post hinge bolts, some sort of rake head and a king pin.

4 hours ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

 some sort of rake head and a king pin.

Looks like a de-thatching rake used on lawns.

Looks like scrap sculpture claws, beaks, teeth, ears or feathers to me.