This followed me home.  Will be lag bolting it to the stump for some extra whacking area and hardy tools

That'll be handy. 

It'd be best fully supported by the/a stump. You could drill out under one of the square holes and make hardy tools to fit it. 

A couple of 9” birch logs followed me home (under my arms) from a neighbour’s yard. I noticed he’d dropped some small trees, so I sent him an email asking if I could have them/buy them and he said to take them. Shows the value of asking for permission. Plus I got to try out my green wood end grain sealer from Rockler. 

^ me.... jealous. A gentleman posted his beautifully made birch bark knife handle not too long ago. Something I'd love to try someday!

Hmmm... there’s birch trunk rotting out next to the road on the other side of town, leaving its bark behind. Might see about harvesting it. 

I think I'll try a bark handle at some point... might have to make a spud or two first! (oh no, i have to make more tools). It would be an interesting experiment. Maybe I'll layer in some copper and brass for flair.

Had a brief visit to the scrapyard Saturday Morning; bought a pole saw and two bow saws at scrap rate as well as a few other items more smithing oriented, (though I make bow saws into super hacksaws so they might count that way too...)

 

Only a couple of blacksmithing tools, some wrought iron some 3/4" spring steel, wagon fittings, unused horse shoe and some bandsaw blade, (1 3/16 gullet to spine) about 100' of it and some wide pallet strapping; unfortunately much less of it; sigh---billet length piece of each shown.  Also a disk of 1/4 steel in case I get a hankering to make another medieval style pot...

Used the saws already to trim the mesquite tree overhanging the shop roof slightly  Steel roofs last longer if they are not brushed by branches.

Hello everyone.

This anvil came to me and I am interested in identifying the maker, if possible.
It measures:
Length: 36"
Base: 15 1/2" x 13 1/2"
Height: 16"
Face: 5 3/8" x 22 1/2"
Weight: unknown so far, but a sight heavier than 250 lbs, as I could just lift my old 250 lb. Hay Budden. I would believe it if the stamped 349 indicates it's weight when made. Obvious damage to hardy hole. Rings like mad.

I will be using it but am curious about what sort it is. There are some markings in the photographs that I will not attempt to interpret beyond the 349 that I see on one side just above where the cove dissipates into the side. Lots of rusting had obliterated much of the stamping.

Thanks for any insight.

~grisaille

Definitely looks cast to me, Swedish? Soderfors, Kolswa,etc...

Yes. Cast.

It may well be a Soderfors. I can make out only three letters on one side and they are EDE, in succession, in the same font used in the stamped versions of the word SWEDEN on other Soderfors anvils. 

 

Thanks!

~grisaille  

My guess would be Soderfors. 

I think Soderfors is likely. 

Frosty The Lucky.

A friend had a pile of junk waiting for the junkyard guys to arrive.

This looks like an extrusion die, it was in the middle of the pile. It measures 370 mm X 260 mm X 105 mm., weighs 71 kg according to the "el -cheapo" bathroom scale. I do not know what steel it is made but a ball bearing will rebound about 50% -60%, does not leave a mark when released from 30 cm high, but, if you hit the surface with a ball peen hammer it will leave a small dent. It does not ring but there are inclusions I still have to figure out what they are. I did not make a spark test yet...

Looks like a 156 pound anvil with 5 usable sides.

Strange, it looks a lot like an upset block for my shop floor !...

Mail call!

(11th edition, so it still has the smithing info.)

didn't quite follow me home, but a very heavy Treadmill we had gave up the ghost, so I got premission to tear it apart.  After an hour or so with a Sawzall and some wrenches I now have about 200 lbs of various powder coated scrap steel I may be able to do stuff with.  Some of the tubing might make a tuyier for a JABOD.  dunno what to do witht he rest of it yet.

Forgot to mention sourcing 40' of some .2" solid copper sq wire Saturday afternoon.  Bought as scrap from the national lab, unused and so probably nothing weird to worry about it.  I use it for a penannular brooch class I teach in the SCA.

 

Thomas:  Do you work the copper hot or cold for the penannulars?  And do you use copper or steel for the pin?

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Yes to all of that.  When teaching it's usually cold with annealing as necessary. On my own, it moves a lot faster and easier hot.

5 hours ago, Paul TIKI said:

dunno what to do witht he rest of it yet.

Save it, the motor may be good and they have been used for belt grinders. The tread mill will come in handy cut up for under an anvil or other stuff.

Yes, the motors can be reused for many things other than belt grinders - lathes and drill presses come to mind.  If the control circuit is not totally cooked you have a variable speed control.  The motors are DC so cannot be plugged into the wall directly so some kind of DC motor controller is required.  The tread or belt can also be used for a non marring work surface.

I'll have to fish it out of the bin then.  the motor is a heavy son of a gun.  it was a speed sensor that went, and that was on the circuit board.  I do have a speed controller somewhere, and I need to check the wiring diagram to see what voltage the motor takes.  Hadn't thought about using it as a belt grinder or bench grinder though, thanks for the ideas everyone!  I gave brief thought to using it as drive for the hand crank bellows, but nah. 

It didn’t follow me home...was walking by Northern Ave bridge in Boston and spotted what look like enormous leaf springs and some plates. You folks got me in habit of looking for cast-off steel everywhere! Amazing amounts of rivets etc in this bridge...all destined for the scrap heap when it gets demolished in a few years.

I grabbed a motorcycle drive chain from the shoulder of I-90 in Boston once; it's now part of my hold-down.