Excited and scared

UncleBillyKnives

UncleBillyKnives

Well-Known Member
Well, there is this online auction site that i have been watching the last year or so called REPOCAST.com, and they were these two anvils.:drool: One is a vulcan, one I am not sure. I have never done this before, sight unseen. Both have nice looking faces but I am not sure how big they are. I won them both for 350.00 plus some fees. Now I wait to have them shipped to this side of Michigan. I hope they are nice!!!:confused2:
 

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The larger one with the @@@@(rooster)-eyed hardy hole is going to limit the tools you can use in it. Anything that will needs to have part of it extending over the face of the anvil, like a guilotene tool, is going to be a problem. A hot cutter or or bending fork won't be a problem. That the only thing that I can see that is wrong with either of them. Nice score for the money.

Doug

(Don't you just love these Nanny programs that wipe out anything that might be a dirty word)
 
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That diagonal hardy looks to be pretty oversize. Wonder if a person could hot-swage a mild steel insert in there, driving it with a piece of square rod the same size as a regular hardy going the "right way"?
 
As I said, something like a hot cutter or turning fork will work just fine but something like a spring fuller will be hanging out in the air. Though I guess that it's not a problem unless you use one like I do for drawing out a bar. That's why the anvil that I have that has a hardy hole 45 degrees out of alignment sets one the floor of my shop in case I need an upsetting block for when I'm working with longer stock, which is rarely.

Doug
 
Frank Hunter said:
Wow, just wow. That is a heck of a deal! What is the freight gonna be on those I wonder?
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Well, I got a message from them today that they will ship from their location by Grand Rapids to their other location in Ortenville for $10. I have to pick them up from there which is close to my home and work. I am happy that it is only $10, but it also make wonder how big these things are. :56:In the one photo, compared to the chainsaw behind it, it looks pretty big. Keep you fingers crossed for me!:sweatdrop:
 
Can't believe you shelled out that much cash with so little knowledge of what you're bidding for! Wow!!

The @@@@-eyed hardy can be compensated for by welding a stub onto the hardy tool instead of drawing it out from parent stock. It's a whole lot easier to do, too!

Considering the size of the gravel and chain in the photos, I would estimate that the vulcan is under 100lb and the black anvil is somewhere around the 120lb mark.
 
When making your fuller or accessories why not just set the stake to the angle to allow the the working part to rest the way you want? They are not that hard to make.
 
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Unckle Billy,
How about an update? I'm curious how much the big one weighs, I disagree with the 120 pound estimate, I say it's more in the 250 to 300 pound range, possiby more, judging from how deep the sides are, I couldn't tell if had a plate welded to the top of it, but the base looks like it may have been cast.

I went back and looked again, both of the faces on these look like they were never used or used lightly, and the bigger one looks like it might have a plate welded on the top of it. I think you did a great job! When you get them weighed, check them for hammer rebound, I think the big one will be a beast, of course I'm wrong more often than I'm right. So I'm hoping you did good! There was a BIG anvil on eBay the other day, I think it was 500+, the last number I saw on it was $1450.00, and it looked pretty flawless! All I could do was slobber all over my puter screen,...but I do have my 240lb Hay Budden that is in it's forever home! I just go out and snuggle up to it,...stops me from wanting to cheat on her!!! I'm thinking you did good! Either way, if they aren't dead, they have nice faces, and if they don't weigh a lot you can anchor them down with a couple hundred pounds of chain, and it'll all be good!!! Rex
 
Rex, I go pick them up tomorrow. I am taking a long lunch because they are about 45-50 mins from me now. first thing when i get back, i am bring them into the lab and weight them. It will be fun picking them in a Pontiac Vibe! I will update you guys then on if i did good or not. i cant wait. i was going through my steel pile last night and i have lots of 1018 to practice hammering on and i have some good O-1 and 1050 or 1060 to forge when i am ready. Tomorrow will be the day!!!!
 
I honestly don't know how you can wait till tomorrow, you my friend have some serious paitence!! Wow, how did you get two Christmas's!?!?! I'dto take a hammer with me to test the face for rebound! But do it gently!

Also, all the steels you mentioned forging are good, except the O-1, I'm just not sure about forging it, I know you can, but if your new to forging, I'm not sure it's a great steel for beginners, the 10XX series steels are all great for forging, just pay attention to the temps fo rspecific steels, some like a little hotter so like it a little cooler than others, what I should say is they are all a little different. But at the same time you have to get used to it being hot enough to move it under your hammer, there is another world opening itself up to you with these anvils, hang on, you're gonna get a lot smarter!!! And you're going to learn more about steel than you ever wanted to!!! It's a hoot, especially when you can see your own hands (figuratively) molding steel to your will, it is a feeling I can't describe!!! When you get ready to make knives, I high recommend Aldo's 1084fg, it is awesome, and makes an incredible blade if you take the time to learn the steel, frontwards and backwards!!! Enjoy, Rex


UncleBillyKnives said:
Rex, I go pick them up tomorrow. I am taking a long lunch because they are about 45-50 mins from me now. first thing when i get back, i am bring them into the lab and weight them. It will be fun picking them in a Pontiac Vibe! I will update you guys then on if i did good or not. i cant wait. i was going through my steel pile last night and i have lots of 1018 to practice hammering on and i have some good O-1 and 1050 or 1060 to forge when i am ready. Tomorrow will be the day!!!!
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The chainsaw was the first thing I noticed for size-reference too... I wonder if the dozer with the chains is what they intend to use to load them into your Vibe? LOL

FWIW, there's a shoe-print in pic 2 also, if that helps you at all...
 
I just got back for picking them up. The Vulcan is a 50 pounder, so I am I little disappointed with that. I wish it was at least 70 pounds, but it is in great shape with one small ding on one side, hardly used at all. The large one weighted in at 111 pounds and you can still see the original tool marks in the top plate. I don’t think it was ever used. I cannot find a name or mark anywhere on it, so I am not sure who made it. Both have real nice rebound and ring to them, so all in all, I am happy with the purchase! Time to put some hot metal to them!!!!!
 
UncleBillyKnives said:
I just got back for picking them up. The Vulcan is a 50 pounder, so I am I little disappointed with that. I wish it was at least 70 pounds, but it is in great shape with one small ding on one side, hardly used at all. The large one weighted in at 111 pounds and you can still see the original tool marks in the top plate. I don’t think it was ever used. I cannot find a name or mark anywhere on it, so I am not sure who made it. Both have real nice rebound and ring to them, so all in all, I am happy with the purchase! Time to put some hot metal to them!!!!!
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Wow, I was really off with the weight, I stand corrected!!!
But I was right about the condition....which wasn't to hard to...I'm just trying to find something to be right about! The best thing I know about being wrong so often is that I don't have a problem at all with admitting it...I just need to learn to shut up more often!

The main thing is you got what looks like a great anvil! If there are no markings on it anywhere it will be difficult to pin down any kind of info on it. The only problem with that might be in reselling it, if your not planning on that, then your in great shape, if the rebound was good, you should have an anvil that will provide you with years of service. A piece of advice, when you start hammering on it, hit gently, get your hammer blows under control before you start trying to move a lot of steel at one time, you'll be happier for doing that years down the line...I only wish someone would have told me that! Not that I did a lot of damage to my Hay Budden, it's just that I did a lot of little dings, not bad enough to transfer to my work, but I just would have preferred they weren't there, it's such a beautiful anvil, I really didn't deserve it, it just kinda fell in my lap!

One more thing, if you haven't done a lot of forging, there are some things you need to learn, that will help you immensly. I recommend Ed Caffreys video for beginning forging, it is excellent, and you will learn things you never thought were important! Also, you will need to build a stand for your your anvil, you want the top of the anvil to be at about the top of your wrist, they used to say at the top of your knuckles, while standing straight up, but that was changed a couple of years ago. Wayne Coe is another great resource for forging info.

The stand for your anvil, if you don't have the perfect sized stump laying around the best thing to do is build one, I built mine out of 6 x 6's, standing on end, I ran some 3/8's all thread through the middle, I think. I haven't looked at it or thought about it since I built it, I can go back and take some pics of it if you want me to. I think mine ended up having a total of 6 pieces of 6 X6's. I used these because I had these laying around, most folks use 4 x 4's, they're cheaper. Once I got them bolted together I had some leveling to do, it seems easier that way once they're all bolted togther. Whatever else you need feel free to ask, I don't mind helping anyway I can.

I still think you did good, you make both of them work, you just need to add a lot of heavy chain, wrap around the base. The prices of anvils is going up, I've recently been watching them on eBay, and they goodones are bringing premium money, actually more! Rex
 
Thanks for the advise Rex and yes, please send photos of your stand. What style hammer do you use? I have to get one of those too, along with a better tongs.
 
Pics of my Anvil stand

Billy,
Here are the pics of my stand as it sits. With my 240 pound Hay Budden made in 1894!!! (Sorry had to brag a little.) Don't ignore the hammer on the left corner of the stand (I made it from a hammer I found buried...somewhere). I wrapped metal banding/strapping around it as away to kinda shore it up. The 6 X 6's are standing on end, makes it easy to get it to the exact height you need. It didn't need the banding with the All Thread going through it, it was more to kinda (maybe) keep the wood itself from moving too much, PLUS, if you pull a loop out and then nail it down, it makes for a nifty hammer holder! If you notice on the ends, I found these eyelets looking thingys, never seen them before, but the were tapped for 3/8's and
coinkydinkly, I used 3/8 all thread, it was meant to be!!!! I have been meaning to go back and pick up some more, but just keep forgetting about it.

Let me know what you think about it, a lot of the ideas I come up with I kinda forget about, I probably should share more of them. Most of what I come up with is generally simple stuff, so I don't think it's all that big of a deal.

If you need any more explanations about it, as always, FEEL FREE TO ASK !!!
Hope this helps, Bro!!! Rex

BTW, If you look at the top of pic 2 you might be able to see the way my wife came up with locking this baby down, she basically cut out 2X? boards to fit the contours of the base of the anvil, about the only way to get this anvil off the base, is to pick it straight up or tipping the entire thing over. It doesn't tip easily!!! For bigger anvils I would recommend using 6 X 6's for the base, smaller anvils 4 X 4's will work fine. Of course 4 X 4's can be used on all of them, but on really big anvils, I've seen them fail. I used the 6 X's because I already had them. They are not cheap!!! By the way, once you get them bolted together you will have to smooth the bottom out. Almost impossible to do it before, I mean get it as close as you can and then it just takes a little sanding to take out the high spots.
 
One thing I forgot to mention is hammers,....well, that's a pretty deep subject with me, I have paid (for me) a lot of money for a hammer, but it was a hand made hammer by a well known hammer maker. That does make forging a more pleasurable experience, if you look at the pics the 3 pic, the hammer on the left is the one I paid the most for and is my favorite hammer. The main thing is to get a hammer that is comfortable for you to use, I'd start in the 2 to 2.5 pound range, any heavier and you won't be forging long! A 2 pounder would be best, you'll move steel a little slower, but you'll learn a lot more faster!

The weight of the hammer is important, but just as more important is that you get a "forging hammer", meaning a hammer that is NOT harder than your anvil. A hard hammer will destroy the face of your anvil, and every mark or dent, ding, etc., you put on the face of your anvil will be transferred to your work, it may not be as important right now but when you upgrade your anvil,...and you eventually will, it will be hugely important! BTW, that's a tip I got from Ed Caffreys DVD, Beginning Bladesmithing!!! Worth every cent my wife paid for it! It was a present...yeah I do have a wonderful wife!!!! Hope this helps with your hammering endeavors! Rex
 
McClellan Made Blades said:
Billy,
Here are the pics of my stand as it sits. With my 240 pound Hay Budden made in 1894!!! (Sorry had to brag a little.) Don't ignore the hammer on the left corner of the stand (I made it from a hammer I found buried...somewhere). I wrapped metal banding/strapping around it as away to kinda shore it up. The 6 X 6's are standing on end, makes it easy to get it to the exact height you need. It didn't need the banding with the All Thread going through it, it was more to kinda (maybe) keep the wood itself from moving too much, PLUS, if you pull a loop out and then nail it down, it makes for a nifty hammer holder! If you notice on the ends, I found these eyelets looking thingys, never seen them before, but the were tapped for 3/8's and
coinkydinkly, I used 3/8 all thread, it was meant to be!!!! I have been meaning to go back and pick up some more, but just keep forgetting about it.

Let me know what you think about it, a lot of the ideas I come up with I kinda forget about, I probably should share more of them. Most of what I come up with is generally simple stuff, so I don't think it's all that big of a deal.

If you need any more explanations about it, as always, FEEL FREE TO ASK !!!
Hope this helps, Bro!!! Rex

BTW, If you look at the top of pic 2 you might be able to see the way my wife came up with locking this baby down, she basically cut out 2X? boards to fit the contours of the base of the anvil, about the only way to get this anvil off the base, is to pick it straight up or tipping the entire thing over. It doesn't tip easily!!! For bigger anvils I would recommend using 6 X 6's for the base, smaller anvils 4 X 4's will work fine. Of course 4 X 4's can be used on all of them, but on really big anvils, I've seen them fail. I used the 6 X's because I already had them. They are not cheap!!! By the way, once you get them bolted together you will have to smooth the bottom out. Almost impossible to do it before, I mean get it as close as you can and then it just takes a little sanding to take out the high spots.
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wow, nice anvil stand and that HB is in really good shape ! I'm not going to show you mine ;)
 
S.Shepherd said:
wow, nice anvil stand and that HB is in really good shape ! I'm not going to show you mine ;)
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THANKS! For once LUCK fell my way, I really like to think it's Kharma, a good deed I done in the passed came back around!
It's not like it was given to me, but just finding one in Alabama was a miracle by itself!!!! Thanks!!!!! Rex
 
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