3 minutes ago, Ron Dudelston said:

Yes John, he was a farrier in Montpelier, Indiana at the turn of the century.  He also raised and sold thoroughbred horses.  This is an earlier picture.

All I got to say is, how flipping awesome is this. Thanks for sharing Ron, wonderful family history Ron!

Very cool anvil stand John. Extra nice touch "torching" it then the oil finish. Should serve you quite well for many years.

 

Around here, good, old timey anvils usually bring $5-$7/lb e.g. 100# anvil, $500-$700. I have a small (15#) H-F (go H-F). Not for the level of work you plan to do, but I find it quite handy. I have stashed a 4 or 5 foot length of railroad rail I plan to make an anvil version someday. 

You mount that block of wood to a tractor trailer brake drum and it will be solid. Then easy to move / tip and roll.  

 

Of course you might have to schedule a hernia operation after you do so.

 

 

I remember the blacksmith in my town years ago. In the 40's and 50's there were still lots of work horses on the farms, so he spent a lot of time making horseshoes and going to the farms to shoe the horses. The anvil in his shop was mounted on a large stump. Since the floor in the shop was dirt, leveling it as not a problem. What do you plan for your hearth John ?

47 minutes ago, Gunny said:

You mount that block of wood to a tractor trailer brake drum and it will be solid. Then easy to move / tip and roll.  

 

Of course you might have to schedule a hernia operation after you do so.

 

Once I get to our forever home and have a blacksmith area, I'll have a 200 + lbs anvil mounted to a block similar to what I have and I'll bury it 6 feet into the ground. I'll keep the small one you see here for portable work or perhaps just a second anvil for whatever.

 

3 minutes ago, Al B said:

What do you plan for your hearth John ?

Hey Al, not sure yet, depends how deep I go with this craft. I'd like to do a brick forge just like Rons grand dad there, if space allows in our final home. A nice cast iron forge would be fine enough too.

For now just to get to forging I'm going to build a dirt box forge like I show above.

@Al B, a cast iron forge like this would be fine, not new though, I can pick up a used one for about 600 bucks. Of course that ain't gonna happen till we move, right now I'm cash strapped but looking good with home equity, so I'll be able to afford it after the move. 

24" Shop Coal Forge | Dumping Ashgate, 24" Hood Included

WWW.CENTAURFORGE.COM

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This Floor Model C Coal Forge features the Centaur Vulcan firepot with a dumping ashgate...

 

3 hours ago, John Morris said:

Once I get to our forever home

 

Perhaps I am misunderstanding this term "forever home"???  Is this some special coffin or urn???  Or the shop you envision in the afterlife?

 

Edited October 1, 20241 yr by Gunny

1 hour ago, Gunny said:

Or the shop you envision in the afterlife?

Yes Gunny, but here on earth, God willing!!!!

7 hours ago, Gunny said:

You mount that block of wood to a tractor trailer brake drum and it will be solid. Then easy to move / tip and roll.  

 

Of course you might have to schedule a hernia operation after you do so.

 

I know these young bucks who are still working for a living can just lift that little thing with one hand and carry it across the shop.  

 

@John Morris I bet if you wait till the move you can find that stuff cheaper in the hills and backwoods than in Cali.

13 hours ago, Gerald said:

I bet if you wait till the move you can find that stuff cheaper in the hills and backwoods than in Cali.

 

Counting on it Gerald! The craft is waaay more in practice in Fly Over and the East part of our nation. Probably have the stuff in every yard sale!

$1185.00 

 That one Bruce found "Curb Shopping" is looking better, and better. 

2 hours ago, Larry Buskirk said:

$1185.00 

 That one Bruce found "Curb Shopping" is looking better, and better. 

Ya, buying new is fun, I know I used to love brand spankin new woodworking machinery, but, a curbside find for a fraction of the cost or free, there are plenty of broken in cast iron forges on the secondary market to get one at a great price, or, just make your own. All ya need is some lumber and dirt like I show above, or a steel table with a brake drum recessed in it works too. Very basic apparatuses.

@Gunny I did a little research on drilling holes into the anvil for mounting, actually I didn't really find anywhere says you shouldn't, folks do, and they lag or bolt it to the stump or stand that way. On the other hand, the chain does deaden the anvil ring and it's quicker to just throw a chain down than drill through the cast steel. That is what the folks in the know are saying.

 

Now, I did learn it's a big no no to drill mounting holes in your anvil if it's cast iron, eventually those areas will stress and crack, but these days most black smiths use cast steel, mine is cast steel, so ya I could have drilled mounting holes. But again, that chain does deaden the ring, and from what I hear if you are banging away for a few hours on your anvil, that ring can really get annoying. Learning here, thanks for the comment, it got me to learning more.

Interesting information.   I remember going to a smithy shop as youngster but to me it was all wizardry how they made stuff from metal.  

I could even just dig a forge up of out my backyard and get going real quick like

 

 

 

55 Gallon drum makes a good forge.

 

44 minutes ago, Gunny said:

55 Gallon drum makes a good forge.

 

Yes it does!!! Not a permanent solution, but from what I've seen they work pretty good for awhile.

1 hour ago, John Morris said:

Yes it does!!! Not a permanent solution, but from what I've seen they work pretty good for awhile.

 

Get a buddy at local shop and get some used motor oil, good cheap heat.

For smaller jobs I just use the oxy/acetylene torch.

I usually use propane in place of acetylene unless I need the hotter heat.