Hallo Keith, If you can get a hold on a short length of (railroad) rail you can cut with a torch and grind a halfway decent horn on it. You could use the girder for the pritchel and hardie holes. I don't know how they do it in Japan but here I have my anvil on a piece of tree trunk I cut which brings the anvil up to proper height and gives me the longest strike distance. It should be just high enough that the piece you are working will lay on the anvil with your arms loosely extended.
Good used anvils are getting as scarce as hens teeth around this neck of the woods. I saw one at an auction go for $125 US and when I put the hammer to it it was dead. No ring or bounce at all. Just a dead thump. If there is a racetrack around your area you could check with the farriers there and see if they know where you might get a few good used tools. Seems to me I remember seeing that the Japanese like to watch heavy horses race. Happy Happy, Gustl Thursday, 06 May, 2004, 16:41:48, you wrote: KA> Hij Go >>Thanks Keith, >> >>Loved the blacksmith with a cold slant, it struck close as I do a bit of >>hobby smithying myself KA> Ah, do you? I'm just about to, I guess that's why I made that joke. I KA> need to make a sickle. Or two. I have some worn blades from a tractor KA> rotavator that should do, tough steel, hope it's not too tough. And I KA> don't have an anvil. I'm really sorry I didn't get a cheap one from KA> China when we were in Hong Kong. They cost an arm and a leg here in KA> Japan. I do have a two-foot length of heavy steel girder though, I KA> guess it'll do for now, but I'll miss the fancy bits, the pritchel KA> hole, hardie hole, the table and especially the horn. Actually I KA> don't have any of the tools, but if I can make a sickle then I can KA> make tools too. I do have a couple of really good books, and there KA> are good blacksmithing sites on the Web. -- Je mehr wir haben, desto mehr fordert Gott von uns. Mitglied-Team AMIGA ICQ: 22211253-Gustli ******** The safest road to Hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. C. S. Lewis, "The Screwtape Letters" ******** Es gibt Wahrheiten, die so sehr auf der Stra§e liegen, da§ sie gerade deshalb von der gewšhnlichen Welt nicht gesehen oder wenigstens nicht erkannt werden. ******** Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the music. George Carlin ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70 http://us.click.yahoo.com/Z1wmxD/DREIAA/yQLSAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuel/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
