Tom H. wondered what my anvil looked like...
Its a WWII vintage Arm and Hammer, weighing a slightly rotund #378. Not 
huge, but not small.
It just sits on the stump, so that doesn't dampen the sound at all. The 
chain is a must.
I've got a picture of it down near the bottom of the page right here:
http://galootapalooza.org/CGS.html
(The chain actually hangs off a little, so my description could have 
been more accurate.)
I hadn't thought about the magnetic solution, but that sounds like a 
great idea.

On another Residential Smithing subject:
WRT Propane; I harbor no ill will to anyone with the patience to use 
coal but the forge is a tool like anything else. I like to use the tool 
that makes the most sense for the job. If you like  your neighbors and 
don't want to see how far you can push them before they think you're a 
dangerous idiot, I recommend a nice clean can of Propane. If you're the 
type who thinks yersef is cooler when yer p*ss*n off the neighbors, 
then raise yerself a pack of hyenas and set their kids a runnin' for 
their lives! They won't care what kind of forge you use then! Yeeeeee 
Hawwwww!

  I also considered tearing down the brick building, growing some 19 
century whiskers and raising a rough sawn timber frame smithy, but that 
seems a little too fancy-pants for me. I'll just use what was there 
when I found it. And there are some p*w*r t**ls available in the shop 
too, but I never touch those, no sirree. That just wouldn't be right. I 
actually prefer to hot cut chisel blanks out of leaf springs by hand, 
that way I don't have to worry about how much I eat.

Having said all that, coal fired forges are cheap, easy to transport, 
only make smoke when they start up and get real hot fast once the 
fire's going. Chances are, your neighbors wouldn't give two hoots what 
you're doing as long as it's during daylight hours. Take your choice. I 
had to forge out some 1"square legs from 1.25 x 1.5 inch steel once and 
I had the power hammer going full force at 2 AM and nobody complained. 
I must just be lucky. Or maybe my neighbors were on vacation...

Cheers,
Wes

On Sep 14, 2005, at 11:06 PM, Tom Holloway wrote:
>
>     Geez, Wes.  Must be a small chain or a big anvil.

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