[MR] Anvil Merchants...A Thanks

[rmhowe]

Velsthe1 at aol.com wrote:
> 
> Just wanted to thank everyone who pointed me at anvil merchants mundane and otherwise. The guys are looking into a couple of differant avenues, see what works for them.

Harbour Freight Tools has outlets various places including
North Raleigh off Capitol Blvd. On the web too. Many cheap
Chinese anvils. Northern sells some as well. Also on web.
Used to be called Northern Hydraulics.

More -expensive- ones can be had from Centaur Forge.
These are real tools for real metalsmiths. Generally at least
4 dollars a pound. Mostly English and German anvils.
Having a sale presently though.
 
> While I'm here...anyone have any good ideas on cutting 16ga Stainless Steel, easily attainable and relatively inexpensive tools that is?

Enco sells plate shears for about $20 - also on web.
Don't expect quality with these. I ended up replacing all the bolts.
They also have a small rotary style shear (this one I have yet
to see in person). The rest of what I'm relating I have experience
with. Better quality may be had from Enco's parent company - MSC -
Manhattan Supply Company - which is a fantastic industrial supplier.

Beverly Shears - a B2 size - is probably what you need.
It will cut up to 10 gauge mild steel, probably 12 gauge stainless.
The lower the number, the thicker the steel.
If you can't find one used they run about $500.

Failing that electric sheet metal shears are made by Black and
Decker. Some of these will do 12 gauge. Finding a used one is
a bit uncommon. New these are probably $200 or so.

A good Bosch or DeWalt sabresaw will cut up to 3/8" steel.
The Bosch may be had with an optional oiling attachment for
this purpose. Without the attachment they run about $160.
If you are going to cut stainless you need COBALT blades.
Same with drill bits. COBALT. Also called M-42. Generally these
things cost a bit. I've found I can sometimes find cobalt drills
at pawn shops for ten cents on the dollar. They are a bit
hard to spot but have a rabbet around the back end that frequently
sets them apart from the usual bits, also a slight yellowish
coloration as opposed to regular high speed steel bits HSS.
I am not talking about the titanium nitride bits here (sometimes
called bullet bits) which do have a yellow plating on them.

Whitney Punches (come in three sizes, recommend the largest 
size for armoring - about two and a half feet long). The littler
ones will be very hard for you to use - lack of fulcrum.

> The guys I was looking for anvils for are good to go on that point, but I don't have an autobody shop at my disposal (they do).

Auto bodies used to be made of about 18 gauge steel a long time
ago. Nowadays it's more likely to be 22-24 gauge steel. All that
extra milage and reduced weight tends to make them more crushable.
Most autobody places don't need cutting tools sufficient for armor.

A few roofing places and sheet metal fabrication places do have
heavier shears. My B-2 came from a roofing shop auction.

If you can get a bandsaw with a high feet per minute speed, say
over 4000 fpm, you can friction saw sheet steel. I'm not too
sure how well this would work on stainless, as stainless actually
doesn't burn like ordinary steel when torch cut - it melts.
Instructions for this technique usually show up in OLD red Popular
Mechanics How to Do It Encyclopedia sets, pre 1958, or some older 
yearly How to Make Its, or their yearly Shop Manuals they used 
to put out. While they make special blades for doing this industrially
it really doesn't require real special blades. Just so long as 
two teeth cover the edge of the material. The high speed creates
friction on the metal, and that burns through the standard steel
because of the carbon in it. Stainless has a lot of chromium and
does not burn at all well.

Magnus


 
> Anyway, Thanks again.
> 
> Vels