The Daily Yardman Thread

[Roger B]

Anvil Testing

we were talking about anvils not to long ago Rog, still looking around here for one ....good to know about the ringing test.:

Doc,

Here is a video of someone testing an anvil.. he takes a little longer to preform his tests that I expect you'll need to understand the process, but it's worth a couple minutes anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0qeuOf4IZ4

Roger

 

[Boobala]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

LMAO Dude it takes a whole lot more then that to "wind me up" ;-)

Tom

Tom, ya never filled us in on the "story" about us looking you for this summer, what was going on when we finally got hold of the F.D. and told them we wanted to know about your well being , I'm just being "nosey" ..:confused2:

 

[willys55]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

Good Sunday Morning Everyone

 

[Pumper54]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

Good morning everyone.
As Boo Boo is getting nosey (again) LOL here is the story about the "Missing forum member". As I was out riding around the beautiful country I call home I went through a whole lot of areas with very poor or no cell service and no internet service so I could not check on you guys all that much. One day I guess it was sometime in late June or early July I see I have a missed call/voice mail from the fire department I spent 18 years with. So I call and talk to Gretchen the admin Lady. She tells me that it seems a couple of you had reached out to the fire department looking for me. She spoke to one on the phone and had received an email from someone else. She said you all were worried about me and wanted to know if the F.D. had a way to contact me. After Gretchen and I talked I had to wait till I had internet service before I could get back on here and check in. Again, I am touched that you guys were worried about me and I thank you all for your concern. If you ever have the chance to travel around this country do it, some of the most beautiful places and some of the emptiest places I have ever seen. Met a bunch of old friends and made new ones along the way.

OK enough of my ramblings back to our regularly scheduled programing. FYI Gretchen is happily married to a HUGE guy who is really nice till someone hits on his wife. ;-)
Tom

 

[BlazNT]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

What the heck is wrong with me today. I am the top poster. Well maybe it has something to do with getting up at 3:30 am this morning. I need to stop that.

 

[Roger B]

The TRUTH - The whole truth and nothing but the truth..

Chuck has sleep apnea issues and can't get a good nights sleep.. (Mother says the next time he tries to snuggle up with her at Oh-Dark-Thirty, he'll be sleeping on the couch for a month!)

Tom was posting a travelogue on facebook for all his motorcycle buddies, forgetting all about us old farts on the lawnmower forum that aren't on facebook.. But we ran him down like the dog he is.. You can run - and a Harley will help you with that - but you can't hide! . . . At least not from me and Boo-Boo anyway..

Gretchen may well be married to a "Great BIG Dude", but I think she's sweet on Boo.. He's the one who talked with her on the phone, and he IS a silver tongued devil! He could talk a nun out of her habit!

Doc has finally pried his eyes open and figured out it's Sunday.. Now he's got to decide what machine will get his attention today..

Me?? - I'm going over to a buddies house that has a rifle range set up and try out a new gun I just bought. They bore-sighted the scope for me and I'm interested in seeing how accurate that will be. With a bolt action I do that myself by looking at a distant dot directly through the barrel and then adjusting the scope to the same spot, but couldn't do that with this semi-auto.

Boo - ?!!? I don't even dare guess what Boo's up to today, scares me to death just thinking about the possibilities..

Carpe diem - - "Pluck the day, as it is ripe!"

Roger

 

[Roger B]

Anvil

Here's an anvil report:

First................

Note to self: Don't get so excited when you finally find an anvil you can buy (even if you KNOW it's going to be a deal!) that you forget everything you have ever learned about anvils!

Second note to self: If you see what looks like surface rust from sitting unused for who knows how many years in an open barn, but seems to have a little 'extra' oxidation to it, try to remember that the farm where you found the anvil, did have a barn fire a number of years ago and the anvil might have originally been in THAT barn!

Third note to self: Calm Down!! Take a few deep breaths and don't make a fool of yourself by tearing your pocket off trying to get your wallet out when the anvil's owner agrees to the ridiculous low price you've just offered him.

General Report:

Wire brushing quickly removed the surface crud on the anvil, but revealed a rather bright red oxidation that is often associated with steel and iron that has been exposed to fire. I took a picture and honestly, neither the anvil nor the air are as red and horrible looking as the camera's flash make them seem. . . . I was wearing a mask, or I think I'd have succumbed to the cloud of dust. I finally gave up and left my air-filtration system in the shop running. (That sounds fancy, but simply consists of a 20" window-fan hanging from the ceiling with two 20" furnace filters taped to the intake side. - Hey, it works, don't knock it!!)

I tried a static hammer drop test on the anvil and then a marble and finally a harden steel rod. None demonstrated the rebound that I thought they should. Especially the horn, it even sounds dull when struck with a hammer. I'm concerned that I may have purchased a very heavy lawn ornament.

I have already sent an email to a local blacksmithing association and asked if anyone knows how to re-temper an anvil. I'll cover their answer in future reports. (I have seen two anvils with what appears to be a thick slab of steel welded onto the top face. That could be the answer..)

Warning! Learn from the mistakes of others! Meaning: Don't be a dumbass like me!

Roger

 

[Boobala]

Re: Anvil

Here's an anvil report:

First................

Note to self: Don't get so excited when you finally find an anvil you can buy (even if you KNOW it's going to be a deal!) that you forget everything you have ever learned about anvils!

Second note to self: If you see what looks like surface rust from sitting unused for who knows how many years in an open barn, but seems to have a little 'extra' oxidation to it, try to remember that the farm where you found the anvil, did have a barn fire a number of years ago and the anvil might have originally been in THAT barn!

Third note to self: Calm Down!! Take a few deep breaths and don't make a fool of yourself by tearing your pocket off trying to get your wallet out when the anvil's owner agrees to the ridiculous low price you've just offered him.

General Report:

Wire brushing quickly removed the surface crud on the anvil, but revealed a rather bright red oxidation that is often associated with steel and iron that has been exposed to fire. I took a picture and honestly, neither the anvil nor the air are as red and horrible looking as the camera's flash make them seem. . . . I was wearing a mask, or I think I'd have succumbed to the cloud of dust. I finally gave up and left my air-filtration system in the shop running. (That sounds fancy, but simply consists of a 20" window-fan hanging from the ceiling with two 20" furnace filters taped to the intake side. - Hey, it works, don't knock it!!)

I tried a static hammer drop test on the anvil and then a marble and finally a harden steel rod. None demonstrated the rebound that I thought they should. Especially the horn, it even sounds dull when struck with a hammer. I'm concerned that I may have purchased a very heavy lawn ornament.

I have already sent an email to a local blacksmithing association and asked if anyone knows how to re-temper an anvil. I'll cover their answer in future reports. (I have seen two anvils with what appears to be a thick slab of steel welded onto the top face. That could be the answer..)

Warning! Learn from the mistakes of others! Meaning: Don't be a dumbass like me!

Roger

I'll admit I don't know squat about such complicated pieces of machinery such as an anvil. But c,mon Goomba, are'nt ya just going to use it for a great place to torture some other poor piece of metal ?? I mean, afterall, whadda ya want it sing "DIXIE" and wave a CONFEDERATE flag while you're beatin the schitt outa something on it ?? ..:laughing::laughing:

 

[willys55]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

what would it take to restore it back to its hardened condition, or is that even possible?

 

[Boobala]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

what would it take to restore it back to its hardened condition, or is that even possible?

Thee answers ye seek, shall pour forth from the information engraved upon these pages !! ..:laughing: ..:laughing:

https://www.google.com/search?q=all+about+anvils&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8