podcast 445 - ATC Wrapup

I listened to this podcast recently, so great to hear other folks sharing their experiences, and about all the things getting done at the lab!
I've also been looking at all the photos of the goings on, and for me that makes the podcasts so much richer! (I'm a very visual person)
I want to share a bit of my experience as a listener, getting caught up in it all!
~~~somewhere, in a truck~~~far, far away from the lab.~~~
Jim Juczak: "We need an anvil."...
Me, listening to podcast in the truck: "Yeah you do."
Paul Wheaton: "Oh, That's right!, we do." ...
Me, listening in the truck: "Fuck Yeah! Of course you do. Go get it!"
Paul: "Yeah, we do need an anvil, I'm not sure how we're going to get it...(Jim: "Harb...") because they're heavy."
Me, listening in the truck: "Wait, WHAT?!...Nnn..."
Jim: "Harbor Freight. (Paul: "oh, um... alright?") They're cheap Chinese crap, but it'll work... or a piece of railroad track..."
Me, listening in the truck: " ...NO!! No! It can't be! It's not true!"

Friends, don't let friends...buy cheap Chinese anvils.   (R.R. track anvils, however, are a venerable tradition to be upheld...)

Here's a video about why, and another about finding an anvil. (.)



My first anvil, was a section of railroad track that I spent hours making to be as close to a "real" anvil as can be by cutting and grinding. It's great for small work, and I still have it after 28 years...
Second, was a real, proper anvil at 186#...and a few more have gathered over the years...
I hope one day to visit the lab, and find a proper anvil there, and share what I know.

I like the idea that we inherit an anvil.  Something that has been thoroughly used.