Anvil shooting on tv

[carmy53]

I just saw a promo for anvil shooting on tv. Monday Sept. 5th @ 10PM on the Science Channel

[1Southpaw]

Anybody that shoots my Anvil gets shot !
It's been on this farm for over 100 years . It is one of the few things that is stable on this farm .    

[Double D]

Anybody that shoots my Anvil gets shot !
It's been on this farm for over 100 years . It is one of the few things that is stable on this farm .

uh ah eerr, no comment....

[subdjoe]

Anybody that shoots my Anvil gets shot !
It's been on this farm for over 100 years . It is one of the few things that is stable on this farm .

uh ah eerr, no comment....

Thaaaaannnnk YOU!

Here is a link to a blurb about the show:  http://www.parklandnews.com/news-august-2011-flying-anvils-science-channel.html


ADDED:

Hmmm.....http://www.parklandnews.com/anvil-shooting-gone-wrong.html

The anvil shooter who was injured during Farmington's Country Day's is recuperating at his North Carolina home.

Tim Ryan, who has been shooting anvils for 22 years, said he was keeping everything low-key while his injuries heal.

"The explosion blew off the entire thumb on my left hand and half of my little finger," Ryan said. "I also had powder burns on the lower part of my legs.

After the accident Ryan was airlifted to Barnes Hospital.
   

"I appreciate that someone thought that getting me quickly to St. Louis might have meant having the fingers reattached, but it couldn't be done," Ryan said.

Mr. Ryan said the damage was too extensive for surgery to be successful.

"My main work is in landscaping and it's hard to even pick up a shovel right now. My next big hurdle is meeting the medical bill obligations because I don't have insurance," Ryan said.

As to what caused the premature ignition, no concrete conclusions have been reached. Farmington-based anvil shooter, Gay Wilkinson, said that right now people can only speculate.

"Tim lit the fuse with a cigar, so maybe ashes dropped off the cigar onto some powder," Wilkinson said. "Or it's possible sparks from the fuse hit some powder. Right now we just don't know."

Although the competition did continue after the accident, Wilkinson said that participants started using a longer fuse.

Cigar...

[Artilleryman]

Maybe they should have attached the cigar to the end of a linstock.

[subdjoe]

Maybe they should have attached the cigar to the end of a linstock.

Note the method if ignition shown here:

[ironglow]

   This is how the 4th of july was often celebrated in frontier towns in days of yore...
 As a blacksmith, I must admit "anvil shooting" can be entertaining..but it also can be dangerous; even moreso the larger the crowd.  The overall association for North American artists & blacksmiths, will have no part in sponsoring such an event.
   When you consider the things which can go wrong with black powder use..one must consider that the anvil will not necessarily go STRAIGHT up and STRAIGHT  down..with a large crowd, individuals cannot always vacate a spot quickly.
  There are convenient  (powder holding) manufacturing cavities in the base of most anvils. However, there are times when unbeknownst to the "shooters", the anvils also have construction flaws in the base, invisible cracks...if you will.  There are cases where the anvil has virtually exploded..sending chunks of steel into the crowd at black powder speed.
       I hate to be a "kill-joy" ..but that's just my $ .02...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9isw0fKXAE

[Rickk]

If you drive to an anvil shoot... don't be tempted to get there early to get the closest parking space. One of the spaces way in the back are the one that you want.

I recall there being a video about a guy with a Ford Pinto who loaned an anvil for a shoot. He parked about 100 feet away from ground zero so that they would not have to carry the 100# piece of steel very far. Guess where the anvil landed?  If you guessed "It went thru the hood of the Pinto" you would get an "A".

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

If it had gone through the roof, he may have been happy they didn't have to carry it back to the car.  Maybe they should try to repeat it with a convertible, or try to land the anvil in the bed of a pickup truck! 

[flagman1776]

 

[Cannoneer]

   When you consider the things which can go wrong with black powder use..one must consider that the anvil will not necessarily go STRAIGHT up and STRAIGHT  down..with a large crowd, individuals cannot always vacate a spot quickly. 

I admit that this pastime just isn't my cup of tea, but I have often wondered about what "ironglow" mentions. I'm not sure if it's the same incident that Rickk is referring to, but there was a YT vid (can't find it now) that showed a guy launching one of these things, and it rose at an angle then came down right on his closely parked car. You could hear the "oohhhhh nooooo" come from the watching crowd; I'd guess that the "oohhhhh nooooo" would be a lot more emphatic if the anvil had landed on someone's noggin.