Anvils

[Jeremy]

A lot of attention has been given to forges, steels, heat treating methods and even hammers, but not much has been said on anvils.  Lets fix that!  

I have three anvils.  My pride and joy is a 70# Vulcan.  It has a tempered steel plate (~1.25" thick) and then the body of the anvil is cast iron.  I like this one b/c (aside from the fact I got it dirt cheap   ) it's solid but doesn't ring for ages!  Neighbors appreciate that!  The rebound on it isn't as nice as a forged steel anvil or even a cast steel, but at a fraction of the cost of a good Peter Wright anvil it'll do!  Speaking of one of those, I'll be borrowing one (indefinitely) as soon as my smithy is set up  :D

One thing you really want to avoid is the 'anvil-shaped-objects' that are popping up all over the place.  These are all cast iron and are next to worthless for any type of forging.

Don't want to spend the cash on a "real" anvil?  No problem.  My first anvil is a   Stake Anvil   and was forged from an axle rod.  Mine has about a 1.25" square face and is perfect for blades.  It's still useful to have a larger flat surface for straightening blades, but I like working on the stake more than the big anvil for lots of things.

Still too much work for you?  Try a piece of railroad track!  Contrary to what most people do, the best way to use these is NOT by forging on the top surface!  There's no backup mass below most of it, it's springy (bad thing) and will make your chunck of steel react like a much lighter anvil.  A better way is to turn it on end.  That'll give you about 1.5"x 2.5" (can't remember right now) work surface with lots of steel directly below it.  Depending on the length of the track you're using, that will make you anvil react to blows like a heavier anvil.  There's an article in the link at the end of this post showing some RR track setups that I really like.

Still too much work for you?  Go down to the local hardware store and buy yourself a 20#+ sledge.  Drill a hole about 2" deep in a stump and big enough to pound an end in and go to town.  It's about the cheapest anvil you can get!  If you leave the handle on it you can even use it to hang your (growing) collection of tongs!  

Here's some more information for you from   AnvilFire  There's LOTS of good info on that site!

So, what are you using?

[KHALVERSON]

nice i would have never thought of that
i have been lookin for a piece of rr track
but with the price of scrap being what it is
it seems materials for anvils and materials
from the scrap yard for forging are becoming more difficult to come by

[brettlandon]

Jeremy, I've located an old anvil on my grandparents farm.  My great-great-grandpa used it to shoe the horses back in the day.  I tried the bounce test and was not very impressed, but It was on some spindely welded metal stand.  It has been very abused and all the 'flat' edges and faces have become a bit rounded.
I have two questions.  First, what advice can you give me to test the quality of this anvil (I would like to keep it just for the nostalgia).  And second, where would I take it to be remilled should I decide to use it?  Thanks.

-Brett

[Lin Rhea]

Jeremy,
           Good post.

    Another good cutler type anvil is a fork lift blade that , perhaps, has gotten broke off. Take the now wedge shaped piece and drive the thin edge into the ground or stump and grind the largest end smooth. Provides a nice rectangle to work blades.

    I have an old Hay Budden in 100 lb and a new Emerson in 200 lb. Both have good rebound and good horns. The Emerson is made in Shreiveport, La and is a family owned operation. Good anvil.

                                            Lin

[Doug Campbell]

Yep good post Jeremy, anvils are kinda like bows, you just can't have too many    I'm down to four now, sold a couple to help finance a grinder....

Brett, I've refurbished a couple old anvils that were pretty beat up. Can't remember the specs but you can buy welding rod to fill/build up the corners and face. You would need to preheat the anvil lay the welds then hammer the crap out of them. The rod I used would work harden, then you grind back to the orginaly profile.

Doesn't take alot of tools, any buzz box stick welder and a right angle grinder will do it. Sounds like you've got nothing to loose unless you just want to make Grandpa's anvil a yard ornament, got one of those too  

[kbaknife]

I hope a few more people jump in! Here's my anvil set-up:
I have them right inside the shop door so that when it's nice, I get to work where I can see the deer and turkey run by!
I have an ol' 160 pound Vulcan and a newer 167 pound anvil from Old World Anvils. I like the larger working surface.
Here's what their ad said that made me buy it:

"This is the most popular anvil we sell. With a style very similar to the Peddinghaus it is quite familiar to Blacksmiths around the world. Made from a solid piece of quality high carbon steel it is sure to be around long after we are gone. And with an average rebound of 85 to 90% you will find these anvils are very pleasant to work on."
I remember I paid $512.00 for it four years ago and that included shipping! Now, I see on their site that the anvil alone is $670.00. I remember the shipping was around 70 bucks on a truck, so now that would make this anvil $740.00. Up almost 50% in four years. Wow.
By strapping them to their post with 8 inch lag bolts and wrought iron straps, I can remove them if necessary, and it eliminates 100% of the ring. I know that pretty little ring sounds "cute", but don't be fooled - the first thing to GO on an old blacksmith was his HEARING!  
As well, I drilled holes in the side of the posts to insert steel rods for easy re-locating handles.
Let's see more!
 
 
 
 

[Butts]

Kbaknife,
Could you please post some pics of your forge?
Thanks, Chris

[KHALVERSON]

doug
i believe the welding rod is probably called mar-rod  (margining rod) it is used to join dissimular materials like cast iron to steel or spring steel

[Doug Campbell]

Thanks Kevin, been a few year but I think it was a high nickle rod, sure did the trick.

Karl, tell about the tool hanging in the lower pic please.

One nice thing about having an anvil is using tools in the stake hole....

[LAR43]

The chop fuller/guillotine??
That's the deal right there. Transition from ricasso to tang/ stretching the tang etc. is infinitely easier! Saves a lot of wasted/extra hammer blows . . .
Got a kit I don't need but don't know where to post it. In fact, don't even know if I can say that here. If not, let me know & I'll edit the post.

Larry

[kbaknife]

OK, here's a few more.
Yes, that is a guillotene fuller. Works great for setting guard shoulders and drawing out tangs.
The forge is an upright propane forge I built according to directions from Don Fogg, an ABS Mastersmith who is known for swords and such.
I built mine out of some underground gas pipe but I have heard of them being built out of about anything. The body doesn't matter all that much, since the insulation is what contains the heat.
Other than the body, all of the parts were from general hardware store type places that carry black pipe fittings.
 
 
 
 

[LAR43]

Karl,
Could you give me a little insight into the square tube on the back port? Just to direct the flame away or??
Thanks,

Larry

[kbaknife]

No, it's actually capped on the end. In the design I use, there is a port on each side. This allows the user to forge longer blades that would not fit if only one port was used. I realized that about 1/2 of my heat was escaping out the rear. And, with a longer Bowie type blade, when I ran the knife on through, what was sticking out the other side was going cold!
So, this tube contains the heat loss, still allows me to run longer blades through the forge, and what goes out the other side stays hot!
Plus, the temperature is hotter now as well as more efficient.
OK, while I'm at it, note that the intake port is not in the dead center of the forge body - it's off-set. This is so the flame is not just blowing directly across the forge, it spins, creating a vortex and more efficient fuel burning.
Note that I have a pedistal fan standing there. This blows on low speed from right to left across the port to blow the flame away from the blacksmith so its not hitting him in the facce, and to keep the tong handles from getting hot. It also blows the heat from the forge body away from the blower motor, which, otherwise, would get rather hot!

[Jeremy]

Karl, do you have a small vent somewhere on that forge, or is it all vented out the front?

I like your fuller.  I've seen a few different variations on that. My favorite keeps the jaws parallel, but yours is a whole lot easier to make.

[kbaknife]

This keeps the jaws parallel just fine - you adjust to the dimension you want the final fuller-task to be.
I got that on **** from a blacksmith supplier.
There is no vent other than the front port. Not sure why you would want a vent?

[LAR43]

Thanks Karl,
Building a blown forge this spring. Just tossing around vertical vs horizontal.
Appreciate the input.

Larry