Thought maybe this might give somebody an idea or two.
Whenever someone undertakes the first few steps into knife forging, it seems like the first thing sought is an anvil.
Big surprise!
Not easy to find, and a new one is serious expensive!
The first one I bought cost me $900.00.
The things you will see here are basically scrap!
Keep in mind that the importance of an anvil is NOT just something to beat steel on.
The weight of the anvil is designed to RETURN the energy of the blow to the back side of the workpiece.
With a light piece of steel as an anvil, the energy of the hammer blow just passes right on through the work piece and is consumed by the earth below.
Here is a concept using a large piece of scrap steel and a piece of railroad track.
When a lot of guys are told to use a piece of RR track, they get one and then use it WRONG!
It should be stood on end so that the entire mass of the track is directly BELOW the hammer blow.
This set-up I made here also works as a work station to forge the "Brut-de-Forge" knives, as it can be rolled around the shop and located right next to the forge, and then rolled out of the way until needed again.
I have also used this for twisting Damascus and wrought iron. I use the vise to straighten my blades, just unlimited uses in the forge area.
It can also be loaded up into a truck or onto a trailer and taken to hammer-ins!!!
Just get to a recyle yard somewhere in your neigborhood and find a chunk of HEAVY steel to set on top of a piece of RR track.
Find a buddy who does some welding.
The base is 5/8" steel plate. I figure the whole thing weighs in at around 325 pounds.
I got lucky on the placement of the wheels - it balances perfectly for tilting back and rolling around the shop.
Topic: Work Station ideas (Read 998 times)
