forging a anvil

[m_brothers]

Was forging the anvil harder or easier than you thought it would be? That big anvil must have taken some serious use during that time. Lol. Did you have to worry about recking the temper on the anvil with pieces that big and that hot?

[bruce wilcock]

Originally Posted by gazilla

Hi Bruce,

thanks for sharing these pictures, they're an encouragement of sorts. Did you use coke or coal for the welding fires? And how big was the hearth for these huge forge welds? I'm first doing some studying on the subject, to see how "do-able" this is, in order to convince a few people in our school. So any technical information would be welcome.

the hearths are made on the floor or around 18 -24 ins high depending on the job we use both coal and coke ,coke is less bother for welding, the hearths dont need to be fancy just a rammed foundry sand bottom fire bricks to hold the fire togeather, and a stainless pipe a yard long to make a tweer, and a big fan ,you need some handy lads that are used to the work ,and one has to be forgemaster ,its not easy if they all want to do there own way ,there has to be control ,to get the best out of the labour ,or some will want to do it all and get nothing done , and other good men will back out and leave them to it, big jobs throw out a lot of heat and hold it for a long time and men soon tire , so you can easily get a good heat and a weld started and the men out worn out if you dont handle them well .it can get into long days ,and the same the day after,

[gazilla]

thanks Bruce. I plan to start on a bickern (about 20" long, 10" high, horns 2" at the base), just to get the hang of working bigger pieces with two hammer men. I'll post some pic's when I get to it. Btw: did you harden the anvil you guys made?