Bought an Anvil...Too Heavy?

[Jawa]

I might have made a big mistake.  For quite some time I was designing a post anvil around a piece of steel I got from a swamp by the railroad tracks.  Turns out it is a heel block.  Nice and heavy, especially once I would have combined it w/ a 6"x6"x3" mild steel block and the face of a foot of track.  It was an evolving process.  Was.  That changed when I discovered late one night that the heel block is almost certainly cast iron.  My spirits sank, and impulsively I spent all my money on a Peddinghaus 165#.

Thing is, I live in an apartment in the city and cannot forge near where I live.  I am determined to make it work.  Plan is to load my stump, anvil, forge table (detachable pipe legs) all all my other equipment into my truck every single time I want to forge and drive it somewhere else, unload, set up, have fun, take it down...  I will probably be doing this alone most of the time.

I'll cut to the chase.  Is 165# too heavy to be a "portable" anvil?  I know some people here can easily lift much more.  But I mean four lifts each time you want to forge something, with a short flight of stairs involved...  I'd estimate I'm of average strength and above average determination, but I don't want to wreck my back.

Edited November 2, 2015 by Jawa

[NickOHH]

Hand truck then you just have to lift it into the trunk unless you use a ramp then just wheel it up.

[ThomasPowers]

I'd go with a 90-110 pound anvil for that situation and keep the larger on for when you move to a better location.   I used to carry my 91 pound Arm & Hammer up out of the basement each time I wanted to forge in inner city Columbus Ohio---gave the rickety stairs an interesting quiver...  Might even be able to trade it for a smaller anvil and a postvise and other smithing stuff!

[Jawa]

Well, due to the weekend delay in payment processing I had one chance to change my mind.  I'd called them an hour before they opened today to let them know I was considering changing my order, and unfortunately did not have time to get back to check forum before they called me back.  I decided to go with the next one down, a 77#...  I'm wishing it was more in the 90-110 range, but I do like that it's a single piece of drop forged steel.  I am wondering how this will compare to the 77# Fisher I use in class.  Unfortunately this rules out a 1 3/4" drill rod I had hoped to turn into a claymore, but apart from that most of my plans are pretty small scale, and I think maybe if I beef up my stand I can make it a bit more effective.  This way I know I won't throw out a disk in my back, I keep telling myself.  It will also make setting up a lot more convenient.  And it increases the likelihood that later on down the line, when I have my own space for a workshop, I'll get an anvil even bigger than 165#.  Thank you for your replies, I feel a lot better with down-scaling though I know the bigger size could have been *doable* I feel like I would have hated that part of set-up, and I don't want to hate any part of it.

How much more effective does the stand make the anvil?  I'm thinking of embedding steel into my stump to make it heavier.  For an example: Is a 50 pound anvil with a 300 pound stand more effective than a 150 pound anvil with a 50 pound stand?

Edited November 2, 2015 by Jawa

[ThomasPowers]

Do you have to move the stand?    a stable non-flexing stand is more important than the absolute weight.

[HWooldridge]

Don't stress about it...77 lbs and a sturdy base that won't wobble will be quite enough.  The Brazeal brothers used a setup that was around that size and put out all sorts of great work at demonstrations.

I used to move my 250 PW without too much trouble by hooking my arms under it - but I value my back a bit more these days.  Just not interested in blowing out a disc...

[Ridgewayforge]

I use a 75 lber for all of my work. Use it, don't  abuse it and you'll do fine. 75 is right for a traveling shop. 

[WL smith]

I used to carry my 150# PW around all the time. Kept it in the kitchen for theft problems the forge two people could not pick up.(single at the time) I would drive around and find out of the way places to forge. If you still can afford the other anvil buy it you will not regret it. Now I'm 71 years old and my knees are shot from work. Not from carrying that anvil!

Edited November 3, 2015 by WL smith
More info

[ThorsHammer82]

Some times you've got to use mechanical advantage. A boom hoist in the back of the truck for lifting and lowering, and a hand truck for getting it in and out of the apartment/storage.

[matei campan]

you could for sure forge a sword on a 70 lb anvil, I did several, with no problem. don't forget what the anvils were in the time of the swords - just rather small stake anvils. and look at those japanese anvils used by traditional sword-smiths. with a proper base, you'll have a good and enough effective anvil. and double horned :)

[Jawa]

The 77lb anvil came in today, and I think it will suit my needs while I rent this apartment.  It's actually 75.8lb, by the way.  I think I'm going to have several stands, depending on where I'm forging.  Mostly I'll be shooting for tree trunks still rooted in the ground at certain locations I'll often frequent, but I have a metal stand now for portability if need arises.  I also have a really beautiful chunk of maple I'm carving.  It's only about 12"x12"x12" though.  Was going to bolt a plate to the bottom and weld 2" pipe legs to it, fill them with sand and weld little plate feet on the bottom.  Maybe have a hole or two in each "foot" so I can nail them to the ground with railroad spikes/barbed tent stakes.