VaughnT

Absolutely incredible story. Those anvils should be in a museum! Thanks for getting them to safety, I'd have hated to learn that they were melted down for car bumpers.

Considering the cost of a new anvil, I'm thinking I'll have to make due with the small anvil that I have for the time being. Sadly, the anvil has seen better days and the face needs some serious repair if I want to work on a reasonably flat surface. There doesn't appear to be much of the face plate left (in terms of thickness), and all of the edges are chipped, so I'm curious to know if anyone in the SC area has repaired an anvil with the hard-facing technique. I'm willing to travel a good bit to learn/help/watch/photograph the process, and will provide the materials for the project. Question is, is anyone experienced at this? How much would it cost, round about, for a small anvil with a 4"x14" face? How long would it take? Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.....

Ricochets are always a danger, but that can be mitigated by using targets that are designed for the caliber, and are used at the proper distance. Shooting an 80# pepper popper with a .22lr is just asking for a comeback, but shooting it with a .223 at 50yd or more, and you're perfectly safe unless it catches in a previous crater. Again, it's mostly common sense. And don't hesitate to throw those targets away once they get deformed.

The first thing to determine is what you're going to be shooting at the targets with. What works for a .22lr isn't going to work for a .357, and what works for pistols won't work for rifles and carbines. I've made several types of targets from mild steel plate to use with my squirrel gun (a Remington 597 and Ruger MkII), but wouldn't even think about mild steel for something stronger. For rifles and carbines, you want to go with armor plate like AR500, and you still have to be careful of the distance you're shooting at. My favorite style is the swinging plate that hangs from a cross-bar. This will move a bit when the round hits, and deflects the bullet into the ground. Pepper Poppers are also very nice and allow you to set them to fall only when they are hit solidly. The bad part is that you have to reset them after every string of fire.

Excellent stuff, hoss. If I was closer, we'd definitely have to talk some!

Thank you, gents, for the kind welcome. I worked a bit back in the day, but nothing grand and seeing all the projects here has really given me the itch. That and having a nephew that needs to learn this stuff.... Ironsmith, I'd love to talk with you about those forges. I've been planning mine, and replanning, and rereplanning, never seem to actually get something done! Every time I think I have a design down, I see something different being done and think maybe that would be the better way to go. I do actually have a good piece of pipe to start with, though. Just got to get the rest of the stuff and grow a pair.... Heard there was a smith in the Greenwood region, but I've not run across him. Heard about another one in Anderson, but I think he's passed. Did some nice work, though. Still, I'm keen to keep on plugging away at it. There's knives to be made and a nephew in need of learnin'!

This site has been incredibly helpful in stoking the fire I thought long dormant. After HS, I spent a bit of time working with a blacksmith in Georgia and I miss it more than I thought. It's been more years than I care to count since I last cranked up a forge, and I've long since gotten rid of the small amount of tools I had. But, I'm certainly keen to get back into the game. I'm halfway down by Lake Greenwood and am currently in search for another anvil while I build a gas forge. Soon, very soon..... Thanks for the inspiration, gents!

Gotta agree with Dave on this one. I've always had a small bench grinder and it's just gathering dust because it's just too non-usable for so many things. The motor would be great for some buffing wheels, but as a grinder they are less than optimum if your doing anything more than putting a rough edge on a lawnmower blade! Now, since I built my 2x72 "knife-maker's" grinder, things are altogether different! That thing smokes on a dozen different levels and I wonder how I ever got along without it. From a course 36 grit belt to a super fine 1200 grit belt in simple easy steps. Plenty of access to the grinding area and more power than I could ask for. I can't bog it down. Lots more expensive than a cheap-o bench grinder, but infinitely more useful in a shop, whether you be a professional or inveterate tinkerer like me.

AF, the type of spark given off by the metal will tell you something about what you're grinding. Tool steel throws off different sparks than mild steel, and cast iron throws off different kinds of sparks than wrought iron. If the faceplate is integral to the body of the anvil, meaning that they aren't two separate parts welded together, you can grind a bit on the foot of the anvil to see what the sparks look like. A cast iron anvil is about useless, but an anvil made from cast steel, like a lot of modern anvils, would be perfectly suitable for working on. If this anvil is old, the chances of it being cast steel are slim. Of course, we have to define "old"! My thoughts: if the anvil is large, over 150#, it's more than likely that it will be a good anvil for a shop. Large anvils were made for working, not decorator pieces, and no shop would invest the money into something that might break in two with the first hammer swing. Not having a maker's mark is a bit curious, but I wouldn't worry too much as my little anvil has the faintest writing you've ever seen. Do the ball bearing test for rebound and listen to the ring.

For $4/lb, I want pristine edges and delivered to my door!

Anyone near Antioch, TN and need a nice Fisher? http://nashville.craigslist.org/atq/2138189483.html

What an awesome story! My job takes me to all kinds of rural places with old dilapidated farmsteads, and I keep thinking that one day I'll find a half-buried anvil just laying there. I've found old forges (all broken beyond repair), and tons of scrap metal, but never an anvil. Good to know that it could happen, though.

This thread give me hope! I recently bought an old anvil from a friend for the whopping sum of $30 and the promise of a knife. It's his granddad's anvil, probably more than 80 years old, and small, but I thought I'd take it off his hands. Turned out to be far more worn than he initially let on and it needs some weld to make the face even a little useful. Not as bad as in the OP, but there's not a sharp corner on the thing and the face is rounded rather nicely. The good news is that, while almost useless, the anvil is also fairly small. I wouldn't estimate it at more than 80lbs, certainly not more than 100lbs, and that makes it a prime candidate for a weld-up top. It would make a great anvil for light work and bladesmithing if the face was flat and square! Thanks for the inspiration, hoss. I'm off to do some research....

"this one is a s-t-e-a-l in north carolina looks like a hayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy budden My link " Called the guy today... says it's "cast iron" and doesn't have any kind of ring like his other anvils. He has a guy coming to look at it tomorrow, so I don't expect it will last long. Great price, though, and I'm hoping it's around this weekend for me to pick up with the quality is there.

Personally, I would have gladly bought some of those pieces for the price asked. Try as you might, you cannot honestly duplicate the look of some of that stuff with a 'faux' finish, and that old look is very spot on for some decors. Me, I'm very traditionally minded and like the look of details you see in the older buildings. They really paid attention to the details! Old phones and old fans, cast switch covers and light fixtures. Don't get me started on old wrought iron pieces.... I could spend hours walking through their warehouses, and I'm sure I would break down in tears at the thought of all the cool odds and ends I couldn't take home with me!

The neatest quench tank I've seen was made with an old, very big ammo can. The guy had rigged it with a circulation pump and heater, but I don't think that was absolutely needed. Five gallons of quench with a lid already hinged on.... can't ask for much more than that!

What about a clothesrack design? I watched a girl in the department store move a rack of clothes through a maze of displays and thought that such a thing might be handy for the shop because wall space is always at a premium. Take a standard clothes rack and fill the middle with some expanded metal that you could hang your dies from. Or, do your two-bar system between the uprights. Basically, you've created a mobile section of wall. The dimensions would depend on your shop, but you wouldn't want to go too high or you'll risk getting top-heavy. Did that make sense?

When I was first learning about smithing, I made a flatter accidentally. I was wanting to make a hot cutter from a section of axle, so I drew out a short taper and dropped it into the hardy hole on my anvil. When I screwed up a hammer stroke or two, I decided to "fix" the situation by peening the remaining axle to spread it out over the top of the anvil. Worked amazingly well, but I ate up a lot of coal to get that steel hot enough to flow under my 4lb hammer. After getting the head to about 3" in diameter, it was small work to weld a rod on the side of the stem and true up the face with sandpaper and files.

I'm getting ready to begin on my gas forge but.... The pipe I have is 8" ID. I have plenty of length to cut from, but wasn't sure if I'm reading things right. If I understand correctly, the castable refractory is just a type of cement that does the same thing that koawool/itc 100 does? Is that right? Is one measurably better than the other? Easier to work with? I was considering sliding a piece of 4" pvc pipe down the middle of my pipe and simply pouring the castable around it. Seems simple, right? But what am I missing? I don't see a lot of folks doing similar, so I'm curious to know what I've got wrong. Also, while we're at it, is there a formula to determine how many burners you need in a given size of chamber. I'm thinking something about 15" long and 4" in diameter after insulating the pipe. With a blown forge, could I get an even enough heat for basic knife heat-treating if I only have one .750" burner? Or would two burners be better (smaller diameter or same diameter?) I have to say that I'm really excited to get back into working iron and appreciate all the information you folks have shared.

Very nice! What are the dimensions? Does it really weigh a grand?

One part muriatic acid + two parts 3% Hydrogen Peroxide. Test on scrap and dilute as needed.

Pressure-treated pine 6x6's from the lumber yard. Cut to the proper length and bolted together, they do well especially if you put a layer of silicone caulk between the anvil and the wood.

I asked the same question some time back and was told that they wouldn't work for knifemaking because they have a very oxidizing flame. Don't know what that means, but I stopped using it for knives b/c the common thought was that it was bad. It definitely likes to choke out if you get it too close to a wall or the like, due to back pressure.

Very nice forging! I haven't forged in years, but I feel confident in saying that you've done a far better job than I could. Great hammer control. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Very nice work. The contrast in that damascus is intense! How did you fasten the pommel securely? I'm thinking about the same thing on a knife, but I can't wrap my head around trusting epoxy.