caotropheus

I also build my own anvils. All welded anvils I verify again and again I am using mild steel for the main body. I just built a stake anvil with top steel plate (steel from a plough share). To attach the top plate to de main anvil body I made full penetration welding. Now I need to make the heat treatment and I am waiting for the Winter. The Summer runs hot, every day now is above 40 C and the risk of causing a fire is really high. I will post a video of the anvil fabrication after the heat treatment. https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/66233-i-homemadediy-my-third-anvil/ Like others said, use your anvil for some time before you decide to weld a steel plate...

Thank you Frosty the Lucky Yes, I drilled holes if the feet. As I planned this anvil + stand, I thought about being used on soil, so, if the feet bury in the soil, it will stabilize the anvil. The anvil + stand are light, on concrete floor it will move all over, even with a 0.5 kg hammer, so 4 bolts will secure it in place...

I did not forge on it yet. I just tapped around with a 0.75 kg hammer to check for the ring and it "feels" like an ordinary anvil. I fabricated the stand wide, with slant legs to give more stability. I wanted to build a shorter, more stout round horn but it come out the way you see it. If necessary, I will shorten the horn. I forgot to mention, the anvil weighs 50 kg. The stand I did not weigh it yet.

This time I wanted to try to weld a top hardenable steel pate to the main body of an anvil. I still have to make the heat treatment of the top plate. This procedure will take a couple of month, we are at the peak of the summer, daily temperatures pass 40 C and I am afraid to cause a fire. I will wait for winter. Wish me luck to make the correct heat treatment and that the top plate will not detach from the main body of the anvil. I welded this anvil together from 3 chunks of mild steel, main body, rounded horn and angular horn/tail. The top plate is from a plough share, 12 mm thick. Since the main body is composed by a section of 100 mm X 100 mm and 35 cm long, I decided to make a stake anvil. The stake was made from 50 mm round rod and it touches the ground for the stand I built. It reminds a leg vice, when you hammer on the anvil, energy is transmitted both to the stand and to the ground through the stake. Later I will publish a video of the anvil construction.

Nice build LeMarechal Is there a chance you post a video of the hammer working?

Isn't that a thing of beauty? Use it the way it is until you figure out what you want from an anvil. Just round a bit the edges. Do you have the possibility to use both the flat faces and the round surface of the cylinder?

A block of steel that works as an anvil, it is an anvil, no matter the shape. An ASO or Anvil Shaped Object, it is an object that looks like the modern anvil anvil (for example London pattern anvil) but made of very low quality material (for example cast iron) and it is sold very cheap in the market. An ASO has no use in blacksmithing. Probably you can use it as a door stop or as a boat anchor. Before you post your questions, make a search in the forum about "improvised", "homemade", "diy" or 'makeshift" anvil. You will get many threads. Here it is one example and good luck in your blacksmith journey

Olá human_afterall O torno de ferreiro (sim, a tradução para Português de "Leg vise" ou "Post vise") parece estar em mais ou menos ok condição. Não sei qual o preço destas ferramentas na America do Sul, mas para a Europa, o preço parece ser bastante razoavel. Sugiro que peça ao vendedor uma foto com o torno fechado para ver se as mandíbulas estão alinhadas. As roscas do parafuso estão em boas condições apesar deste não ser original. Se comprar este torno, sugiro que fabrique algum tipo de protecção para o parafuso. Boa Sorte na aventura pelo mundo da Ferraria. Translation Hello human_afterall The blacksmith vice (yes, Portuguese translation for leg vice or post vice) seems to be in good condition. I do not know the price for these tools in South America, but for Europe that price is very reasonable. I suggest you ask the seller a picture of the vice closed to check for jaw alignment. Eventhough the screw is not original, the threads look like they are in fairly good condition. If indeed you buy this vice, I suggest you fabricate/improvise some sort of protection for the screw. Good luck in your blacksmithing adventure.

These are the anvils I built at home using scrap materials with a forge, hammers, an arc welder and angle grinders (No CNC mill, no surface grinder...I'll get there one day...) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLsgFjkBQtg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSpXA0b33Fg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1-gk6W5Qrs Now I am building a stake anvil with a top plate hardenable steel. I am experimenting on building anvils at home and I always try a different method. I made several mistakes during my anvil building, if you decide that you really want to build an anvil by yourself, I am willing to tell you what not to do. https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/65389-heat-treat-anvil-top-plate/ I followed the instructions from very knowledgeable people here in the forum and you may notice all welds full penetration welds...hours and hours welding, kg after kg of electrodes... You may want to see this thread, get some ideas probably you can forge for some time with a simple block of steel, learn what you want to do in blacksmithing and only then build your own anvil. https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/52308-a-collection-of-improvised-anvils/ IFI contains many threads and questions on "homemade anvils" make a search. Youtube is also loaded with ideas on how to homemake an anvil, few of them good ideas, almost all of them lousy ideas, but when you look at these videos you learn, mostly what not to do. Take a look at Youtube using the following key words "homemade diy anvil" "rail anvil" Good luck and show us the results

My questions: 1) select a big block of steel (lets suppose 150 kg of steel) and by stock removal, carve an anvil out of it? 2) carve the different components of the anvil and then weld it together? 3) use a simple block of steel, weld to it an horn and an hardy hole?

Thank you for the nice videos

I know the feeling...IFI Vises has a few threads on vices "I just had to buy them". Now, clean it and show us some pictures of the vice in action. Vices are compared to each other according to jaw width but out of curiosity, how much this beauty weighs?

I have one anvil similar to this one in slight better condition. I also felt sorry for it and acquired it "el cheapo". I am going to use it for another exercise on stubbornness repair. Previous owner did not use it as a boat anchor but as a candle holder! The anvil surface is covered with wax, probably more robust material than the cast iron!

PWS - Peter Sir, From the picture, that post vice is a thing of beauty, big and heavy. In blacksmithing, heavy is good! Not always, but good! If you allow me, I would like to kindly ask why didn't you buy the vice? thanks

Greetings Covid 19 lockdown and long days at home. So I am building my 3rd anvil. The final estimate weight is around 45 kg. This time I am using the method of welding the top plate. I took a plough share 12 mm thick, I annealed it, cut to shape and I am welding it as top plate to a mild steel body. The plough steel seems to attached firmly to 7018 welds and it was pre heated before welding. I am approaching the part I have to heat treat the top plate. I am making a stake anvil. I made a small experiment and hardened a bit of steel on water, it broke easily upon hammer impact. I also made some observations under the stereoscopic microscope of the interface between 7018 welds and different steels. The steels were at room temperature, about 20 C. I lay 3 beads on top of steels, cut a slice, polished the cuts and etched for about 1 hour on muriatic acid 32%. Then I made my observations. 7018 weld top / mild bottom 7018 weld top / leaf spring bottom, notice micro cracks in the interface 7018 weld top/ plough steel bottom So, I know the plough top plate steel is brittle if hardened in water, I still have to harden test the steel in oil and air hardening. I doubt in my home conditions I can harden a 12 mm top plate air hardening steel attached to 45 kg non magnetic hot steel. To harden this top plate in oil is completely out of the question for obvious reasons. So, I am left for water quenching and I am afraid the top plate will detach from the welds. Also the quenching method will be a garden hose and many buckets of water being pored on the anvil. Do you guys have suggestions that can help me heat treat this top plate? thanks.

Several years ago I saw a Youtube video of a guy hardening a 200 kg block of air hardening steel. He heat up one of the top faces of the block and then let it cool down. I cannot find the video, the title was just the series number generated by the camera. He adapted a fire wood stove as a forge, welded some brackets to the block to be able to handle it, set an hoist on top of the forge and let few weed burners work for several hours to warm up the block. Then he hoisted the block, removed "forge" from underneath and let it air cool for many hours. And yes, there was some hardness added to the heat treated face, but not as hard as you would expect. If the price is right, I would go for a professional heat treater. By the way, did you check all faces of the block to check if there is any harder area?

I had bad experiences trying to weld spring steel. I tried to build twice an anvil with leaf spring face and the plate detached it self from the anvil upon some hammering. Take a look at this thread if you want some ideas for improvised anvils. Take a good look at this thread and read with detail what people write about their improvised anvils

These are just some examples on how to dress and fit your hammer to your personal preferences but there are many more videos.

Jim is right, forget the casters. The vice needs to be firmly secured to work as a vice. if it wonders around and/or it is not a solid base to hammer on and twist steel, it will not be useful as a blacksmith tool.

I suggest you clean threads rust with a round wire brush set on a drill before try to thread the leg. Apply some grease when you thread the leg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw3YbLHY9rw Posted it today...

If you search google for "blacksmith books free download" you will see several results for XIX century books

To degrease I use turpentine, paint thinner, soap and water That RR track can make a nice post for the vice as well...

What is better than an anvil? Two or more...Go ahead and ask.

I am no expert and I cannot precise the vice age, but it does not look that old. Assuming most components are original, if you look to the mounting plate and to the spaces underneath the jaws + bolts and nuts (most probably to mount "pipe jaws"), the symmetry of the vice, it looks it was made by XX century machinery, most probably, well into the XX century... The blue colour looks like original paint. By the way, the mounting plate is upside down...