caotropheus

I know nothing about belt sanders, yet, but the anvil looks very much like a "proper" anvil to me...

Nice plan. Probably you do not need to build the stand symmetrical around the rock breaker bit. Looking at your plans, I think it will be enough just two bits (thickness) of lumber on the right hand side of the upright rock breaker bit.

It followed me home, but I had to trade for a mechanical scale weighs up to 105 kg. I went to visit a fellow artist blacksmith and he needed a scale up to 150 kg. He needs to weigh his works before he ships them overseas to estimate costs. I saw this bit of rail and we trade. Brand new piece of rail stock. The rail height is 172 mm and base width 150 mm. I thought on transforming it into a type of Charles R. Stevens rail anvil and set it in a stand together with the small 4 inch leg vice, as a "mobile blacksmithing station" Any ideas welcome

Nice chunks of steel. I made the anvil I use the most with this material from a rock breaker and the rebound is amazing. Take a look in one of my videos on Youtube on how I made my first anvil. Looking forward to see the two chunks integrated in a stand. I would use the rock breaker bit standing (but the side rounded surface is also useful to curve stuff) and the square chunk laying down so you have a long surface to straighten stuff.

Try to make a seesaw swing type scale, hang/attach in one edge your new anvil and on the other edge hang/pile weights you now...now you can estimate your new anvil's weight. Tell us the weight and show us pictures of scale you improvised...

I have no experience with use of concrete in anvil bases. Take a look at this thread for some ideas. I made an anvil similar to what you're describing with a metal support with the anvil attached to it with clamps. The all contraption is stationary and bolted to the floor.

Not much to tell you the truth. Most of all, it takes space on the shelf. The anvil I use the most is this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLsgFjkBQtg the main body is made of the best steel you can get in the junk yard to improvise an anvil. The rebound is so good that If I miss a blow, I will need a surgeon to replace my face!...

Where I live, the cost to make this project was cheaper than a cast Chinese ASO of equivalent weight! I bought yesterday the hard facing rods. I went to the welding supplies manufacturer, I set with the technical staff for half an hour to advise with the type of rod to use and procedures to weld. Five kg of rods around 170 USD I was advised to warm up the welding surface to about 200 C weld and smooth the hard facing in a single go and allow it to cool down really slow. They also told me not to weld more than 3 - 4 mm thick. Just hope the 5 kg of rods I bought will be enough for all the face and tail surface. If you gentleman have further suggestions, please let me know thanks

At the beginning I just wanted to make a striking anvil with a hardy hole... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSpXA0b33Fg Just used a welder, and angle grinders.

How heavy is it? Now you only have to set it up right and all will be fine !...

You are absolutely right about it. After all in my threads you can see a real nice anvil I improvised a couple of years ago and it serves my very well. But I still do not have an hardy hole I am satisfied with, so I got this bit of round stock 160 mm diameter and I thought "what a really nice stricking anvil!" after using it for a while I thought " I have this bit of 40 mm thick plate, so, if I add it I have a stricking anvil with a nice hardy hole!" I did it and I used it and then I thought "if I add a round horn and an angular horn this will make a nice anvil" ... you get the idea, right? Now it become an exercise of stubbornness...

I have already a very good anvil I improvised from scrap. I even have real good anvils, though "low weight" (one 14 kg, one 37 kg). But I had to see what is to make an anvil with bits of scrap. I am making a video on how I am doing this anvil. I may say it is all made out of mild steel and I used 7 major chunks of scrap and minor bits of stock and so far around 20 kg of electrodes almost all of them 3.25 mm and 4 mm and currently weighs 65 kg. I have a 3 phase 380 V, 3 x 16 A welder that allows me to use up to 5mm electrodes or 250 Amps but I am afraid of cause damage to my electrical wiring at home (classic European standard 3x 220 V 25 Amps). The construction of this anvil have become an exercise of stubbornness ! This is how far I got, I think that 4 or 5 more hours welding will give me the result I am aiming for...

Imagination is the limit. What is the equivalent terminology for ASO in the safe industry? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOVOsWczD4Q

Saw this on YouTube. Easy to notice these fellows know little about anvils... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXtDj0eGhtw check from minute 3:35

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLsgFjkBQtg My anvil

Like in many stationary tools at the shop, you always wish you had heavier equipment: the anvil, the working bench, the power hammer, the press (either any type of mechanical or hydraulic press), the crane/hoist and the list goes on... I will give you an example with my working bench. I had a 150 kg working bench and the post vice was attached to it. Any work with the hammer at the vice would rock all the vice and bench. I was offered a 24 mm thick plate and I made a 500 kg work bench. I attached the post vice to it and now the bench does not rock when I do hammer work at the vice ... but when I put my 60 kg chunk of steel on top of the bench and I hammer stuff on it, the 500 kg bench rocks a bit ... I wish I had a 1500 kg work bench ... The smiths in this video work perfectly with what seems to be 8 kg sledge hammer heads firmly attached to planet Earth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qol5Ey3sImQ

Real nice close up pictures, You're just missing the "general picture", in other words, you're missing the pictures that includes the whole of the anvil from the side, top, back and front...

Smithing is just like martial arts. When I was practicing aikido, there was nothing related to force. Use force in aikido and the opponent defeats you...just like smithing, use force, metal will not move, you get tired even before you started. By the way, back in the aikido day, you should have seen how 10 year old girls with the right technique tossed 120 kg guys...

Nice block of steel. According to my calculations JHCC is right, that block weighs between 32 kg and 33 kg. Is it mild steel? Did you check the rebound?

I got the stand together with the press. The stand is made out of flimsy angle iron that I reinforce a bit with flat and square stock. It is bolted to the concrete. I made the stand top out of wood because I had no money to buy a metal plate. The "fly wheel" bar of this press is 1.5 metres long. Stand metal frame is 90 cm tall x 90 cm long x 56 cm wide. The stand top was made with 5 cm thick boards I had available. Since I am a small guy (only 1,60 m tall) I am ok with the press height. But my sons are 1.82 m tall and have problems with the height of the weights (that I am changing now to lead weights to make them a bit more compact). If I knew that today, I would have added 10 cm more to the total stand height.

C-1ToolSteel Please, allow me to criticize this test. 1- Would you have given the trouble to secure this ASO to a base, it would have broken not with a couple of blows but with just half a blow when hammer was still being raise for the first time! In any case, would you have hit this ASO firmly secured it would have broke in several pieces from a single blow... 2- post this video on YouTube with the title you use for this post and you're going to be famous!

Yes, 37 kg from bathroom scale. Forgot to mention, diameter pritchel hole 19 mm, hardy hole 20 mm x 20 mm.

Greetings I bought this anvil today. The previous owner thought it would be a good idea to powder coat it! It weighs 37 kg it has no markings except for number "37". Is this the anvil weight? date of manufacturing? the surface and edges area bit rough but still good to forge. The tip of the horn is also a bit smashed. Is it a good idea to file and refine the tip of the horn? Rebound is about 90% and rings a bit when hit with an hammer. The bottom of the hardy hole is not entirely square like the top but round. Someone plugged the hole with a bit of wood, I think. I will have to clear the hardy hole. So, can you guys please help identify age and manufacturer of this anvil? Thanks

The hardy hole works ok so far but I did not make heavy work on it. For example, do not forge hardy tools or use sledge hammers on it because I am afraid of damaging the "C" channel. I simply forge or fabricate the tool I need and weld the shaft to insert into the hardy hole. Light work with a "single hand" hammer is ok. The horn, on the contrary, is very sturdy in this configuration because it is supported in two places.

So far so good, but I haven't been forging much. I have lots of work for the last year and only forge a couple of hours a month. The anvil's rebound is fantastic, the horn is not broken, so... You're right. I am Portuguese (born and educated in Portugal) but my wife is not. We live in her place