maddog

I have a similar top tool that I got in a bucket of rusty stuff. An oval shaped face with square edges. I thought maybe some kind of set hammer? VINTAGE BLACKSMITH HAMMER VERY OLD UNIQUE TOOL ANVIL - eBay (item 350081320943 end time Jul-27-08 07:50:54 PDT)

That piece of heavy plate will make a great anvil. Personally I would stand it on edge not on end. On end it will tend to vibrate more as you have noticed when you reported the ring. In either case, I would definitely round the edges with radiuses (radii?) varying from 5/16" to 1/2" or larger. The nice thing about a block of mild steel is that if you do ding or wear it in one spot, you can easily just weld it up and grind it. This means you can be relaxed about learning and making mistakes.

I have the czech hammer, a hofi hammer and several Tom Clark - The finish and the quality on Clarks hammer is far superior to the Hofi, the czech is several steps below that. You can always rehandle a hammer

Gas forges do a poor job of mixing and burning the air and propane . You can often dramatically improve the performance of your forge by putting some firebrick or refractory rubble on the floor of the forge.