Graham Gates(Ionic Muffin)

You are right, need to just start and if I get to a point where I need a heavier anvil the I should scrounge for scrap or save for a well made heavy one. And by that point I should know what I would really want and how to go about it. Thanks for all the replies. I am more than willing to be put in my place. Thanks for doing that all of you who put up with my lack of knowledge. Seems to me like I've been a toddler, exploring an option that wouldn't be feasible for a while and may never be something I could reasonable do. Having said this, I have learned quite a bit just from this discussion and would like to thank everyone again for that as well.

Sorry for all this, I was figuring that It would be worth the time and effort, but thus far that's not what I have heard. I am really not trying to toy with anybody, I merely am having or thought I was having a discussion as to getting an anvil that would serve the needs that I plan to have in the future, granted I don't know if i will get to that point, but I sure hope so. The calculations made were referring to weight and volume necessary to house the steel when being melted, I however have not made any calculations as to if it is possible and how much money or fuel it would take and I have not considered time in that either. I apologize for my irrationality, I am rather determined when it comes to wanting to do things myself, I really do prefer to do them if at all possible, but as it seems, unless I come into the proper equipment for such a project then having it forged or just buying one would be a better choice.

I guess you have a point there. I dont have to like it but I can accept it if it is so unreasonable. So then, If i were to have that kind of think made specific to my needs(depending on what I decided I wanted after many months/years of blacksmithing.) Then would it be cost effective to have it made or is 2700 $ just not going to cut it when getting an anvil made to your specifications?

If it were easy then they would be cheap and I would buy one, I may have to buy one instead of making one. I suppose if I really wanted to make one I would want to do so with several experienced smiths in a nice shop better geared for such a thing.

I've considered something like this, but eventually I want to have a very large anvil and I would like to avoid spending a ton on the anvil, If i were to forge it I would need a huge pit for the forge and a large air supply but that is more feasible than casting i guess.

so maybe instead of casting the metal It would be more practical to heat it enough to beat it into shape even if it takes longer and is very hard work. It would take a lot of the safety problems(not all) but most would be reduced since there would not be molten metal.

So what would an anvil i have cast going to cost vs just buying one?

my plan initially is to cast small things first and as a said to work up to it. Once I get to a bigger scale then i would want to practice with maybe small anvils and such till i am able to cast nice large chunks, I realize that I wont be able to cast one until I have the material and such, but I was thinking, wouldn't I be able to cast the anvil out of a big scrap piece that i find a junk yard that seems to have good rebound and is of the right size and weight and is maybe medium steel? Im probably missing a huge amount of info and thats where i need to find out whats missing and read up. Are there suggestions or insights into what else is wrong with my idea(im aware of safety and lack of skill and maybe cost, although i think i can skirt around that issue.) are there posts or articles on the web that i can start reading to point me in the right direction.

Yeah, I know he should finish before making suggestions but he said that if i do plan on doing it i dont want to be anywhere near the business end of the metal pouring.

I am no smith at all, I have no skill at it as of yet, let alone any casting experience. I plan to work up my casting skills, fuel wise I think that it will cost me little to nothing if I go the waste oil forge. And if I can make a waste oil smelting thing that can hold a large amount of metal for casting an anvil. My friend who had been working on an engineering degree told me that I wouldn't want anything to do with getting near the metal when its hot but instead have a valve that I could empty the entire crucible without taking it out of the forge at all. Then it would be a matter of making a mold that would be ideal for casting the anvil.

So I took the time to calculate the amount of size I would need to hold a lot of mass for an anvil and i came up with a 320 lb anvil that would be able to be put in a crucible that could have some manner of releasing the liquid metal out the bottom into which a mold would be underneath and could allow me to pour the anvil without using any lifting. I could even go heavier than that another time but ideally I can make all this and wind up making a nice anvil of steel, heat treat is another matter but it looks like i could do something like this once I need a bigger anvil than what I wind up scrounging for. What are you alls thoughts on this? You really need to read the pinned thread about this, ocated at the top of the section, before you go any further

Thanks for the advice frosty. I always wear eye protection, I make bows and since I suck at it I often wind up with a bow exploding into many pieces and they can put out an eye easily. So when I'm beating the steel you mean that I should keep it on the stone for only as long as absolutely necessary? What about when consolidating blooms?

Ok, well then, I shall look for the steel anvil from a junk yard and also grab a heavy granite boulder from my friend. I wont be able to do any of this until mid april but I think gathering info before you act is best.

So is there still some worth in having one? or would it be obsolete at this point if i can get a decent steel anvil?

So is granite really that undesireable, I mean I know that steel is better, but is it really that bad? I will be on the lookout for that kind of steel but i have no idea if I'll be able to find it.

As the title says I am looking to find out how much weight is ideal for a granite anvil I will be making this summer. I know I will ding this one up a bunch and since it is literally free then I mind as well make a nice big one that will allow me to do double jack forging with my friends so that I can forge some large items. I wont keep this as my main anvil once I can replace it but as it is I do not have the kind of funds to buy a nice anvil or even a decent weight chunck of steel for the veriety of work I plan to do. I am located in Washington State. Thanks for all advice.