I've wondered about this for quite some time. Do you ever worry about damaging your anvil when working? I often find myself lightening my hammer blows out of caution whenever I move towards the end of the heel or horn on my 175lb anvil even if I'm using a 2lb hammer. Is this a legitimate concern? I know this question is really easy to answer with "It depends", so I'll try to make this as detailed as possible:
Assuming you are working mild steel at a reasonable forging temperature and barring mis-strikes, is there any significant risk of a single person (i.e. not including strikers) breaking off a horn or heel of a time-tested (relatively old) anvil? Let's assume the anvil is an average sized shop anvil, maybe in the 150-175lb range. I know it also depends on what pattern/time period the anvil is from, so let's assume an average English, European, or American anvil produced anytime in the 19th and 20th centuries. By "average", I simply mean not an anvil purely built for heavy industrial forging, nor an anvil built solely for light ornamental work, but the more common anvils between the two extremes. Hopefully I've covered most of the variables.
Or, have you ever broken/damaged an anvil or heard of one being broken? If so, what were the conditions?
I've seen many anvils missing horns and heels, but I wonder if most of these were manufacturing defects and failed shortly after being put into use, rather than after 50 years of use. I've never seen an anvil that looked like it was recently broken.
Curious to hear your opinions or experiences,
Thanks!