SHC

Well, only review I’ve found of a long term owner says he really likes his, it’s better than his old Peter Wright even after he’d refaced it, but the PW was his first and still his favorite. And he had a #12 Peddinghaus sitting right next to it. He didn’t comment much on that one except to say it was new and he wasn’t using it much because he hadn’t dressed the edges yet. I’ll see if I can track down some of the owners on here and send them PMs.

Is the bridge made of metal? lol! You’re right of course, it’d be stupid to do that. I did read an interview with the first host, Will Willis I think was his name. Boy did he have some griping and groaning to do. But in fairness, he did point out that many of his complaints were simply due to the nature of that type of show, such as “hurry up and wait” and the intense heat. Four dual burner forges running at full blast in an enclosed space for three to four hours… And his job was to stand there and do nothing but watch. I wouldn’t want that job! Care to ask your student what he thought of the anvils for me? I’ve been reading and watching reviews on those Emersons, and between what I’ve read and watched, plus the convenience… they’re a really big contender in what I decide to spend my money on. I could sleep in on a Saturday and drive to Bossier after lunch, be home in time to set it up before dinner.

I just learned that Bob, the armadillo that lives under my house, likes marshmallows.

Frosty, I got a Facebook friend in Kenya. His forge was a hole in the dirt and he started out using a rock for an anvil. He’d have a small team taking turns blowing through a piece of pipe to stoke his fire. He makes garden, farming and hand tools from unknown scrap metals for his village. He is steadily moving up thanks to people making donations of tools and equipment. Irondragon, thanks for that link, I’m going to look at it right now.

I’m not usually one to buy something cause I see on TV, but I ain’t heard none of them guys and gals complain! And you know some folks look for any excuse when they lose. It’s going on the list of anvils to look into though for sure, just because I can swing by next time I go to bass pro, and there’s a big flea market on the other side of Shreveport from me.

Well that’s the average pop density. If you overlaid a square mile grid on the map with my place in the center, you’d get five houses. Still, I visited Wyoming once… if you stray too far from town you may as well be on the moon! Those were good times, building a snowman in June and getting sunburned. I’m looking at those three brands you mentioned and I’m really liking what I’m seeing. Frosty, good call on pointing out Emerson. Not only made in USA, they’re what’s used on Forged in Fire, AND their store is in easy day trip distance. Maybe two hours away, Bossier City Louisiana. I’ll put them on up there in the list of possibles, It would be really nice to save the time and money on shipping. That alone could turn out to be the deciding factor. I’m seeing a few shipping quotes on anvils of $400+. Just so I have a good point of reference for comparison purposes, do any of you know the average hardness of a used section of rail road track? And maybe the average hardness of a cast iron anvil?

I’m very rural. I have a neighbor across the road who’s lived there about 70 years. My house was built in ‘98. Only time civilization comes out here is during hunting season or when that poor lost fella driving the FedEx truck goes past. And I know he’s lost because there’s nothing past me but thousands of acres of wildlife preserve where all those hunters are going. So unless he’s delivering to a deer stand, he’s looking for me. My neighbor did just sell a couple acres to a friend of theirs so they can build a house and get out of town, so now there’s three houses out here at the end of the road, and we still can’t even see each other. Monroe ain’t called Gunroe these days for nothing.

Nope, horn most certainly does not have to be part of the anvil. And I’ve got a dozer axle! Turning cams don’t have to be either, my last set was the back end of a bicycle frame. I guess I can clarify something: yes, I’m new to this. But not “yesterday” new, about 14 months new, maybe 15. And been making do with what I can get my hands on quick, cheap and easy to make sure I want to pursue this. This is why I’m ready to upgrade to the big boy toys. Sorry I wasn’t clear on that much to begin with.

Thanks Frosty, I will update that info soon and hope to be able to visit and learn more. I’m not necessarily going for size so much as quality and long term satisfaction. Learned how to drive on a ‘57 Ford 8N by the way, and it’s still in use. That’s long term satisfaction! As for shop, I just bought a house back in August with a large automotive shop (stripped bare and closer to small warehouse size) and a nice pole barn enclosed on the end and halfway along both sides, floored with crushed lime and fully enclosed tool shed on the back with concrete floor. The guy who owned the place before me did some blacksmithing and repaired farm equipment, so my outbuildings are very adequate. West Monroe Louisiana by the way

I am usually pretty frugal and I’ll consider any recommendations. Scott, Cliff Carroll, and TFS are also in the running. I just want something I won’t want to upgrade in a year or two. Built in turning cams seem very attractive to me too. One thing throwing me off is, doesn’t seem to be many retailers of new anvils, and a particular online retailer that sells all three of those plus the Kanca… well, their descriptions kinda suck. Big block of steel is perfectly cool. Already have a rail track and kinda find myself in need of a horn. I could grind one on I guess, I don’t like my Makita angle grinder.

My name’s Walt, I go by SHC on a few forums, I’m only still active on a fishing forum. I’m new to blacksmithing. Already built a couple of simple tools, some tongs (ugly, flimsy, but functional) some knife blades, last night I made some bands to bind my anvil stand, it’s built out of a 4X6 timber cut into sections and currently held together with ratchet straps. Today I’ll drill and bolt those bands. Yesterday I cracked my anvil. Yes, cracked it. It’s a cheapo small cast iron anvil my wife picked out as a birthday gift just to get me started in this hobby. I was making a small hand trowel from a RR spike for digging around in water meter boxes (a semi regular task in my day job), and as I’m sure y’all know it’s hard to move metal on cast iron. So I was banging away at it and moving what I could before the steel cooled, missed my mark and heard a loud crack. After that, I might as well have been pounding on a dirt floor. Thankfully I have a piece of railroad track, so I can keep going. And that’s why I’m here. I’ve been looking at this forum from Google searches. I’ve already decided I love this hobby and would love to produce some work that can actually sell, but I won’t be quitting my day job of course. It offers health insurance! So I’ll be getting a new anvil sometime hopefully soon. I’m a firm believer in “go big or go home”. I also plan to buy new or like new. To this end, I’ve been browsing the reviews page a bit and plan to do do some more. Right now I’m leaning heavily towards the Peddinghaus #12 or the next one smaller. I learned a long time ago that when you’re investing in a tool of any sort, get the best you can get, borrow someone else’s, or learn to do without. It gets expensive just buying “good enough for now” and then upgrading later. But I’ve been reading some mixed reviews on the Peddinghaus anvils, so the search and research continues. There are several others I’m considering, most are ductile iron with a steel face which I know are used widely with great results, but “go big or go home”. A Kanca is also being considered for being all drop forged steel. I actually used to work in a steel mill making drop forged flanges, so I’m familiar with the process. I really loved that job, the ‘08 recession shut them down.