BIGGUNDOCTOR

Rasps are generally not the same alloy as a machinist file since wood and hooves are not nearly as hard as steel is. I talked with the metals guy at Nicholson file, and although he would not give me the exact alloy they used, he said that treating a machinist file like W1 for heat treating was a good bet. He said their machinist files are a higher grade of steel than the wood files and rasps due to the above statement.

You can get an Anvil Brand Legend 120# anvil for $715, and JHM makes some good anvils. I have one of their 125# Journeyman anvils that I got from a retired farrier. It is kind of a cross between a farrier pattern, and a smithing pattern in my eyes. I loaned it to a friend who used it to make "Damascus" billets for knives, and he remarked that it was a good anvil to work on. They are cast ductile iron, and the one I have still looks new. As for size, everything I have done so far could have been done on the JHM easily, but my main anvil is a 260# Fisher. Why? A few reasons, but namely it

Missing the top plate, so pretty much just a hardy hole and a horn. This falls under, whatever someone offers above scrap rate.

The then new Vdara hotel in Las Vegas got the Death Ray knickname the first summer.

Borrow an oxy acet torch.

Bowling balls come in weights up to 16#

Red Shed Forge, I would hit them with a belt sander to help smooth them out. A regular wood belt sander works fine with emery belts for projects like this. Or hit them with a file.

Irondragon, I always wanted to take one of those old satellite dishes and cover it with mirror pieces for a solar heater.

Chad J. - having a GF who looks for rusty items like that for you is rare.

Cyanide is also used, but not DIY friendly for obvious reasons.

The election sign wire frames I have seen are an H shape, and maybe 1/8" wire. Pretty spindly. Everything else is a banner strung across rebar driven into the ground.

Congratulations! I believe 15mm would be fairly thick for that weight. I have a 138# PW that has a divot in the face near the horn. I also see a lot of PW's with a lot of sway, so I am not totally sold on them as being fantastic anvils, but still really nice. Others have said the hardening was kind of hit or miss with them, some are great, some less so. If you are not swinging a 10# sledge on it every day you should be fine. It doesn't appear to be in bad shape other than the one area on the face. Be mindful of how it was constructed, work within its limitations, and it w

I have clamped a pair of Vise Grips on the heel to deaden ring. Others have used a bar dropped through the hardy or pritchel hole. I have seen weights hanging off of horns too. As Glenn said, you want to disrupt the vibrations, so the item needs to throw them off in some way. The horn and heel act like a tuning fork, so that is where the best work is done for quieting an anvil, not the waist. I am not a fan of chains on the waist, and used speaker magnets on my Soderfors. My main anvil is a Fisher, so ringing is not an issue.

Definitely looks cast to me, Swedish? Soderfors, Kolswa,etc...

Look into gun blue, or black phosphate finish, then wax or clear coat. I think it would lose some character a gray color once the zinc tarnishes. I see the stickers on your cabinet. Fellow gearhead I presume.