Show me your anvil

[Randy Griffin]

Agreed George N. M.

[JHCC]

Well said, George N. M.

[Flyboy]

Well said for sure. 

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

Anvil or tool hoarding doesn’t bother me if someone is truly collecting, like njanvilman with his Meuseum for example.

but those dudes with big warehouses full of old used blacksmith tools and machines that they sell for 10 times or higher then what they gave, now that I don’t think is very cool.
Or the flippers making up some ridiculous stories and then asking $20 a pound that gets on my nerves to. 
 
 

[George N. M.]

I have no problem with someone passing on an anvil for what they paid for it plus inflation since the time it was bought and something for their gas and trouble.  For example, a few months ago there was a nice 250# anvil in an auction up in Buffalo, WY (about 250 miles and 4.5 hours from Laramie).  If I had driven up there and bought it for say, $800, I would have felt OK about passing it on for $900 to cover my gas and time.

Some of my distaste for hoarding or profiteering is my belief that all smiths have a responsibility to promote the craft which includes helping new smiths get into the craft and helping them become equipped.  If you have 10 anvils that are not being used and have little chance of being used by you that represents 10 smiths who don't have anvils and may be limping along with a HF cast iron ASO or a not very good improvised anvil and, often, cannot afford better.  The karma of that just does not feel right for me.

To me, there is a responsibility to "share the wealth."

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[ThomasPowers]

Pretty much the reason I stopped running the TPAAAT all the time; got to my limit for users.  When I did pick up an anvil as part of the hoard; I sold it on at under the going rate as I really didn't need a 248# PW.  I didn't give it away as it was helping fund the total purchase; but I had several folks tell me I should have asked at least US$1-2 more per pound than I did.

[JeepinBoon]

Well TBH. My collection started with a Hay Budden and Mousehole with half the face worn off. Then cast unknown and jewelers. Only recently got the ACME (Trenton) and broken heel Kohlswa. I don't know who would want to buy a jewelers or cast unknown anvil, or a MH half worn out. The RR anvil I made is the most used of all. I am gonna Craigslist the three cheapies on the right as $ or trade for (?). 

[ThomasPowers]

Cast doesn't mean squat; there are GREAT cast steel anvils and terrible grey cast iron anvils and decent malleable cast iron anvils so please don't use "cast" without adding WHAT was cast!

[JHCC]

Yes, cast plaster and sand would be especially egregious!

[JeepinBoon]

Thomas, you're absolutely right to correct me so swiftly on my terminology. I suppose the proper description of the anvil in question would have been, "an anvil of unknown make or origin, of unknown ferrous metal, and formed by pouring molten metal into a mold". 

I never did positively identify it, so I just brushed, oiled, and stacked. I didn't even do a spark test to see what metal. Looking at it now, there appears to be a 3/16" steel face on it. Maybe it is a decent anvil after all. Don't know, don't care.

I've kept the HB and never used it because it is near perfect. The rest were cheap or trade. It's hard for me to say no to a cheap anvil when I got spare cash or trade a walking plough for a garden ornament MH. But yea. I agree with y'all. Hoarding anvils is bad. ALL of my anvils are up for grabs. Looking for a dirt bike. But yea.

Patience pays off. Y'all ever notice that after months or years of searching for your one "Prince Charming", they start showing up at your doorstep [xxxxxxxxx] ?

[Glenn]

That is the beauty of TPAAAT.  After the first one is located, the rest of your inquiries start to catch and bear fruit.

[JeepinBoon]

All's I can say for you noobs - SEND THAT LOWBALL OFFER! Worst they can do is say "NO". They're likely listing for quick cash or wanting premium price. You got ~15% chance that you can grab a jewel for cheap. Worst they can do is say, "NO". Even if they're asking $650 for a 143#, offer $100 and see. Thats how I got my anvils. . . Thats why I have what I have. Lowball offers and trades. You CAN get your anvil with patience and lowball offers.

[pnut]

I always offer a hundred or two less than what I think it's worth to leave room for haggling and when I get to the limit and still haven't made a deal I tell them to contact me if they change their mind. Nothing ventured nothing gained. 

Pnut

 

[JHCC]

Or as we say in my line of work, “Not asking is worse than a No. Not asking means you’ve deprived someone of an opportunity to say Yes.”

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

One thing I would like to add is always take the time to do your research, I catch a lot of people posting stuff for sale for a outrageous price and a 2 minute online search reveals that same thing they are selling can be bought brand new for alot less, ive seen people try do that with vises, anvils and other stuff not tool related,

prime example is here recently I saw someone post a swage block for sale in my area for $390 that can be bought new for $189 online. so don’t get in a hurry to contact a seller and buy something until you’ve taken the time to look it up first

[ThomasPowers]

Hit one of those yesterday:  Post Vise on CL for US$1000 when you could buy a larger brand new one from a blacksmithing supply for under $500.

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

The funniest one I’ve seen in the last few months on cl was someone who was selling a champion blower and forge company (corn sheller) for $300 that was apparently in perfect working condition… 

it was actually a champion 400 blower lol, 

I had to resist the urge to call them up and tell them I’ll buy it if they send me a video of it in operation shelling corn! 

but I was afraid if I did that they would tear it up trying to shove a corn cob in the impeller  so I just left it alone lol

[JeepinBoon]

JHCC - That should be a sticky.

On 8/18/2021 at 6:37 AM, JHCC said:

Or as we say in my line of work, “Not asking is worse than a No. Not asking means you’ve deprived someone of an opportunity to say Yes.”

 

[Vinito]

Well here's the closest thing to an anvil I have. It's just an ASO and still going to add more filler and refine it a bit probably later this week. I'm just getting started so hoping (and expecting) this to function well enough to get into some basics.

So far it weighs in at 106 lbs. but will probably add another 10 or 20 lbs. by the time it's "done".

The short horn is something hardenable (evident during turning) but the top face is just mild steel, so I'm not expecting any magic. I started this about 3:00 this afternoon and took this picture about 7:30, so all in all it hasn't been too bad so far.

I'm a machinist by trade and I can't hardly believe I haven't dipped my toe into blacksmithing before now, here at age 57. Speaking of which, I milled the hardie hole and just had to file the corners, so at least it's square and plumb.

My brother picked up a decent forge at auction about 30 years ago and neither one of us ever got around to much more than a short try. But I found a good local source for some coal and we gave the thing its first real go last night. The forge isn't too bad at all - not too fancy but the real deal nonetheless. So I tried my first actual heating & hammering and it went OK. The available ASO was a railroad track thing my brother had. It isn't particularly small track, but seemed pretty light once you put a hammer to it. Probably only 30-40 lbs. if I had to guess. By the end, kinda had a jones for something a bit heavier.

Anyways, I know this isn't a dream anvil, but it's heavy and useful enough for a beginner to get started I think maybe. Hope it suffices to either discover this just ain't my "thing" or (much more likely) that I really enjoy it and step up to a nice real anvil in the future.

Let me know what you think!

BTW, this is my first post here.

[JHCC]

Welcome aboard!

 You should know that what you have there is an anvil. “ASO” is short for “Anvil-Shaped Object” and originally referred to the anvil-shaped lumps of cast iron that are only good as doorstops and boat anchors. 

(It’s also short for “Atlanta Symphony Orchestra”, but I don’t know anyone who’s managed to fit that in their shop.)

[swedefiddle]

Good Morning Vini,

Build up the sides with more weld. You can still replace the top with a piece of Gravel Truck Spring, some are 3/4". I have a fabricated 350 lbs Anvil, it beats the pants off some other Anvils. Don't be afraid to create, there is NO RULE BOOK, regardless what others may say. It is yours, keep being proud of your creations!!

Neil

[Vinito]

Thanks for the quick feedback!

And thanks for the encouragement about my little project. I guess being new I'll make errors like that until I get more experienced. I have been reading and stuff of course, and along the way somebody gave me the idea that make-do stuff like this all gets classified ASO. I was encouraged when I realized at the lathe that the horn wasn't mild steel, but I didn't have anything in my pile to make the top face other than mild steel.

when you say I can replace the top with better material, do you mean that I add a layer or to actually replace the top, i.e. remove this one and replace it? It would be nice to not be removing the top (especially after I've added a buncha more filler). I suppose since some commercial anvils had a hard top layer laminated, then I could try to simulate something like that someday. Also, even more mass if I do that too I guess.

Several times today I thought of things I could do to soup this thing up, but it became almost a mantra to "just get it done stupid". I kept reminding that I'm a greenhorn with nearly zero knowledge doing this first attempt and thus there WILL be things that aren't correct about it no matter how hard I try. So just keep it simple, get it done and use it for a while. Leave that strive for perfection thing to some future attempt after I know better what I want anyway.

It occurred to me that picture showed more shop than anvil, so here's a closeup of it in case somebody wants to see better detail.

[George N. M.]

Vin, I'm going to have a terminology difference with John.  To me, and ASO is something that is unsuitable for use as an anvil because it is either so damaged, made of unsuitable material (usually cast iron), or otherwise unusable.  I would call yours a "fabricated" anvil which is not to be confused with an "improvised" anvil which is often just a chunk of something large enough to hammer on like a piece of RR track or just a chunk of steel.  Most people think of an anvil as a shape called a London Pattern which has been around for 200+ years.  Before that, for several thousand years, most anvils were just a chunk of iron.  Many smiths around the world do not use a London pattern anvil.  Anything you can hammer on is a "real" anvil.

IMO you have done a good job building up a usable anvil.  However, I would do two things.  I would take the suggestion of welding a piece of spring steel or other high carbon steel to the top to give you a harder working surface.  I would also weld 2 side plates to the sides of the cylindrical core to add weight and to give more support to the top.  I'd be a bit worried about torque stressing the welds between the core and the top.  Side support would help mitigate this.

BTW, welcome aboard.  If you put your general location in your profile we can give better answers.  We don't know if you are in Australia or Lapland.  Also, if you haven't read "Read This First" at the top of the page.  And stay way from politics, religion, sex, and don't use language you wouldn't want a 10 year old girl reading.

We would love to see pictures of your work and your shop.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[JHCC]

6 hours ago, George N. M. said:

I'm going to have a terminology difference with John.  To me, and ASO is something that is unsuitable for use as an anvil because it is either so damaged, made of unsuitable material (usually cast iron), or otherwise unusable. 

No disagreement: I think that’s an excellent definition. 

7 hours ago, Vinito said:

Several times today I thought of things I could do to soup this thing up

Remember that even a mild steel anvil is going to be harder than the hot metal you’re forging. Is this as-is for as long as you like, and then either upgrade or replace it as you see fit. 

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Vinito, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you'll have a better chance of hooking up with other members within visiting distance. AND lots of information is location specific. 

Pretty good job of building an anvil. A hardenable steel face would be more effective but if you fill the open space under the sides it'll make a big difference. You lose a lot of usable energy if the anvil can flex under the hammer. RR rail mounted vertically on a solid stand actually makes an effective anvil. Laid horizontally, not so much as a lot of energy is absorbed flexing the rail.

If the mild steel face is welded along the round core you might be able to grid the welds and replace it with something mid to high carbon. More important though is filling that large open gap under the edges. 

By all means use it, perfection isn't in a blacksmith's realm, we may achieve excellent or exemplary but perfection is beyond the human grasp. After a while you'll start to discover what you need and use so don't start "improving" what you have beyond filling the gaps. It's your skill that does the work, not the tools, they're just extensions of your hands to protect them or increase an aspect. Without YOU they're just highly refined and shaped dirt.

Frosty The Lucky.