Advantages of heavier anvils and glassworking comparison

[Archie Zietman]

Hello.
what is the advantage of having a heavier anvil over a lighter one? Also, why is it better to have more mass beneath the hammerblow? I'm finishing up my anvil today. It's a 60-70# railroad rail sunk vertically into a 30 gallon steel bin of concrete and large rocks, and I'm putting a chunk of leafspring on the top as a large heavy striking surface, I've been working over the rail's raw end which hasn't been very rewarding nor has it yielded any usable pieces. Does this seem to be a good anvil?
Alsoalsoalso, I've been glassblowing at the studio at the community college across the road, and after 3 days, I've already got a set of fancy drinking glasses, a cream jug, innumerable sculpted birds and fish, and a simple soup bowl of my own design (apparently I'm learning very very quickly) and I want to do a few useful things in iron to keep my iron:glass aorund the house ratio less lopsided, what would be a few good projects to do around the house?
Thank you,
sorry for so many questions,
Archie

[irnsrgn]

Archie, I thinks its a mens toys thing to impress people with how big an anvil they have, you know mine is bigger than yours. I used to demo on a 58 lb anvil and I could do a lot of things on it that I could never have done on a big monstorous Anvil. I have a large 400lb I think anvil, it sets idle most of the time. but the 125 lb one gets used most of the time.

If you have the disposable income to get a large Bragging Anvil that you have trouble moving around, Go for it Baby. Is bigger really better, I guess if you are forging 3 inch anchor chain or 4 inch shafting its OK.

my2¢ worth

[HWooldridge]

Francis Whitaker had a 150lb anvil for most of his professional life - 'nuff said...

The usual advantage claimed for a big anvil is mass to rebound the hammer - but I would rather have a high-quality, name brand 100 lb anvil than a 400 lb lump of cast iron. The problem with railroad anvils is that some air usually exists under the hammer in either vertical or horiz orientations, so the blow is not rebounded as efficiently.

Re the glass, I would do lots of useful stuff like drinking and eating utensils. You could also do some accents like lamp shades which could be added to iron items at a later date. Continue to learn quickly as it will be an advantage in later life...:-)

[frogvalley]

I use a Peter Wright 150 # mostly, I also have a 200# that I use much less. Also have a 40# for demos and small work. The size of the anvil should match the size of the work to some degree. Obviously I ain't gonna work 1 inch barstock on the 40, probably better on the 200.

Irnsrgn is right about larger anvils, mostly bragging rights.

Sorry to say that I agree with HWool about the railroad anvil. With it welded up and not a continuous piece there are certain deficiencies. However it will work for some stuff, although it is not going to be lively.

I used an unwelded but cut and ground to shape single piece of track for my first anvil. Made a lot of stuff with it.

[Rich Waugh]

You can work small stock just fine on a big anvil, but you can't work big stock too efficiently on a small anvil.

I have a 100# PW for demos, and a 200# side-face London pattern anvil and a 250# Fisher. 90% of my work gets done on the Fisher, because it is both lively and quiet. It has the appropriate mass to get the most out of every hammer blow. The 200# I use when I need the slight sway it has in the face - handy for straightening or cupping stock. The little PW I almost never use in the shop, as it is too small to be very effective on larger stock and it is the noisiest anvil I've ever used. Absolutely ear-splitting ring, even well-anchored. Draws a crowd at demos, though.

One disadvantage to the bigger anvils is the wide face, sometimes. That's where the double-horned European style anvil really shines, as the square heel tapers, giving you a wide range of face widths. Since I don't have one of those anvils (yet), I have a couple of bridge hardies that I use when I need either a narrower or thinner heel. The bridge hardies are easy to make form a scrap of 1/2" or thicker leaf spring material, and you can give them an undercut edge for stuff like fork tines and the like.

[Nolano]

The way I think about it, is that your anvil should suit what you do. I had an 80# anvil for a while, and it worked well for up to a 1/2 maybe 5/8 of an inch, after that it just bounced around too much. With my new 130# hay budden, I can work this 1 1/4 inch torsion bar I have laying around, and thats medium-high carbon steel.

[Hillbillysmith]

Archie, I used a RR anvil for several years untill recently getting one at an auction. The rail was very usefull and that was about a foot long, so it only weighed roughly 20lbs. I didn't set it on end, I ground the face flat (flat as possible with the tools I had) and ground a horn on the one end. It bounced around alot untill I bolted it down to a 350lb sicamore stump. It had some very good rebound (for the size) and didn't ring a bit. Basically what I'm trying to say is: There's nothing wrong with a RR anvil I've made several pry bars out of 1-1/8 inch bar stock with it.

[ThomasPowers]

I've done a lot of demo work on a 90 pound Arm&hammer anvil (*not* vulcan!) and I sure can tell when I get back to the hulking monster back at the shop! I get more work done and my arm is less tired. It's the same forge and hammer so the HM anvil has to be the cause.

If you are willing to spend the time hunting a HM may not be that expensive---my 500# Fisher in mint condition was US$350, the 407# Trenton with an abused flat face was about US$100.

Now I didn't start hunting a HM anvil till I wasn't moving around so much like I did when younger

Got my anvils set at different heights so I can do what's easiest on each one as well as being able to teach a range of students.

The old books said that professional shop should have an anvil around 250#. The bigger ones were usually industrial

And yes smiths suffer terribly from "anvil envy"
Thomas

[Dodge]

I had the oppertunity to cut some anvil blanks out of plate on a cnc machine (see the "show us your anvil" thread). I cut several of different sizes; mostly small ones, less than 10#, for fun and two working ones. One, I cut from 4" plate that weighs over 150#, and one from 3" plate for a friend, that weighs about 70#. I wish I would have cut two of the 70# ones because the larger one is a chore to move around. I have to move forge and anvil in and out of garage for use due to limited space. A 150# + anvil likes a permanent location. :)