June 9, 200916 yr Ok guys... I need some advice. I've been using a 2" thick piece of plate steel as an anvil. I just finally bent it past recognition... any ideas on what to use on a new anvil that will actually last?
June 17, 200916 yr Ok guys... I need some advice. I've been using a 2" thick piece of plate steel as an anvil. I just finally bent it past recognition... any ideas on what to use on a new anvil that will actually last? I'm in this same predicament. I'm hunting for something of more mass to replace my 2" piece of plate steel. Even on its end it just wouldn't be enough. Plus thats a narrow face to work on.
June 17, 200916 yr Is it realistic to beat G8149 200 lb. Anvil this in price in a real anvil? Just looking for something I can leave outside in the elements and beat on near my coal forge.
June 17, 200916 yr Is it realistic to beat G8149 200 lb. Anvil this in price in a real anvil? Just looking for something I can leave outside in the elements and beat on near my coal forge. Two words "Cast Iron" Cast Iron=ASO
June 17, 200916 yr I know.. i'm still in post-padom depression after seeing that Sweedish Anvil. I really just want a giant chunk of steel. My steel yard only goes up to 3" plate. Best it seemed like I could get was a 3"thick x 8" wide x 12" T piece of A36 up on end and it would weigh 89lb. That just seems too little to me.
June 17, 200916 yr 3" plate would give you 1 more inch face width than this:http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f83/anvils-revisited-5771/
June 17, 200916 yr I've got several 3 inch thick blocks of iron I use for special project anvils. They were just cut-offs or drop-outs from the scrap yard. But they work well - as long as you keep the metal you are forging HOT. They occasionally take a dent from a bad hammer blow, but are pretty easy to clean back up. So there is nothing wrong with using those 3" blocks. And then there is that 100 plus pound granite anvil for the Viking blacksmithing demonstrations. It is a pie or wedge shape with a flat top and bottom surface. As long as I only forge iron that is glowing red or hotter, I have had no problems on it. Even the "edges" have held up well for bending/fullering - as long as I only hammer HOT iron on it. I've also used sections of tractor drawbar as an anvil. Drawbar from a bulldozer would be larger/thicker. And don't forget about those forklift tines! Great flat steel to use as an anvil. Just a few thoughts to ponder. Mikey p.s. The one local welding/repair shop has a "block" setting next to their power hacksaw that I've been eyeballing. It's round and about 8 inches tall by 6 inches in diameter. Don't know what they cut it off of, but it would work well for some projects. With the edges rounded down, it would be a good forming block for some sheet iron kettles. Toys ... more toys ... Edited June 17, 200916 yr by Mike Ameling
June 17, 200916 yr check out how they made an anvil for $25 at Marco Borromei - SCA/WMA Rapier Helms Weapons and More ObTruth---I'm the Thomas mentioned...
June 17, 200916 yr What do you guys think is better, or which would you rather have A cast ASO Anvil 200lb ORA 150lb Vulcan anvil OR4"Wx15"Tx13"W 220lb Chunk of A36 What is best?
June 17, 200916 yr This may be peculiar to the Houston area but the commerical metallurgical labs all seem to have a LOT of heavy pieces of steel they have cut up for analysis. I am talking 6"-10" in diameter and just as thick.
June 17, 200916 yr I'd go with the Vulcan DOC. You know Avadon, if anyone knew where you are you might discover there are anvils, tools and friendly folk available right in your neighborhood. Unfortunately the Onyx Abyss isn't on any maps I know of. Just a thought. Frosty
June 17, 200916 yr I suspect those choices realy depend on the work one wants to do. Personally I would go for the A-36 as I don't have anything that size.... Aren't you happy with your new set up? Or just wondering....
June 17, 200916 yr "I'm hunting for something of more mass to replace my 2" piece of plate steel. Even on its end it just wouldn't be enough. Plus thats a narrow face to work on." Might I, humbly, suggest you buy an anvil?
June 18, 200916 yr alright, alright.. the onyx abyss is close to massachusetts lol.. @Quenchcrack.. wish I lived in Texas. The shipping would prolly rule it out. @Fe-wood.. No the Gladiator just isn't up to snuff. J/K lol No the problem is the Gladiator cannot be put on my back, taken outside, and carried up a dozen steps to the back yard which is much higher then the driveway area. Without an anvil out back my coal forge is worthless and I currently have tons of wood, and coal for it. So i'm trying to use it while the weather is great and not baking hot. I also cannot bring the coal forge inside. Way to dirty and toxic. I suspect most people run into this problem. Great coal forge outside, great anvil inside and never the twane shall meet. lol my propane forge though is coming at the end of the month to go within my shop. But I still need an anvil for outside near my coal forge, hence the hunt. It's for knives and perhaps a few general pieces.. so unless anyone knows anything in mass (i've already looked all around, and couldn't find anything) I guess i'll try to scare up that A36 block. Thanks Edited June 18, 200916 yr by Avadon
June 18, 200916 yr I guess the cool thing about A 36 is you can mill, drill, weld, grind, shape or even weld on a horn or attachments as its all the same thing. I think that is one of the nice aspects of those brothers design. It is also one of the reasons I like the gladiator as its just a giant mass of steel in the waist but doesn't compromise much in the horn or heel either. It gives you the best bang for your buck when doing armour and blades (imo). I don't need the horn outback as I have a armouring post which all my forming tools screw into.
June 18, 200916 yr I feel for you in your choises (not). Good to have plenty of places to work!!! I was thinking, if the gladiator wasn't working out... I'm not far from the Onyx Abyss... I'd give it a nice compfy and warm home;) Now that I know the abyss is in Massatwoshits, I guess I'll just have to wish you luck in your search:( What kind of gasser did you get?
June 18, 200916 yr Avadon, how big is your usual forging hammer's face? If it's less than 2inches you should be fine. Until iron production became somewhat industrialised (for argument's sake, in the middle mediaeval period) the standard general-purpose ironsmithing anvil was roughly cube-shaped and weighed 20lb... if you were lucky. If you were very wealthy it might even have had a medium-carbon steel face. Until the 18th century (not very long ago) most anvils were basically the same shape but a bit bigger. There is plenty of work can be done on a lump of A36, and if you find something that can't, use it to make a tool that can.
June 18, 200916 yr If you don't have ventilation for a coal forge you don't have ventilation for a gasser!!!!!!!!!!!!!! a propane forge needs LOTS of ventilation; people think that just because the fumes are invisible they are harmless NO! CO is odorless and invisible and will kill you dead! I use my propane forge inside my shop---with two 10'x10' roll up doors on opposite sides of the shop fully open---unless the wind is so strong it's blowing tools off the anvil then I close one of them 1/2 way...
June 18, 200916 yr check out how they made an anvil for $25 at Marco Borromei - SCA/WMA Rapier Helms Weapons and More ObTruth---I'm the Thomas mentioned... you could take that same fork lift tine cut it in 4ths and weld the pieces together to make cube. maybe a little more work but maybe a little esier to work with.
June 18, 200916 yr I feel for you in your choises (not). Good to have plenty of places to work!!! I was thinking, if the gladiator wasn't working out... I'm not far from the Onyx Abyss... I'd give it a nice compfy and warm home;) Now that I know the abyss is in Massatwoshits, I guess I'll just have to wish you luck in your search:( What kind of gasser did you get? I have a chili forge cayenne.. I've got good cross flow ventilation..so it should be no problem chili forge says to run that inside. The coal forge would just be too dirty inside my metalshop and really no point in bringing all that stuff inside when that was never its purpose. My intention was always to run that outside. The chunk of steel I like is 4x13x16 which is about 1/2 a cu. foot. About 244lbs. Only thing is the steel yard doesn't have a great price on it. They want $372. Granted thats free delivery, but still, that is real anvil prices now.
June 18, 200916 yr Okay let me ask you all this.. is A36 better then a cast iron ASO as far as hardness and rebound go?
June 18, 200916 yr Okay let me ask you all this.. is A36 better then a cast iron ASO as far as hardness and rebound go? Yes, much better.
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