What size anvil do you use?

[Crackers]

Bruce, I'm sure the O'dwyer anvils are made from SG iron. O'dwyer's make mention of that on their website. However, I'm not sure what rockwell hardness figure they are tempered to. If someone knows, perhaps they could post some info about it here? That would be much appreciated.
Regards, Brian.

[Bob H.]

My shop anvil is now a 200 lb Fisher. And my demo anvil is my 118 lb Peter Wright. I'll be selling my 150 lb Haybudden and my 84 lb Mousehole.

Coyote Forge

[Bob H.]

Ken Mankel is a friend of mine. His anvils are poured into his own mold, by the foundry. He then machines the base and the face, drills the hardy and pritchel holes, cleans up the horn, and heat treats.

Coyote Forge

[FireInTheForge02]

From what i heard somewhere SG iron is the same as ductile cast iron, is it not? I have a 44lb Odwyer (i couldnt afford much at the time). The ring is great, just like cast steel, but the face is quite soft. The rebound is great though, if you dropped a small ball peen on it, it ll bounce right back up. TFS anvils in the states are cast from ductile iron, and according to their site, are hardened to 52 Rockwell. so maybe Odwyer doesn't harden their anvils, because the farriers like them soft.

[jacobd]

My tfs is the 150#. I love it. Very hard face, better than my vulcan I used to have. Without the fear of excessive edge chipping or faceplate de-lamination.

[SReynolds]

What type of tasks would one perform on an anvil that would "break" a one hundred pound anvil??????????

 

....do you work in Sugarcreek Ohio in the steam locomotive shop and use a twohundred ton steam hammer...............forging connecting rods?

[ThomasPowers]

Sledging on a cold morning was how a friend of mine broke his---I have what once was about a 150# anvil missing the heel. I also have the base of a 100+ pound PW missing the top half. As the old ones were forge welded up out of chunks of WI iffy welds can cause issues after only 100 years or two...

[Jack Evers]

I'm a farrier more than a blacksmith. Most off my work is on my truck anvil at 85 pounds.I use a 100 and a 250 in the shop.

[VaughnT]

I still haven't weighed my big Fisher anvil.  It was advertised as 350#, but I think it might be close to 300#.  I need to get a scale just so I'll know.

 

Either way, it's a great anvil and has supplanted my 120# Wilkinson and 66# Swede.  

[notownkid]

213 lb Peter Wright on my side of shop, my son has a 125lb that we haven't ID's yet on his side. 

[rockyknollforge]

At the moment i use a 70 pound nc tool anvil, good rebound and good ring, i bought it for $100, it's in very good shape. I am saving up to a 150 pound peter wright or hay budden and plan to use it alott ;)

[Frank Turley]

Personal anvils have been a 250 # Trenton for 35 years; then switched to a 250 # Fontanini. I like them both.

[allessence]

330lbs Henry Wright, 209lbs Trenton, 175lbs Hay Budden, 150lbs Hay Budden, 155lbs Trenton...  I use the 175lbs for regular work, 330 for sledging work..  The others for teaching..

[Dean1017]

125 lb Cliff Carrol from Larkspur, Colorado.

Drove out and picked it up right there at Cliff's shop - one of the nicest guys I have ever met and dealt with.

Big enough to handle what I do, which is not all that much but works great for me.

A 125 is nice to travel with and easy enough to horse around at the demos I like to do.  Also looks like the majority of us use an anvil in that range.

My other anvil - the one in my photo - is my Grandpa's farm anvil, unknown make and about 147 lbs....pretty beat up but still more years left in her than I'll probably have on this earth.....;)  And besides, it's Grandpa's...from the farm....and you just can't beat that!

Dean

[zero_sum]

I only have one anvil. My grandad's old one. It's some london pattern weighing about 66kg with the heal broken off so whatever it was before that. Maybe 75kg at a guess?

I think it was misuse by uncles a few years before I got it. Unfortunate, but it is still here and in coming years I want to repair it in my grandad's memory as well as for the project (for me, at my level, that would be a huge endeavour). The hope is I will have a larger normal anvil at this point so I can keep it as a working heirloom of a sort (no heavy work but small stuff to stay close to the spirit such tools are bought in).

 

So yeah, grand dads and anvils haha.

[Ferrous Beuler]

269 lb PW, 125 lb Mousehole, 114 lb American Wrought, 93 lb PW.

 

269 gets the most use while the rest mostly collect cobwebs and mousefarts under the bench but the American Wrought has a beautiful horn on it that gets a lot of use.

[njanvilman]

I use a 300 lb FISHER in my shop.  I find it heavy and big enough for what I do.  I can use anything from the museum, and that would be anvils from 1/2 lb to 1000 lbs.  Just happy with what I have in place.  It was actually my first big(over 150 lb) Fisher anvil that I acquired, and one of the cheapest I ever bought (under $0.60/lb.)

[K. Bryan Morgan]

I use my 242 lb Rhino the most.  I have a newer, to me, Henry Wright that is 60 lbs. and its been getting good use to.  Someone took a grinder to it and did mess up the face some but it has good usable surface and that's what I use.  I'm very happy to have both anvils and the larger one is my main go to work piece.

[Donnie]

24" of 1 1/4" pry bar set in 5 gal. Bucket of cement. Sounds odd, but it works for me. 24" of anvil under the hammer.

[Michael]

104 lb Peter Wright, found in Oakland, CA for just under $3/lb and I'm thinking I was lucky to get it for that.

[madwing]

125 lb. soderfors.  from an old horse ranch outside salinas, about $1.75/lb. 

 

michael, your anvil is a treat to work on.

[Michael]

Yes, but a little loud over the horn!

[Frosty]

125 lb. soderfors.  from an old horse ranch outside salinas, about $1.75/lb. 

 

michael, your anvil is a treat to work on.

 

You lucky dog. Does it have the model name cast on the side? My 125lb. Soderfors is a "Sorceress #5".

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[NordFox]

55 lbs anvil (for knives & tools making).

[madwing]

You lucky dog. Does it have the model name cast on the side? My 125lb. Soderfors is a "Sorceress #5".

Frosty The Lucky.

yeah, very lucky! it doesn't say anything but soderfors and Sweden on it...