Extrasmack Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 ****UPDATE**** 11/04/2009 I got to use it for about 4 hours and well i'm really quite impressed with the design. It's ~377#'s so it doesn't move a bit. The way the design is that Brian made it makes it really one piece, and not an anvil on a stand. The fact that there are through bolts through the anvil holding it as well as bolts on the ends makes it one giant mass. It does not have a ring, so if your looking for that I wouldn't suggest this style. But it also doesn't have a thwack that you might get off of just working on some railroad rail. It actually just has a really good deep low sound. I can tell you though that TIG welding the S-7 shock resistant rod onto the top of the steel really is a nice touch. Couple times I missed with a 5lb sledge today and no damage at all. Plus it's not the worlds most expensive finish so you can always take a sander/grinder to the top and your not messing up an expensive name brand anvil. Like wise you can always weld in the dings if if they get bad over time. Really happy I built this anvil and I think my neighbors are probably impressed that it's fairly quiet. Glad I went with the special order 4" plate though. That really gives some mass underneath. of course there is also about 50lb of sand in the legs or so which helps soak up some ring and vibration. I think you can't go wrong building one of these. Great starter anvil. I think mine was about 400-500$ though out the door. Of course you could drastically cheapen that perhaps even by half by going with 2" or 3" plate and not hard facing the top. I'll have to get a video soon of it for youtubers. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extrasmack Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 My first time posting and I misfire. Twice! Lol. Meant to thank Avadon for sharing. This is beautiful work. I'm looking for tools in order to begin learning and I believe you have just pointed me to my starter anvil. Thank you again kind sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extrasmack Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Unforgivun, if you have any clue what the piece of steel you used in your anvil was originally or what it came out of I would really like to find out. I've been looking for just such a piece for many years now. My grandfather used to have one like that for use as a utility anvil. Almost identical, including the side holes for punching/bending use. The only difference being the length of his was about 16 to18 inches instead of 14. It also had radiused edges and was not polished. If anyone recognizes what this part comes from and/or what it is I would truly appreciate it. I hammered my first steel flattening and playing with used framing nails, and such) on a bar if steel just like that as a child. Learning how to acquire one holds great sentimental meaning to me, I've been trying to find out for decades. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kustomsteel Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Great post Avadon, I have a chunk of steel in storage and you have given me a use for it! It isn't as big as what you used but it will be better than nothing. Thanks for being so informative with your process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted March 31, 2013 Author Share Posted March 31, 2013 Unforgivun, if you have any clue what the piece of steel you used in your anvil was originally or what it came out of I would really like to find out. I've been looking for just such a piece for many years now. My grandfather used to have one like that for use as a utility anvil. Almost identical, including the side holes for punching/bending use. The only difference being the length of his was about 16 to18 inches instead of 14. It also had radiused edges and was not polished. If anyone recognizes what this part comes from and/or what it is I would truly appreciate it. I hammered my first steel flattening and playing with used framing nails, and such) on a bar if steel just like that as a child. Learning how to acquire one holds great sentimental meaning to me, I've been trying to find out for decades. Thanks Sorry the ridiculously late reply. Thank you for your kind and generous compliments. I think one truth about the Brazeal Anvil style is that you learn so much about what an anvil and anvil stand really is that you can truly appreciate the fundamentals of blacksmithing. A lot of people throw an anvil on a stump and call it a day. But when you build an anvil from a block or weld pieces together you really do get a sense of the mass, improve your welding/fabrication skills and have something totally customized to your process. You can weld anything onto the anvil or stand that you think will help and you won't be frightened about damaging some really expensive anvil that was very difficult or expensive to acquire. If I put a ding in my Gladiator I want to hang a noose from my rafters. If I put a ding in my Brazeal anvil I just make a look of shock and then laugh a little bit because I know I can TIG weld that hole in for about 50cents of S-7 rod from MSC Industrial. That makes the anvil a great learning tool where you will not be scared to go crazy, make mistakes, miss with the sledge and dent the face or do any other manner of abuse that are common during your learning. One thing you might want to try is go to your local scrap yard. Most cities have one and if your on the outskirts it may be even worth an hours drive to get to one. They sometimes have giant chunks of steel that they are trying to get rid of at scrap prices. You'll pay far less at a scrap yard than you will at a steel yard. You may even be able to pick up materials for the anvil stand there as well. Oh and I should mention, though the hardened anvil face is nice, it certainly isn't necessary. The Brazeal Bro's anvils weren't face hardened so if you don't have access/time/money to do the face hardening don't sweat it. Plus you can always do it later if you want to. If you guys have any questions let me know. If I don't get back here soon enough just PM me with a nudge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ede Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 Does anyone have the original pics from this post that they can re-up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Haney Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 On 12/30/2016 at 2:39 PM, ede said: Does anyone have the original pics from this post that they can re-up? Agreed, ede. I'd love to see the original piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 Hi guys, very sorry that I didn't see this post and that I didn't get back here lately. My email has changed and I think I didn't get it updated here. It may have been when I changed my domain my pictures don't come up anymore I can't go back and edit the original post which is frustrating. So I'll try to add the archive of pics for this anvil here again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 Here is a relist of all the pics. If anyone has any questions I'll do my best to remember how I built it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ede Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Thanks for re-uploading these! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted March 12, 2017 Author Share Posted March 12, 2017 29 minutes ago, ede said: Thanks for re-uploading these! You're very welcome. Any questions just pm or post here. It's basically a big heavy mass with S7 welded onto it. I suppose if you had any gigantic piece of steel you could weld S7 onto that area and you'd basically have the same thing haha but the shape does lend it to be easy to work around and it can be moved. The width/thickness is 4". I had the 4" piece of plate cut for me at Turner Steel in Massachusetts. The torch cuts were just cleaned up with angle iron flapper wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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