HF anvil

[mite5255]

if someone was to buy a hf anvil could you then weld or attach in some way a half decent piece of plate on top as a working surface and would it then be a better anvil

regards mike

[Pac]

You could ask Nate

http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f22/lets-do-something-about-hf-aso-6851/

[David Einhorn]

If you attach a block of tool steel to a block of mild steel, then you will have a block of tool steel attached to a block of mild steel. If you attach a block of tool steel to the top of an anvil shaped object you will have a block of tool steel attached to the top of an anvil shaped object. The bottom line is that attaching a block of tool steel to an iron mass will probably work just as well whether that iron mass is shaped like an anvil or not. The difference is the final weight of the assembly, not its shape. :D

[MattBower]

I'm really not sure I see the point of this. Why not just find a big chunk of steel and beat on that? This approach seems to assume that it's really important to have an anvil that looks like a "proper" (London pattern or similar) anvil -- which many folks seem to believe That's about the only reason I can see to go through all these gyrations, and "it looks [sorta] like an anvil" is about the only mildly positive thing that can be said about ASOs. But anvils don't need to look like anvils! Throughout most of man's iron working history they haven't! So why go to all this trouble trying to make somethng useful out of a chunk of pig iron, when you could just find a chunk of scrap steel (or weld up several pieces of scrap steel, if you're into welding) and have yourself something far more serviceable for less work, or at worst the same amount of work?

[ThomasPowers]

HF anvils are cast iron; rather than spend the time and money trying to weld a steel plate to cast iron go find a big chunk of steel to hammer on.

[unkle spike]

"You can put a lot of lace on a Hog, but it is still a Hog".

I have the 110lber, fine for what you pay for it, but not like comparing a Yugo with a BMW, they both have their places.

[pkrankow]

I know its off topic, but I remember picking up the back bumper of a friends yugo in high school, and pushing the car to different parking spaces! He would set the parking brake which locked the rear tires, but it would move on the front tires fine. I don't remember if it was front wheel drive, but it only had maybe a 1.5L engine. He almost killed me when he caught me moving his car around, but was laughing too hard that 1 person could do this!

Having any car in HS was a big deal at the time, it was personal transportation! A bit different today with having to have a "fashionable" ride.

Sorry for being off topic.

Phil

[Bentiron1946]

Like the Yugo a HF cast iron ASO is a piece of junk and no matter how you dress it up it is still a piece of junk. Save your money for a good anvil or use one of the many alternatives listed in other post for good solid anvils.

[mite5255]

thanks for all the advice....i think i might see if i can chase up a fork lift tyne and make my own
regards mike

[Dave Parker]

Mite,

Before I had an anvil, I used a counter weight from a tractor that weighed in at a 100 pounds. When a friend gave me a 55-pound HF ASO I welded flanges to a 30 pound chunk of steel and welded the head of a bolt on it. It snapped on and off the HF ASO with ease and made a workable 85-pound anvil. It allowed me to use hardy tools and when taken apart it was far more portable than the counter weight. The counter weight became a swage and I still use the make shift anvil when I need portability. The shape didn’t matter as much as the practicality and at the time I needed the hardy hole. If you already have an ASO and a chunk of steel you do not need to weld it, you can band it on. I say use what you have available, you can always upgrade later.

Cheers,