its starting to get cold here. i was wondering has anyone tried using "heat tape" to keep the anvil warm? you know the kind you wrap around your water pipes and plug in to a wall socket to keep them from freezing .

Kashmire,
I haven't tried the heat tape but what I do is take some big pieces of metal heat up in forge and set on the anvil works for me. We got our first snow today in the mountains may get to the benches tonight!!!

Gaylan

I'd be worried about damage to the heat tape during forging use.

I use an engine block heater. A large magnet that you can pout on your engine block and plug in. Works like a charm!

Dumb question time here.

How much chance of brittle fracture (breaking into small pieces) is there if I use the anvil without warming it up? I am thinking about this winter in Minnesota. (-20 or so).

Frosty, what do you do up north on your end of the tundra?

Too Much; I've know one fellow have his anvil fail in cold weather and that's one too many for me.

Hard to forge on an anvil that cold too---one good hammer smack and it's time to reheat the piece. Do yourself a favour and preheat the anvil till at least warm to the touch!

Thanks, block heater it is!

An engine block heater sounds like a great idea, since it keeps away those snow flies. I've heard that snow flies up in Lehigh Valley are likely to migrate to south central Pennsylvania by mid-winter, and that they are as large as turkey vultures. :D

funny to read these posts down here in south -east texas we think cold is anything below 40. wish we could bring some of that cold down here...lol

An engine block heater sounds like a great idea, since it keeps away those snow flies. I've heard that snow flies up in Lehigh Valley are likely to migrate to south central Pennsylvania by mid-winter, and that they are as large as turkey vultures.

they are not technically flies. in the valley we call them new yorkers. they get much bigger than even turkeys. but a lot of times they have vulture characteristics.

I'm impressed that anyone living in a state with native palmetto trees would know what an engine block heater was. I bet it was a special order.

Bill

we were 102/104 monday and tuesday----but its starting to cool down now---only 96 or so today---down into the low 60's at night.

The palmettos are far to the South. I live at 1700 feet in the mountains, about 20 miles South of TN. I Spent years in the Rockies and in WV, so Mr. Winter and I go way back...

I'd like to get to your part of the country one day. The south and south east are the few places I haven't seen. I'm going to try and get to the ABANA conference in Memphis so maybe that will be a start. To respect the thread - I haven't forged through a winter yet so I don't know what I will do. My anvil is fairly small so the block heater idea will probably work pretty well. Thanks.

Bill