orcat Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 Hi all, I have enjoyed reading this forum very much. I have been looking around for a piece of steel to use as an anvil. I was at the scrap yard yesterday and found something that may be a hidden gem. The really neat part is that it comes with a hardy hole (approx 15/16" square). I have been thinking about building a triangular base and filling it with sand (like the planter box image attached just much stronger). The piece measures 17.5 " on all sides and is 3.25 " thick My questions for the experts here are: - your impressions of this hunk of steel and its anvil 'potential' (it weighs approx 150 ls) - do you think the planter box idea would be good in keeping this as quiet as possible - how do I know if it is cast or forged (it has been cut into its current shape, you can see the saw marks) - any idea what the heck it really is? - would you lop off a small triangle off of one of the corners and use that as a fuller hardy? Thanks for all your comments. If I didn't ask something or think of something, please let me know. I am a beginner and love to learn. Thanks John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Sculpture Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 It is flame cut steel, just a drop, but a cool one, it wont break. I have an anvil on a 1/8" plate steel base filled with sand and toped with lead, it's real quiet. The wood should work if its heavy enough, 2x6 maybe. You may round a point or a corner but it should work fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 And lo, an anvil appeared from a scrap yard like magic. Fantastic find. Stick it on your sand filled base and you are well and truely set up. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 I see a lot of potential here. I would not mount it permanently to a base. I would make it more into a triangular swage block. One edge use as anvil, put a different radius on each corner, maybe some grooves,depressions, holes, etc. A mount could be made so that it could stand with a point up, point down, and laying flat. The anvil face only has to be on one of the 3.25" wide edges, not the whole flat face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orcat Posted January 17, 2010 Author Share Posted January 17, 2010 This is great news...thanks. I think for now, I will just use the big face. I need to get many many hammer hours under me before I know the advantages of any other setup of how to even use them. Would you "dress" the face in any way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 I would still say at least stand it on one of the points, and use the edge. That way you have the most mass under the hammer blows, plus you will have somewhat of a heel on the anvil to bend around. The idea isn't to just get hammer time in, it is learning to do it right from the start. It will save you a lot of time, and frustration. Search posts on making anvils, and you will see what others have said about anvil mass. and it positioning. I would not dress the large face, but would smooth any sharp edges from the cutting. It would also help if you listed your location. There may be someone near you that could assist you in getting started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orcat Posted January 18, 2010 Author Share Posted January 18, 2010 I would still say at least stand it on one of the points, and use the edge. That way you have the most mass under the hammer blows, plus you will have somewhat of a heel on the anvil to bend around. The idea isn't to just get hammer time in, it is learning to do it right from the start. It will save you a lot of time, and frustration. Search posts on making anvils, and you will see what others have said about anvil mass. and it positioning. I would not dress the large face, but would smooth any sharp edges from the cutting. It would also help if you listed your location. There may be someone near you that could assist you in getting started. Thats a very good point. I have read alot about mass under the anvil...I think that I just got caught up in the "wow, look at the face on this one" mentality. What you said makes a lot of sense. How much would you leave sticking out of the sand. I am from Manchester, CT and have updated my profile. If anyone near me is willing to spend the time showing some pointers etc, I would welcome the opportunity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 How much will depend on what you are intending to make. If you are doing knives you could bury the whole thing practically, if you are doing general smithing with some bending you would want more exposed. You may try this. Get a stump, or make one out of lumber that would put the face at knuckle level when your fist is hanging at your side. Then fab up a mount on top of that to hold the anvil. I am thinking a Vee shape center with some sides to contain it, with the point on the base. With this setup you have all of it exposed. Now this will be easier if you can do some welding to make the mount. It can be thinner, and will last longer. The mount would also allow you to rotate the anvil, or lay it flat if need be. So, best thing to do now is figure out what you want to make, and adapt the tools to the job at hand. I'd help out, but I am in the warm part of the country B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLMartin Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 i would definitely second the standing it on one point. some people suggested being able to turn it end over end, or side to face, personaly i think that would be vary cumbersome and HEAVY. im a young fellow, but im still not fond of picking up 150lbs a few times every day. i belive the best use of this block of steel would be to wedge one point deep into a stump or stand. i bet you could take some 2 by 12 or something nice and wide and make a good stand. first take two standing on end maybe 28 inches tall, cut nice big Vs into the top of two then laminate a few more boreds to the outside. then you would be able to jam one point down nice and deep into a good home made stump. your going to get the most efficiency out of a anvil that is fastened down and as unmovable as possible. just make sure that the base of what ever you make is wide enough to not tip over, that would be a heavy bump on your toe. good luck, and nice find Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 Nice score! Bigguns is saying just about what I would so I'll just add a little to back him and maybe add a twist of my own. I'd use one edge and mount it so it's between knuckle and wrist height. I'd weld the stand but I'm set up for it so whatever you do will be fine so long as it's solid and your new anvil can NOT fall out. A large face is often more a hinderance than benefit. In reality an anvil only needs to be a little larger than the face of the hammer. I'd LOVE to have those three beautiful corners to dress for different purposes, I'd put about a 3/8" radius on one for an aggressive fuller and make the others progressively larger say 1/2" and 3/4". Just remember it's easier to remove steel than put it back so round the corners slowly till you have what you want. The 15/16" hardy is a terrific salvage find! It doesn't have to be pointed up to work either, if your stand is solid enough it can hold tools horizontally. Why not? You're going to have to either make or modify hardy tools to fit anyway you know. I'd for sure dress the sides as anvil faces but not the big slab sides. Unless it was ugly or something and then I'd just brush off any rust and shoot a couple coats of paint on them. All in all you have a potentially superb anvil. Frosty the Lucky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragons lair Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 Another vote to stand it on on a point. The "hardy hole" looks fairly shallow and not thru Not a useful hole IMO. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orcat Posted January 18, 2010 Author Share Posted January 18, 2010 Another vote to stand it on on a point. The "hardy hole" looks fairly shallow and not thru Not a useful hole IMO. Ken The hole does go all the way through, just a bad angle in the pic. If I stand it on point, how would I be able to utilize the hardy hole? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 I like that swage block idea or you could just weld/bolt some steel legs to it. The good thing about scrap like this is you can beat it into the earth and you'll never cry about hammer misses that have dinged it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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