cast steel anvils

[lanchie76]

hey guys

just a quick post to get some opinions on the cast steel anvils. i have a opportunity to buy a new 70kg cast steel anvil for just over $500 Australian in the area that i live (there are others in australia but the freight costs puts it way out of my range)

the only information that i can get is :-Description
Manufactured from Cast Steel with a square and a round hardy hole to accept tooling.
Tooling with 3/4" and 7/8" shanks can be housed in the anvil.
DIMENSIONS (L x W x H): 68 x 20 x 19.5 cm
WEIGHT (Nett):70.00 kg

the pictures below are the off their website

any information would be great thanks

Ben

[Mainely,Bob]

Saying something is made of steel is kind of like saying my house is made of wood,not much help as far as info goes.
I`d need to know what type of steel it was cast from and then what type of heat treating it went thru after casting in order to bring the face to a hardened state as well as what the post treated face hardness is and how it was measured (Rockwell,Brinell or other scale) to give you any intelligent feedback on this.
If you can`t get this type of information then I`d keep my money firmly in my pocket unless I could test drive it prior to buying.

[bigfootnampa]

That looks a lot like a Nimba anvil... which are very good. Possibly a cloned design... maybe excellent but maybe not. Can you get hardness ratings? Rebound stats? Take a look at the Nimba's but do NOT assume that this one is the same just based on it's shape: Nimba Anvils

[Bentiron1946]

Looks nice but like Bigfoot and Bob said looks can be deceiving. Without the other information you're just up for a grab bag in buying that one. However it looks like it maybe better than a rock, I think the decision is up to you on this one

Has no one else around you bought one like this. And if it is made in China perhaps Phillip is familiar with it. Send him a message and see.

[DClaville]

http://www.dolex.fr/net/en/en_produits.aspx?prodid=18 looks like a dolex copy

[Ratel10mm]

just a quick post to get some opinions on the cast steel anvils.

Looks similar to the ones you see on the local fleabay occasionally? The company should be able to give you the stat's re. steel type & heat treat. If they can't, I'd be suspicious.
Having said that, I'm sure I remember another Aussie member posting a thread saying he'd bought one off fleabay, but unfortunately I don't think he's updated with how he likes it.

[lanchie76]

thanks for your feedback guys

its not the Nimba Anvils for sure they look much too good and the horn looks much sharper and smoother on them. gee i wish i could get my hands on one of them

i gave the company a ring today to ask about them, they didnt have anymore detail but the sales rep said he thinks that they may be #45 steel.
im going to have a look at them on friday so i will let you know what i think when i see one first hand

Ben

[Frank Turley]

Australia is huge. You don't say where you are. Alan and Helen Ball had some anvils cast and were selling them out of Logan Village, Queensland, near Brisbane. Unfortunately, Alan has acquired ALS, but wife, Helen, might be able to help you, if they still have any anvils left for sale. http://www.villagesmith.com.au.

http;//www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

[Blakksmyth]

Hi Frank,

I received word last week that Alan and Helen are selling up and moving from Logan Village in the next few weeks. Some of the other Australian blacksmiths may have further details.
Regarding the Anvils for sale over here, we have a few members interested in acquiring them, myself included. I have a 100 pound anvil and a 4 pound hammer that don't get on to well together so I would like to get a 220 pound anvil from the OP's source and try it out. I have heard from a reliable source that the knife makers love them because of the wide table.
I hope to get back and report on the anvil when I acquire it, but there is a Lincoln Plasma cutter at the top of my list.

Regards
Rob Kenning
Secretary
Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia

[lanchie76]

ARRRR
isn't always the way i've live just around the corner from logan and yet everyone i've talked to in the metal trade and all the searches i've done in yellow pages and google didnt even mention them. thanks for the info Frank i've just fired them an email to see if they have anything left from the closing down sale.

thanks again
Ben

[lanchie76]

just received a phone call from Helen but alas there are no anvils left only a large forge and a few small hammers but at least its good to see they have clean out their stock when they closed

Ben

[Hofi]

THE SHAPE OF THIS ANVIL IS ITALIEN SHAPE
ONCE UPON A TIME IT WAS CAST IN ITALY
TO DAY IT IS CVASTED IN CHAINA
IN EUROP THEY ARE SOLD BY ANGELE MASCHINENBAU
ONE CAN FINED THE ANVIL IN HIS CATALOGUE
IN FOUR SIZES 20-35-50-75 KG WWW.ANGELE.DE
THE NIMBA ANVIL IS A COPY OF THIS TRADITHINAL ITALIEN ANVIL
HOFI

[Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver]

"Copy" might convey the wrong meaning Hofi. Unless you're copying an original, it's just a pattern. Just as anyone making what would be recognized as a "London pattern" isn't really copying, just carrying on a tradition of a certain pattern. Russel Jaqua was great smith who died far too young. He studied in Italy under Benitone and came to love working on the traditional Italian pattern and wanted to introduce it to American smths. Far from copying, he was honoring a tradition. I understand English is not your first language and I'm sure you want to convey the correct meaning.

[lanchie76]

thanks for the history on the design master Hofi and Grant, its always nice to learn new things.

i quite like the design of it (the only problem is where the pritchel is, would have liked it on the flat) although when i saw one of your designs late last year Hofi i fell in love with it. you thought of everything that you would need. one day hopefully i can buy one off you (ha ha when i can convince my wife its an investment that i must have ).

cheers Ben

[Hofi]

GRANT SARVER
I NEW THE LATE RUSSEL JAQUA PERSONALY I MEET HIM TWICE AND HIS BEUTYFUUL WIFE.
WHEN I DEMONSTRAT AT NWBA RUSSEL WAS VERY KIND TO LET ME DEMO ON THE ''GLADIETOR''
TALKING TO HIM ABOUT THE ANVIL I SAID -THIS IS A COPY OF THE ITALIEN STYLE- AND HE SAID YES IT IS
LONDON PATRRN ANVIL YOU HAVE MORE THEN 100 DIFFERENT TYPES AND HERE MAY BE YOU TRANSFER TREDITION.
BUT WHEN ONE MAKES THE SAME IT IS A COPY .
THER IS NO OFFENCE BY SAYING THAT SOME ONE COPYID A FORM AND RUSSEL WAS HONEST ENOUGH A MAN OF INTEGRITY TO SAY ''YES IT IS A COPY.
IN MORE THE THREE PLACES IN THE USA THE HOFI HAMMER IS COPYID THE SAME IN PAKISTAN AND IN CZHCK REPUBLIC
SOME OF THEM EAVEN SAY THAT THEY INVENTED THE FORM -GOOD FOR THEM-
I MY SELF SOME TIMES COPY A NICE FORM THAT I SAW SOME WERE AND DO IT MAY BE IN A DIFFERENT WAY BUT ALWAYS ALWAYS I GIVE CREDIT

[arftist]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

[lanchie76]

ok i went to have a look at the anvil. it looked good apart from the face wasn't harden. after a long talk with my father (who is a retired boiler maker) i decided that if i got it and my father face hardening it, it will still come out cheaper then shipping one in.

has anyone face harden an anvil lately? what are the best rods to use with an arc welder (going to ask BOC when i can get there but having some personal experience from people is always great)? and is there any new things my father should know (he has been out of the game for 10 years but can still do a mean weld. he has never hard faced an anvil only gearing and such).

thanks Ben

[Randy C]

"Copy" might convey the wrong meaning Hofi. Unless you're copying an original, it's just a pattern. Just as anyone making what would be recognized as a "London pattern" isn't really copying, just carrying on a tradition of a certain pattern. Russel Jaqua was great smith who died far too young. He studied in Italy under Benitone and came to love working on the traditional Italian pattern and wanted to introduce it to American smths. Far from copying, he was honoring a tradition. I understand English is not your first language and I'm sure you want to convey the correct meaning.

I agree. The Nimba anvil is an interpretation/improvement of an Italian pattern not a copy.

[Ratel10mm]

Why not heat treat the anvil itself to gett the face hardness you want?

[mat]

if your fathers a boiler maker why not build an anvil ,weld up scrap top off with forklift tine lots built up anvils out there, check out search option hear,google,anvilfire ect.would save alot of money especially if you could get it welded up for the cost of scrap + rods + beer.hear are pics of scrap i collected over 3+ years costing 0,weighing 101 kg one day soon i hope to have time(pre heat ect)and ability(practice) and equipment(15a outlet) to weld up.

[NRunals]

I completely agree with mat. It'd be better to make one out of scrap than to try and build up a face on that new one with hard welding rod in my opinion. To me it seems that if there is an anvil manufacturer out there that doesn't harden their anvils, that isn't going to be the only thing wrong with the anvil. Meaning, if someone cuts one corner they probably cut other corners to save time and money.

[ThomasPowers]

Here in the SW USA we get a lot of anvils that are being cast in Mexico using real anvils to make the molds from. They are "end of the ladle" items and so are whatever alloy is being cast that day. They nare sold with no heat treat and no fettling either---generally. I've been waiting for "cast" Peter Wrights to start appearing; local auctions are already calling them "antiques" even though they are less than 5 years old...