Anvil sizer requirement

[Drewed]

Ok, so my ASO is starting to show its limitations. About the only thing going for it is that it was free, and it is 150lbs. Same weight real anvils are out of my price range, but how small is practical for general smithing? Is 50 to small? Will 75 work? I'm not doing large projects, mostly hooks, handles, drink stakes, etc. 1/2" rod, 1" stock is as large as I go. What are the downsides of smaller/ lighter anvils?

Thanks much!

[dablacksmith]

well ive always considered 100 lbs to be the minimum but smaller will work it just dosent work as well.. the weight helps keep it in place and lets your hammer do its work haveing said that ive seen small anvils (20-30lbs ) that were used .. it kinda depends on how you mount it and what you mount it to... also how much work your willing to do extra cause your anvils light... i can tell the difference between a 100 lb anvil and a 300 lb anvil from hammering on them the 300 is better but not by a large amount... up to you and what your doing ... smaller anvil is lighter to haul !

[fciron]

I'd worry less about an anvil-shaped object and more about getting a big solid hunk of steel. The whole horned shape is a relatively recent western European development. I've got a piece that's 2x4x12" that makes a better anvil than my similar weight homemade anvil-shaped anvil. Or you could use your 150 lb. ASO as a base for your smaller anvil to try and give it more effective mass.

I'm only half joking. ;)

[macbruce]

I recently sold a 500lb anvil to a guy who was just fooling around, making a few knives, this and that, a newbie. He asked me if I thought the beast might be too big for his new hobby............I needed the money so I said ''heck no a 500 pounder is just about right''. More money than sense.
I'm a little surprised to say that I don't miss it much. I've been smithing 40yrs and the 125 and the160lb anvils I'm left with do just fine.
I'd look in the range of 100-125lb, but that doesn't necessarily mean cheap.....mb

[MLMartin]

well the mass in the anvil and where it is makes a huge difference. If you are trying to do allot of shape changing of the parent stock then mass under you hammer is vary important. if you are mostly bending the metal then a a long strung out anvil will be fine.

Soo if you had 60lb block of steel that was 6in by 3in by one foot tall you would feel your hammer blows doing more work than say a 60 lb haybudden that is vary long and strung out. But if you were doing lots of bending than a classic London pattern anvil like a haybudden would be just fine.

Many smiths over seas have large steel blocks for anvils and a separate bick/horn to aid in bending.

also a good note is to have your anvil mounted vary tight. having a stake off the bottom rammed tight into a stump is a good option

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

If it was me I might do this. Find a forklift tine that will cover the top of the ASO (use the back part of the tine that does not have a taper. Drill and tap a matching series of holes in the ASO, and tine. Countersink ,or counterbore the tine holes enough to get the bolt heads below the surface. Torque down as tight as you can, then weld over the bolt heads, or press in a plug if counterbored.

Another method would be to weld, or thread in studs into the bottom of the tine, then run them through the ASO and put nuts on the bottom. Matter of fact, you could just U-bolt the top plate on.

I wouldn't worry about any small gaps under the tine.

[David Einhorn]

The size of the anvil determines the size of your hammer and can limit the size of your project. The bigger the anvil the more striking force it can absorb without being damaged. Another consideration is whether the anvil will remain stationary or will you be frequently moving it such as when doing demonstrations. For portability a 90 to 100 pound anvil works well. For a stationary anvil 100 to 140pounds works well. If you think that you might grow into larger projects, especially if you plan on doing a lot of 1" bars, then you might wish to consider 135 pounds or even larger. If finances is a consideration then a discarded fork from a fork-lift or other length of steel should work well.

The answer is that the anvil and size depends on what you expect to use it for as well as your finances.

[Sask Mark]

Just from my own limited experience, larger anvils are nice to work on. They tend to make up for some deficiencies in the stands as they are are usually too heavy to walk around while pounding on them. I went from a 100 pound Trenton to a 280 pound Brooks to a 450 pound Peter Wright. Honestly, the Brooks was more than heavy enough for my lightweight work as is stayed put on my tripod stands. The large Peter Wright was totally unneccesary for me, but I went for it anyway as I think big anvils are so cool.

However, I think the stands are almost important as the anvils. Brian Brazeal does more heavy work with a striker on a sub-100 pound block of mild steel that is on a sturdy, WELL ANCHORED stand that most of us could do on a ultra-huge steel faced anvil.

[ThomasPowers]

Truthfully I have more hours smithing in on my 93 pound anvil as my 515# anvil; because the 93# was my travel anvil and so all those day long demo's on it added up the time. However I sure enjoy being back in the shop and using the big Fisher, so quiet, so immovable, so squat and *massive*.

I think that 100# is a good weight for a travel anvil and 150-250 is a good size for a general shop anvil and more than that is just fueling other folks' anvil envy for what most folks do. We hardly ever get 3 strikers with 12# sledges working on a project anymore.

(And no I will NOT trade in my Fisher or the 410# Trenton for a lighter anvil!)