D2 tool steel plate for anvil?

[Ciaran54]

Hello iForgeIron forums

I am in the process of starting a back garden blacksmithing area so I can take up blacksmithing as a hobby. I didn't really want to splash out on a huge expensive anvil right away so I bought a [175mm x 173mm x 52mm] piece of D2 steel from eBay to use. It is an offcut from a larger piece but is new. I was just wondering, would I be able to use this without heat treating it in any way (at least for a few months before I decide to get something better) or would it really be much better to heat treat it to prevent it cracking or deforming. Heat treating d2, especially at this size seems like something I would need to pay someone with better equipment to do...

I don't think deforming would be that much of a problem for basic hobby use for me to start with, but there are so many different people who say so many different things about the toughness of D2 not being so good or being fine. I was wondering whether anyone here could help answer my query?

I hope this is the correct section to post in, Thanks in advance

- Ciaran54

[VaughnT]

A piece of D2 measuring 6"x6"x2" wouldn't be that terribly difficult to heat treat on your own, but it would take a good bit of oil in order to wick away the heat quickly enough.

Having said that, however, I would encourage your to use it as is for the time being. D2 isn't going to mushroom over right off the bat, and will be harder/denser than mild steel which a lot of people are using for their anvils. It should last a good long while before you need to redress the face.

Now, you don't have a ton of mass to play with so your fairly limited in the size of the steel you can work on, but a block like yours will be more than good enough to make knife blades and small ironware. Just mount it solidly and be sure to use the 2"x6" face as your top plate.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

D2 is an air hardening tool steel, so no oil is required. I would suggest looking for an old forklift fork tine to use for an anvil, and either sell the D2, or slice it up for making knives. Making knives will be later, as it takes some good skills to work it at its correct temp. I have made several punch and die sets out of D2, and it is wonderful for this application. It gets very hard, and has great wear characteristics.

I would not hammer on it if it was heat treated, as it can get very brittle when hardened.

A forklift tine/fork is already heat treated and makes a fine anvil. One fork will usually provide you with enough material to make an anvil over 100 pounds.

You want a tough surface, not hard. Hard = brittle, and chipping. Tough will take impacts without chipping as easily. Good anvils tops will still dent if hit.

To better help you, where are you located? Since you are posting in metric dimensions, I take it that you are not in the USA.

[Ciaran54]

Thanks for the replies, I reckon I could find a huge stump to bolt it to securely, would that likely make it any better?

I can get a pair of used forklift tines nearby for £50
-1m long, 10cm wide, 50cm mast

Would I need to cut it apart and weld it together, or would you suggest that I put it on its end and into the ground?

Then I would probably sell the D2...


I live in a rural part of Surrey, in England, quite near to the fire and iron gallery, which is where the founder for the British Artistic Blacksmithing Association lives & works, but I couldn't find any nearby scrapyards to find iron, and anvils either cost a fortune or are too far away...

Thanks for all the help, I appreciate it

[EDIT:]

Ok, I now received the steel, it is about 13kg, and I did the 'ring' tests and the 'rebound' tests, and it has a very high pitched long lasting ring, and rebounds well. I think I will use this rather than buying a fork, seems quite tough also without heat treatment, and I will go with BIGGUNDOCTOR who said that is best. I will also bolt it down and secure it like Vaughn suggested, thanks

One last question though, why do people always say to use the scrap metal on its smallest face, surely if you put it on wood having a smaller surface area would mean the force is more compressed on the wood so the wood compresses more, absorbing more of the force? just wondering...

[MattBower]

[EDIT:]
One last question though, why do people always say to use the scrap metal on its smallest face, surely if you put it on wood having a smaller surface area would mean the force is more compressed on the wood so the wood compresses more, absorbing more of the force? just wondering...

The main purpose of the wood is to keep the anvil from bouncing around. Beyond that it's not going to do much for your anvil in terms of increasing its efficiency, no matter what you do. Putting the smallest face of the anvil up puts the most possible mass directly under the hammer, where it does the most good. The small face is least likely to flex and absorb energy. But in truth I doubt this makes a very big difference in an anvil as small as yours. It's much more likely to matter if you're using a piece of rail that's a meter long. In that case, standing it on end can make a significant difference.

[pkrankow]

Call up a forklift repair place and ask, be honest and tell them you are an amateur blacksmith and want it for an anvil, and it can be cut before leaving their shop. You may be able to get a free fork or two.

Cut it a few inches above the bend with a saw or fiber disk (lots of dressing if it is flame cut, but that is OK too) and you can use the top as one anvil, and the bottom as another.

Phil

[VaughnT]

Air-hardening, huh? I wasn't aware of that. Thanks.

Were I you, Claran, I would definitely look into the forklift tine for an anvil. The more mass you have under your hammer, the more efficient you are in moving the metal, and the larger stock you can reasonably work with. Depending on how the tine is shaped, you can have a banger of an anvil for dirt cheap and it takes almost no work to get you there. The D2 is good stuff, but the tine would be far superior.

http://www.marco-borromei.com/fork.html