Question about anvil size

[Farmall]

I have an opportunity to get a nice anvil. Friend has several and offered me a deal that I can't pass up. Will be swapping a few things along with some cash. Going to hurt a little, but too good a deal to pass up. Choice is between a 275# and a 400# one. (400# will obviously cost a wee bit more) Can only afford one. Given the chance, which size would you prefer and why? I have been reading up in various forums and have read how some people say a large anvil just gets in the way and they use the smaller one more, and others say they love the mass of a big anvil. I realize it is a personal choice and ultimately is my decision, but would like to hear from some of you and what you think.....so, if you could get only one anvil, and had two choices, a 275# and a 400# one, which one and why? Anvils are same style, same condition.

Thanks for any and all input.

[ThomasPowers]

Really depends on what *YOU* will be doing with it. Big work---the big anvil. Smaller work the smaller anvil---but 275 is really a good sized anvil anyway. Many a smith has worked their entire professional career on anvils that size or even smaller.

Will *YOU* be moving around a bit in the next years? I picked up my 407# anvil from a fellow who got tired of having to move it all the time. Traded him a 125# anvil, screw and screwbox for a postvise and US$100 for it; so about 50 cents a pound...

Don't let "anvil envy" drive your purchase do what's *best* for you! If you are doing a lot of work that would require that big an anvil you should be investing in a powerhammer!

Of course I use a 500+ # anvil as my main shop anvil myself and love it...(but one of them 750# anvils sure would be sweet.....)

[Fosterob]

You really do need both of them. Ask him to hang on to one for a while if possible.

[CurlyGeorge]

I just purchased a 250# Trenton. That will be all the anvil that I plan on ever needing in my shop. I have a 150# Trenton that will now be my demo anvil. But I don't have to pick it up. It's attached to a stump and I use a two wheel cart to tote that and my vice to and from my drop gate trailer. Like Thomas said, though, what type of work do you intend to do? And I'll add, do you intend to use it other than in the shop and have to keep moving it? My 2 cents. :)

[yesteryearforge]

I cant believe that you asked that question ( I would be loading the 400 lbr before you finished typing your question ) but then i like large anvils.
Within reason
You can do small things on a large anvil but it is more difficult to do large things on a small anvil

[Farmall]

First, thank you for all the answers. Please keep the responses coming. Bigger anvil appeals to me because of the mass. No plans on moving it or me around much. I was thinking that the opportunity to get a large anvil doesn't come around as much as the opportunity to get a 150# or so as they are far more common. "Anvil envy"? Nope, not me. Just seems like what yesteryearforge says...I can always do small things on a large anvil, but is more difficult to do large things on a small anvil. I anticipate doing mostly "smaller" things, but the ability to do "large things" more readily because of the anvil size does have an appeal. However, that appeal can wear quickly if I had to move it much, so the smaller anvil wins in that category. I like the idea of getting them both, but just one, either one, will not be easy for me. If he'll hold the other a couple of years, I stand a chance. I am leaning towards the larger, mostly because they don't come around much and would give me a nice large face to work with.

[ThomasPowers]

I have a 93# anvil parked right next to that 515# Fisher cause there are somethings that just are easier to do on the smaller anvil that doesn't have a heel as thick as a brick. And a horn fatter than a very fat thing.

[macbruce]

Francis Whitaker used a 150# London anvil his entire working life.......he managed pretty well with a smaller anvil....just sayin'

[pkrankow]

I can move 275# without special equipment, but not 400#.

Since my smithy is the driveway, I would go with the 275# anvil for that reason, and if there was a 200# I might prefer that, but no smaller.

If I wasn't moving the durn thing every time I wanted to use it, then 400#, no question about it, unless edge condition was a concern.

Phil

[macbruce]

Ok Farmall, what sort of work do you intend to do?? If it's not that heavy then 275 is more than adequate, period. Anvilits is a common affliction here and I say if you got it, embrace it! Big anvils are cool...........I recently sold a 500# to a hobbyist who was just fooling around with making a few knives, he asked me if I thought it might be too big. No way I replied,It's a reasonable size for your hobby..........That'll be $1,500 please.........

[Dragons lair]

yesteryear is absolutely correct, you can do big work on a big anvil, and small work on a big anvil, but one cannot do big work on a small anvil......................

How many have seen Phillip simmonds Work? Go to Charlston to see the work created on this mans anvil(LOOK AT THE ANVIL)
My anvils are 100% better than his. My work may be 1% of his. No I haven't seen his but have talked to several who have. "What
a POS anvil". It aint what ya got it's how ya use it. Sorry I get cranky after a day of advising the guild master, fixing the water heater, Ordering pats for the wind turbine and god knowes what else. Just try running one shop and mananging another.
Rant over.
Ken.

[Farmall]

Dragons Lair, right now, the anvil, the hammer, even the floor are probably better than my ability. I can appreciate the rant. It always amazes me what fantastic stuff people can create using the simplest of tools. I have seen photos of Simmonds work, and his anvil, and he demonstrates that It truly is the wielder of the tool, not the tool itself. I have found though, that generally, good tools make it easier to do the job. That being said, again, it is the ability of the user that makes the piece, not the tools. If I came across as saying that "I need this big anvil to do the work", it's not that at all. It's just that I have a, maybe once in a lifetime, opportunity to get a large anvil and wanted some additional perspectives on which one. No apologies needed. I don't want to run one shop and manage another! I got too much going on in the one!. Thanks for your comments.

[John McPherson]

Having had the opportunity to use both large and small anvils at other places, I broke down and bought a 336 pound Euroanvil when it came up for sale locally this summer. It is night and day different from my hundred pound Mousehole with repaired edges. It has not made me a better smith, but it moves metal more efficiently. Either weight will make a grand shop anvil, but 400 pounds is relatively rarer to come by than smaller anvils.

Here is Philip Simmons anvil, and shop. It is open to tour, if you are ever in Charleston. There are also walking guides to his work, and other public ironwork.

[Drewed]

Buy both and sell me the 275! Actually 275 is a pretty beefy anvil in its own rite. I pound on a 150....

[ThomasPowers]

If it's a smoking good deal get the 400 you can always trade down from it if you decide you need a more portable set up.

When I moved 1500 miles the company didn't cover the cost of moving my shop; took more than a flat bed Semi. *ouch*.