Dressing New Anvil?

[Crunch]

I have an anvil whose edges are still pretty square (there really is no radius on them). I am a total newbie to blacksmithing, so I'm somewhat concerned about dinging/chipping these edges ... but I'm also concerned about making permanent changes to the anvil by grinding.

I see in Jack Andrews's book "New Edge of the Anvil" that he recommends:

"From the shoulder to the mid point develop the edge to 3/8" radius. Blend this radius into 1/4" radius from the mid point to the heel. The edge of the heel can be either sharp or rounded."'

Questions:

1. Is this the generally accepted "thing to do" with a new anvil?

2. Should both the "inner edge" (closer to the blacksmith) and "outer edge" (farther away) be eased this way?

3. This is a double-bick German-type anvil. Am I correct to assume that there should be no radius ground on the edges of the "square bick" on the right-hand side ... in other words, should I leave that part alone?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Ridgewayforge]

A radiused edge is used to prevent chipping, and to prevent marring of the work. If you need to you can make a hardy tool with sharp edges. THat way you'll protect the anvil edges and still get a sharp 90 degree bend.

[Fatfudd]

In general most anvils now a days have had some radius put on the edges, usually the far edge to prevent marring the metal as well as protecting the edge from chipping. I can understand why you have concerns by simply reading books regarding blacksmithing. That being said you probably won't chip your edges unless you intentionally do heavy pounding on your anvil's far edge. At first you'll use the far edge for drawing out hot metal and perhaps making some bends, you will just need to be careful with your aim while pounding. I'd suggest you take it easy on the grinding and learn more about working the iron. Then as you progress, when you want to dress the edges you'll know better how much you want/need. My first anvil was a nice Trenton with absolute straight edges. I was like you, quite nervous about hurting it, but held off on the grinder. I'm glad I did because eventually I really only radiused about 6 inches just back of the table. Never really had a need to do any more than that and never chipped any edges either. Of the two anvils I use most now one has a radius on the far edge for about 4 inches(3/8") progressing to another 4 in(1/4") and the other has straight edges which I have left alone. Another book you might want to read is Lorelei Sims- The Backyard Blacksmith. She suggests using a flap disk rather than an angle grinder since it gives a smoother surface and only doing a limited amount of grinding,

[MOblacksmith0530]

I have various radiused edges in different areas of the anvil. Sharp edges lead to cold shuts in the work. You will want some sharp edges somewhere and it can either be on the anvil or an anvil block like was mentioned above. I have both square and radius edges on my anvil. I have radiused the heel of the anvil as well where it tapers down on my czeck anvil so I can make "U" shaped bends without having cold shuts. It is up to you, you don't have to rush to do it. I have added some to an anvil as soon as I have mounted it but waited to add others until I have used it and seen what it needed.

[ciladog]

I have an anvil whose edges are still pretty square (there really is no radius on them). I am a total newbie to blacksmithing, so I'm somewhat concerned about dinging/chipping these edges ... but I'm also concerned about making permanent changes to the anvil by grinding.

I see in Jack Andrews's book "New Edge of the Anvil" that he recommends:

"From the shoulder to the mid point develop the edge to 3/8" radius. Blend this radius into 1/4" radius from the mid point to the heel. The edge of the heel can be either sharp or rounded."'

Questions:

1. Is this the generally accepted "thing to do" with a new anvil?

2. Should both the "inner edge" (closer to the blacksmith) and "outer edge" (farther away) be eased this way?

3. This is a double-bick German-type anvil. Am I correct to assume that there should be no radius ground on the edges of the "square bick" on the right-hand side ... in other words, should I leave that part alone?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Putting a radius on your anvil has nothing to do with chipping the edges.

You radius the edges so that when you do half blows either near or far side you don’t create a cold shut in your work. A gradual radius of from 3/8 to 1/8 will be all you need. You should leave some of the near and far sides square. The length of this radius will depend on the type of work that you do.

I would leave the flat bick square until you find a need to put a radius on it.

[Crunch]

Thank you all for the replies. I appreciate the guidance.

[tzonoqua]

As what MOblacksmith has already said...

Before you start hacking away with a grinder, think carefully about what will work for YOU! Just because something is prescribed doesn't mean it suits to all situations, and also might depend on what other tooling you have or intend to make. If you have been smithing for a while you would have a good idea about this, if not, you might want to use it for a while to see what configuration would be best suited to the work you do.

[Rich Hale]

i am strongly behind the "use it fo a while" idea....It is yours,,before making any changes at all forge some hot metal on it. Learn wot a half blow is and also do a lot of scrolls. Look at your work and see if it is wot you wish it to be. Learn wot a cold shut is and how to recognize it..look for them in you work. My anvils hadve only one fairly sharp edge and it is the end of the heel. I use it at times. And I would not take a grinder to your anvil at all. If I decided to take a little of the edge back to a radius I wouild use a file,,remove a little and examine your work..Metal can be put back on but should not have to on this anvil. if you make changes then forge mmore itemms like you did and comapre the work..see if you have made a positive difference. Think about wot it means when they say a 3/8" radius. Look at a piece of 3/4" round rod from the end..that is a 3/8" radius. A piece of 1/4" rod will show you a 1/8" radius. A lot of difference. If you already knew this maybe it will help someone else reading here.

[Private Entrance]

Think about wot it means when they say a 3/8" radius. Look at a piece of 3/4" round rod from the end..that is a 3/8" radius. A piece of 1/4" rod will show you a 1/8" radius. A lot of difference. If you already knew this maybe it will help someone else reading here.

Already helped me. ;) I had been thinking of edges as being a lot tighter than they actually are, by about half, I'm guessing, and I thank you kindly for that little lesson.

[anvil]

My anvils are radiused from horn to about. A third back from horn. Both sidesmatched. I use these to get varied radiuses when forging tapers, bosses etc. The rest is sharp. Nice sharp edges to do final shear,, hot as an example on the sharp edges.

[Sam Salvati]

I wouldn't touch a new anvil, as need would arise I would dress an edge, that way it would slowly work into the anvil you want for things you do. You can not as easily resharpen a corner as you can round one over.

[Frank Turley]

When I started smithing in the 1960's, I had very little guidance. Smiths were hard to find, so I relied to a large degree on books. In the British book, "The Blacksmith's Craft," the authors suggested a 1/8" radius on the near and far edge from the step to nearly the waist. They did not suggest a graduated radius. On a German anvil, you would have a far edge radius shorter in length than the near edge, only because of the side shelf (if your pattern has a side shelf). I have stuck to this admonition on all the anvils that I've used, and I have been satisfied with the results.