I have read and heard lots of comments about ASO's anvil shaped objects not being
something that you want to work with.

While I'm saving/looking for a real anvil I have one from harbor freight.


How bad are they really?

They are softer, they don't have the ring or rebound that you want.....

But it is what I have now.


I can't really imagine it's worse than not having an anvil at all....

I have a small piece of railroad track but it does not have the mass I need for an anvil
for much more than small work. Its maybe 8 inches long.... Or am I wrong?

Jim, the first anvil I bought was the 110# Harbor Freight. It is not the best anvil but, it was good for the price. I wish they would carry them again as I would get me at least one more to have set up in my shop for visitors that want to come and try their hand at blacksmithing. This way I can work to preserve my better anvil. Jerry

Amen Brother Jerry!
as much as I would prefer a "real" anvil, I just don't have the means or availability to have one. yet! I, too, have a HF submarine. I also have an 80-lb block of thru-hardened and tempered D2 . It just doesn't look anything like an anvil, but it works

The definition of ASO can be really varfied, You have one that some would call ASO. But we know that a large piece of tool steel in a rough shape that may look something like an anvil if you squint your eyes right..could be a really nice thing to forge on. As soon as you get the opprotunity to forge on a real anvil it will realy be an eye opener. I believe that when we forge on something poor we can develop bad habits to try and overcome wot it is not doing for us. Get with some other smiths and watch or particiapte if you can..It is easier to learn correct than to relearn things that you have done for a while.

I had one of those cheap anvils, was my first too. It gave me a horrible case of blacksmiths elbow. Took me about 6 months to get over it. Since then I made one out of a piece of RR iron, it works wonderfully. I'm in the process of hard surfacing the old cast anvil, hopefully it will work a lot better.

Why not strap the rr track on top of the aso???



I'm in your same boat, with just a bit more rr track than 8 inches. I followed the vertical mounting suggested by the guru on anvil fire; you get the most bang for your change ... I'm currently building another, and quite honestly, It's going to be far less expensive and far more robust than anything I could ever hope to have...


Forklift tines... Found 2 sets of forks locally, one with a bucket attached (more plate steel)... one sets $95, the bucket with forks is $150... Plan cutting all 4 fork tines, and vertically sammich'n them together... shooting for 250-300 lbs... This will be an ongoing love affair... figure I can johnny cash it to 500 lbs over the next year or so, adding implements and what not...



If you found yourself 1 tine, you'd be far better off than with an aso.... just craigslist it once, just to see how readily available and cheap they are...

probably pick one up for less money than the aso as well....

My first anvil was RR track topped by a chunk of busted truck spring I found on the road. Worked great for a good while. I gave it to a friend's son when I graduated to a larger one. As far as I know it's still in use. Get what you can afford and then watch closely for a way to upgrade.

The issue is not a cast iron ASO vs nothing; it's a cast iron ASO vs a heavy chunk of steel that makes a FAR better anvil Far Cheaper.

As for a chunk of steel not looking like an anvil. Well a rectangular solid looks a whole lot like anvils have looked like for over 2000 years where the london pattern anvil is a bit over 200 years old. The problem is not in it; it's in our perceptions which make an "Anvil Shaped Object" look more like an anvil than a hunk of steel that is spot on what anvils looked like for Roman's celts, vikings; early, high, late middle ages; renaissance, early industrial and are still used in other countries to this day! (Japanese swords are forged on anvils that look like a large rectangular hunk of steel.)

I had a friend make an anvil of hardened steel for US$25 that is far larger and better than a HF ASO of cast iron