Anvil 101 - weight

[ThorsHammer82]

ok, I'm going to be building my first forge, and RR Track Anvil over the summer. My question, besides the obvious (larger working surface, less likely to move while in use) what are the benefits of a heavier Anvil? for example a 150 lb anvil vs a 70 lb anvil?

[Black Frog]

The more mass you have, the harder the face surface (better rebound), and the more rigidly it is secured to the earth- more energy is imparted to the metal from your hammer.

This makes each hammer blow more efficient with transferring energy to the metal.

Your arm likes this.

[dablacksmith]

it is a matter of mass and the amount of work your hammer does . the bigger anvil will produce a bit more work per hammer blow. it is not easy to see in the beginning but as you get better and try different anvils you will notice the difference . You can work on a fairly small anvil it is just takes more energy/time . on small items it is not as noticeable but if your working bigger stock you will want the bigger mass.i have used various anvils and anything over 100 lbs is good for most hand work (non sledge work). but if you find a good deal on a 300 lb+ monster get it! more is better!

[Dan C]

When you setup your RR track anvil mount it vertically as I did in this pic and then anchor it to the floor if you can.  The vertical mount gets more mass under your hammer.  I forged a lot with this anvil and still use it for it's edges and dies, even though now I have a 190lb PW.

[ThorsHammer82]

I've got three lengths of track. 1 that is obviously a wider track, heavier, and shorter than the other two. The other two are VERY well warn down track (think sharp edge on the bottom of the track edge). I plan on turning the shorter peice into a traditional anvil shape with a horn and hardy hole. but the length of the other two would allow me to cut them and put them below the smaller section increasing the overall weight and giving more mass below the anvil. Combining this with a large section of hardwood for the base would stabilize the anvil, correct?

[Dan C]

Yes, the more mass & stabile the better, as long as obviously you aren't hammering on the wood.  When you do get a larger, heavier anvil with better rebound you will appreciate the difference which will be night & day.

[ThomasPowers]

I do a lot of work on my light travel anvils and then when I get back to the MASSIVE shop anvil (over 500#'s counts as massive right?) I'm always amazed at how the anvil seems to pull the hammer down into the metal; some jops I can do in half or less the number of heats using the big anvil, faster means I can do more things or not get as tired and is sure better for knife grade steels where time at temp correlates to scale losses, decarb, grain growth , etc.