I bought the n.c. tool 70lb big face anvil new from a local farrier supply store in the spring. Love it so far, it gets only around 16 hours of use a week and still looks new 6 months later. I would definitely recommend this anvil as a first anvil that meets any budget.

You must be a farrier to use it 16 hours a week? What's the big round whole in the anvil for? Is it like a hardy whole?  It's good that you are using it and enjoying it.   

You must be a farrier to use it 16 hours a week? What's the big round whole in the anvil for? Is it like a hardy whole?  It's good that you are using it and enjoying it.   

The big round hole is known as a heel hooking hole. It serves 2 main purposes:

1) Is there for cold shoeing cowboys and those too inept to learn to use a horn properly.

2) Is there to annoy me.

 

Glad this guy is happy with it. Is better than no anvil at all I suppose. :rolleyes:

George

If it was a boat, would that be the hole that you pour your money into?????????

If it was a boat, would that be the hole that you pour your money into?????????

Nah, that's the hole that let's the bilge water out. 

Seems like some of these comments are kind of harsh for someone trying to pass on his experince with an anvil, kind of what I thought this section was for, especially for a first time poster. George is kind of right the hole is often used by the unskilled to turn heels, sometimes some people with skill use it to make a quick cold modification to a shoe, and sometimes it gets used to flatten items by hammering over the hole kind of like using a worn anvil. I do not own a NC tool Co. anvil, and do not plan to get one, for normal shoe modifications I think it would work pretty well, and at only 70# would  be nice for loading and unloading several times a day, a normal part of a farrier's day.

Welcome aboard Sheltowee, glad to have you. Thanks for your anvil review. What do you use yours for mostly?

 

Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard Sheltowee, glad to have you. Thanks for your anvil review. What do you use yours for mostly?

 

Frosty The Lucky.

Sorry Frosty,  thanks for the welcome! Time got away from me a bit, that stuff happens with my two boys both under the age of 4. I actually am a fish monger full time and a blacksmith in mind all the time but in practice 2 days a week. Just enough to keep LTF up and going. my 3 most popular summer items so far. 

It ain't been a whole year, what's to apologize for? I feel pretty lucky people want to talk to me at all.

A couple days a week is a lot better than I got when I was working a paycheck job. A guy can grow considerable skills on that schedule.

Nice pieces all, bottle openers and steak turners are popular items and you make nice ones.

Frosty The Lucky.

I also have a 70# NC. I love it. One thing I did when I started doing heavier work was took my stump and put it in a 55 gal drum cut about 2' deep and pour a bag of qwickcrete in it for extra weight.