What anvil size for this type of work?

[SmithingEverything]

I have been searching for a new anvil but not sure what size I will need. I have found some examples of items I am interested in making. I am woodworker originally and most of my work will be combined woodwork and blacksmithing. The thickest material I think would be about 1-1.5 inches thick or some for table, chair and bench legs. I would not be using this thick always nor would I be using the anvil everyday. I was looking at a 165lb double horn, would this be adequate?  Here are some pictures of items I am interested in creating similar pieces. These are not my projects, just some I found on the web that I liked.

 

 

[john_zxz]

Hi, I have forged 1" thick and little over for hardy tools on a 110 lbs anvil. I think that a minimum of 100 lbs would be good for you. Heavier the better but only at a good price. I have a 500 lbs anvil that is waiting for a stand since a year so for now, i take my small anvil. I'm forging all my project on my little 110lbs czech anvil and it's doing very fine. If you can buy a 165 with double horn then go for it as the double horn can be very handy for some pieces. Do you have a picture of the anvil you are looking for?

[jmccustomknives]

I always use the rule, 20lbs of anvil for every lb of hammer.  You'll need a sledge for the heavy work.  My 10lb sledge still moves the 200lb anvil, all be it  slightly,but over time it turns to inches.

[SmithingEverything]

I was looking at the Ridgid Peddinghaus model 9 165lb Double Horn. It is forged steel and I can get it at total of $1170 no tax and no shipping charges. Unless anyone has any recommendations. I was looking at the model 12 275lb but not sure if I would get enough large projects to justify it at $1787. I have looked for used but decided I will go ahead an get new.

[ThomasPowers]

165# would suit your use very well particularly if properly mounted.

Frankly I've bought working powerhammers for less than you want to spend on your anvil. May I suggest you try before you buy.

[pete46]

 Better to have & not need ,than need & not have.

Bigger is better.

[ThomasPowers]

I always thought that until I had to pay to move my shop 1500 miles. If I had to do that every year or two I'd bet I'd slim things down fairly quickly!

[SmithingEverything]

What other brands of anvils should I look at, any particular models or other sizes that would work good? I was looking at TFS also. I am having a hard time deciding what to get because I was thinking of getting a air compressor and plasma cutter possibly.

[Chinobi]

shop around on craigslist for a used one at a better price, new is do-able, but if this is your grand entrance to the field that's a lot of digits to eat in startup!  read up on the thread covering TPAAAT and start talking to people, im willing to bet that you will be able to find a sizeable pre-owned anvil for significantly better than what new steel costs, and minus tax and shipping to boot :)

[jacobd]

I love my tfs. It just needs to me mounted well with a touch of caulk under it to dampen the ring.

[turbo7]

mate i have not being smithing long at all, like you i was looking at new anvils and the best you can do is try before you buy, make a few things, it will take a will to build up to making that sort of stuff, unless you have already. just my 2c worth

[Stash]

The double horn will not let you down- it's a good size and a good mfg. Little spendy for me, though. For a little perspective, I have 4 anvils in my shop that combined didn't cost what the Pedd does, and mine run  from 103 up to 270#. The mfgs are  Hay Budden, Fisher and Peter Wright. It took a little time and gas to get them all, but in addition to getting the heavy iron, I met some interesting folk along the way.

 

Nothing wrong with the Pedd, but with a little leg work you can put one or more of these old beauties back in service and more than likely have a story to go along with it. When I was picking up my 179# PW, I got a text from my wife that I had become a grandpaw. I call that anvil 'Shanna'.

 

Steve

[DSW]

I am having a hard time deciding what to get because I was thinking of getting a air compressor and plasma cutter possibly.

 

 

Out of curiosity why? I ask because I see a lot of new guys getting into welding that are enamored with plasma cutters for whatever reason when I'm teaching at the tech school. Most tell me it's because they cut "cleaner"... Then I set them up on the schools plasma and I'll take the old OA set and proceed to make cleaner nicer cuts than anything they can... It's all about knowing how to cut and set up the torch. The reality is that they want it for the "cool" factor more than anything else.

 

OA has a lot of advantages if you are getting into blacksmithing vs plasma. 1st you can heat and bend with OA as well as cut. 2nd you can weld, solder or braze with OA, something again you can't do with plasma cutters. Just be sure you get yourself a set up that has big enough cylinders. Those tiny OA kits Depot and all sell aren't very good for heating very much before you over draw them, or run out of gas. Oxy propane is a good way to go if you just want to heat and braze/solder and don't need to actually weld. You can run a lot bigger tips with Propane than most usually can with OA.

 

 

Plasma does have advantages if you do thin sheet work, though most guys I know still warp the metal and make ragged cuts when they use it because they don't know how to do so. Also It's good if you plan to work with materials OA can not cut, like alum, stainless, copper etc.

 

I assume you want the air compressor because of the plasma. Just be aware plasma is an air hungry beast. It also doesn't like dirty or wet air.  "Bad" air destroys the consumables in the plasma torch pretty quick. Expect to want to add a good dryer and filter to the rig, and that you will need a BIG compressor on average. 60 gallon units are often too small for some plasmas, unless it's used for short periods, then wait while the tank refills. One other possible option is to get high pressure air in cylinders, just like O2 or other welding gasses. One thing with those is that the air is always clean and dry vs what comes out of almost all compressors. I ran my plasma for a lot of years off HP air. I was lucky enough to dive and have a buddy who ran a dive shop, so I just got 300 cf cylinders filled by him for cutting. ( in a pinch I have the adapters to run my plasma off my double 95 dive cylinders.) I can also get air thru my welding gas supplier if I want.

[SmithingEverything]

On the OA, I never felt comfortable with them. I always feel like it is a lot more dangerous. A tank could blow up or something. When I used them in high school I could cut fine with them, I did a fairly good job. But I never really learned much about them and how to set them up and turn them on. I feel that the flame is going to get sucked back in to the hose and the tanks go BOOM and I die or something, not sure if this is possible. Or too much pressure blow the nozzle right off the bottle and it go shooting around like a rocket. I don't know why I feel this way, I think our high school ag teach scared us to much into knowing how dangerous stuff could be and why we had to be safe in the shop. I think I might be over thinking and over cautious about it. When I used plasma cutter in school, I felt safer and it was easy to set up and use. I don't know if I would be getting a plasma cutter right now anyway.

 

 I have been looking into a air compressor long before I was looking at plasma cutters. I don't own one and need one for several task in my workshop and around the home. I was looking at a 60 gallon minimum 2 stage and 3hp minimum but haven't found a good one yet.

 

On the anvil, I like the Peddinghaus but they are expensive but read that forged steel is the best quality material to get and thought that would be a good standard that would last. I looked at the TFS, and have asked about them and found nothing but good reviews on them but I read that the metal quality of Ductile Iron is like 3rd or 4th best, just above cast iron aso. Not sure if this is true or if the author was just bias to something else. Nimba is quite expensive like Peddinghaus, they are cast steel. I want to buy something that will last so I don't waste money. I am not looking to do huge work that would require strikers. I have been using piece of railroad track a bit but it can be a head ache using it.

 

I am not sure what anvil size I would need. Most of the thicker material would be for legs of projects.  The legs for tables or whatever wouldn't require much hammering, just twisting and bending. So I was thinking even a 100-150 would be fine. If the project is bigger, it would just require a little bit more hammering, right? Althought I could get a little bigger one for the price of the Peddinghaus I was looking at.

 

If I were to get the plasma cutter it would be for projects such as this. Cutting out the decorative figures out of sheet metal.

 

[DSW]

Compressed gasses need to be respected, but you shouldn't be scared of them. Could the flame travel back thru the hoses... yes. However a good set of flashback arresters and common sense and it should never be an issue. As far as knocking off a valve, if the cylinders are secured well that should never happen. I keep my cylinders strapped to a post in the shop. If I need the big cylinders to be "portable", they are strapped to a good hand truck so I can move them and I make sure the hand truck is on good level ground, or secured to something solid. If I'm swapping cylinders, they are always moved with the caps in place.

 

 

Almost all the OA "accidents" I've seen are caused by stupidity or sloppiness. OIl/grease and Oxy don't mix well. Simple common sense, not using greasy wrenches and keeping the equipment clean eliminates a great deal of issues most guys have. #2 would probably unsecured cylinders. Yanking on a set of hoses when the cylinders aren't attached to something is just asking for problems.

 

Yeah schools often try to "scare" guys who don't know any better simply to get them in the habit of using good shop practices. I can't say i haven't done the same thing when teaching kids so I can drive the point of safety home. I've seen a lot of guys take safety very cavalierly many times, especially when young and kids think themselves invincible.  I can understand where you are coming from, but you'd benefit from understanding how to safely use torches when doing this sort of stuff.