LibrariaNPC Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Taking the advice from a local smith, I went and bought a Harbor Freight anvil as my first anvil. After having some concerns regarding rebound and getting more information I didn't have before about that anvil, I'm considering moving up to something better. Essentially, what anvils would you suggest for a beginner to start without breaking the bank and won't take up a horrible amount of space (I store everything in my apartment and space is very limited)? What would you suggest as a better improvement to move up to over time as space and funding are available? I'm game for seeing gradual improvement options over time or major upgrades. Currently I've been contemplating a stake or stump anvil due to low cost and low space requirements, but I'm up for suggestions! Thanks in advance for any advice you can all offer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Almost anything will be an improvement over your HF anchor. A good stake anvil mounted solidly in a nice log should do fine for smaller work. Easy to move with a handtruck. Fit the bick so that it is snug, but removable. Easy to store flat. Bicks/stump anvils are out there and not too expensive. Look on Ebay and elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 i would look for a used anvil. should be able to find somthing in the 75-125 lb range for 2-300 dollars ...its time to network! ask all your friends all your relatives ,coworkers ect... someone has a anvil at a price you can afford...a farriers anvil will work to start in fact a good piece of steel will work..keep looking ! if you end up with more than one pick the best and sell the other... might check with your local blacksmith group for meetings there are usually stuff for sale . good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibrariaNPC Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Almost anything will be an improvement over your HF anchor. A good stake anvil mounted solidly in a nice log should do fine for smaller work. Easy to move with a handtruck. Fit the bick so that it is snug, but removable. Easy to store flat. Bicks/stump anvils are out there and not too expensive. Look on Ebay and elsewhere. Think the ones I posted might actually be worth looking into? And how big of a log do you think I'd need? I have my HF anchor on a 4x6 I've cut down to be at a decent height, so I'm curious if it can be mounted to that. i would look for a used anvil. should be able to find somthing in the 75-125 lb range for 2-300 dollars ...its time to network! ask all your friends all your relatives ,coworkers ect... someone has a anvil at a price you can afford...a farriers anvil will work to start in fact a good piece of steel will work..keep looking ! if you end up with more than one pick the best and sell the other... might check with your local blacksmith group for meetings there are usually stuff for sale . good luck! I've actually been relying on my network a lot for that, but so far no luck. Closest I got was chatting with a guy that thought he had some railroad track but turned out he got rid of the last of it. I am working on networking with local blacksmithing groups. Sadly meeting locations aren't really close and are on days I'm working. Hopefully going to change that, but still looking at cheaper alternatives for the time being. Thank you both for the input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickOHH Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 i had good luck posting in the tailgating section on here, had an anvil in the car a few days later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSW Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 A list of "beginner" anvils meaning a real anvil is tough to suggest. there's no easy way to know what you will come across, what condition it's in, or what price they want for it. You might come across a beat to death anvil with major issues, but it's dirt cheap or free. On the other hand you might come across the anvil of a life time in pristine condition, for more money than you want to spend, or something in between. A big hunk of solid steel is a good suggestion, assuming you can get it without breaking the bank. All sorts of things you can use as an anvil that are scrap. All depends what you can locate. Maybe you;ll luck out and someone at one of the PABA meetings will have something that interests you in your price range. I've seen a number of anvils offered there. One I would have jumped on right away, but I forgot to bring cash with me that meeting. No biggie, others will show up and I really don't need it now anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Network with the people that have what you need. RR people, yard crews, repair crews have the RR track. Blacksmiths have the blacksmithing equipment you need. Network with them, go to their meetings etc. If you want a block of steel, go to the junk yards. Start now and do a site search for TPAAAT and apply the technique. It works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 If you want to borrow a piece of track for now, I have some for you. If we meet up for the PABA trip, I will throw it in the truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibrariaNPC Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 i had good luck posting in the tailgating section on here, had an anvil in the car a few days later. Thanks for that tip! I'm still exploring the site in between things, so I'll be sure to check there today. A list of "beginner" anvils meaning a real anvil is tough to suggest. there's no easy way to know what you will come across, what condition it's in, or what price they want for it. You might come across a beat to death anvil with major issues, but it's dirt cheap or free. On the other hand you might come across the anvil of a life time in pristine condition, for more money than you want to spend, or something in between. A big hunk of solid steel is a good suggestion, assuming you can get it without breaking the bank. All sorts of things you can use as an anvil that are scrap. All depends what you can locate. Maybe you;ll luck out and someone at one of the PABA meetings will have something that interests you in your price range. I've seen a number of anvils offered there. One I would have jumped on right away, but I forgot to bring cash with me that meeting. No biggie, others will show up and I really don't need it now anyways. So far I've had zero luck regarding scrap as the scrapyards have been pretty useless (not returning calls/e-mails when I ask for hours, purchases, etc). The PABA meeting is a hopeful option for me as long as the weather holds, but I'm really just weighing my options. Network with the people that have what you need. RR people, yard crews, repair crews have the RR track. Blacksmiths have the blacksmithing equipment you need. Network with them, go to their meetings etc. If you want a block of steel, go to the junk yards. Start now and do a site search for TPAAAT and apply the technique. It works. Funny you should say that. One of my coworkers and his father used to work on the rails, which is how I had a potential track. They're still looking for me, but it's coming up nil. I'm working on networking with blacksmiths, it's just waiting for the next meeting at this point! I just read the TPAAAT approach, and I'll try to apply it the next time the weather is nice enough to hit a flea market. I've been leaving my name and number at antique shops and similar places for the past month just to get started, but no dice there. There's a market not far from me I'll try to hit this weekend (as long as it doesn't snow again), but I think the best flea market is a good distance away. Might just have to bite the bullet and take the hike up there. If you want to borrow a piece of track for now, I have some for you. If we meet up for the PABA trip, I will throw it in the truck. Thanks for the offer! Let's see how things pan out first and play it by ear. Sound good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSW Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I just read the TPAAAT approach, and I'll try to apply it the next time the weather is nice enough to hit a flea market. I've been leaving my name and number at antique shops and similar places for the past month just to get started, but no dice there. There's a market not far from me I'll try to hit this weekend (as long as it doesn't snow again), but I think the best flea market is a good distance away. Might just have to bite the bullet and take the hike up there. The technique works best if used full time. You never know where that anvil may be hiding... For example I was talking one day to my chiropractor about the blacksmithing class I'd just taken and that I was on the lookout for an anvil for myself. He mentions that a friend of his and long time customer might have one. he makes a call and tells me to head on over when we are done. So I leave the doc's office and head over to the nursery / farm of his friend. He;s got 3 anvils in his work shop just down the road from the farm, and a few others in storage. He's only got one at that point he's willing to sell, and it's damaged. Part of the face near the step is gone but it's a really large anvil, so there is a lot of good face left. I passed at the time knowing I had a lead on a better one possibly and filed that one away if the other fell thru. The other anvil came from the guy who was my partner in a machining class I was taking at night at the local tech school. Turns out he's a police officer with the township I plow with. In passing one night at class I mention I'm taking a blacksmithing class next. He chimes in he's got an old anvil in his garage I'm welcome to that came out of his fathers machine shop after his dad passed away. That anvil is a 330 lb one and he gave it to me for free. Another one is the woman who runs the 4-H archery program I help instruct for. She's got a really nice old post vise at the farm. She says they sold off the anvil and most of the tongs and stuff years ago, but she'd keep an eye open for anything else that might still be around. Her husband thinks they may still have an old forge and blower back in one of the old barns they haven't had a chance to go thru since her father passed away and they took over the family farm. The point is non of these contacts had anything to do with sales, flea markets etc. They were all just "regular" people whom I know who had leads or info on stuff that might be of use. I've also had good luck with members of local blacksmithing groups etc. I've had offers from a number of smiths to sell me "extra" gear they had they have picked up knowing some one else might like it. I got my rivet forge that way, and at the Grange fair 2 years ago the smith there found and sold a nice forge and bick to one of the kids who wouldn't leave him alone during the demos. Turns out one morning as he was setting up some one approached him and mentioned they had some blacksmithing gear they'd like to sell. He told them to bring it over and he'd look at it. The guy wanted $25 for the forge, and the smith found the bick at an "antique" shop there at the fair the same day for $25 IIRC. The next year he sold the kid an old sway backed Peter Wright he'd found cheap at a yard sale and bought knowing some one could use it... Kid got a 125 lb anvil for what the guy paid, $75.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibrariaNPC Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 It's funny that you mention this; I was at Tractor Supply today picking up a few bricks and mentioned to the assistant manager that I'm a beginner blacksmith. Apparently she's a former (retired) racetrack coordinator, and knows a few people who are still in the field that may know of some local farriers I can network with. I'll be making that phone call tomorrow as per her suggestion to give her time to make the introduction. Funny how that works, ne? So far, I have the editor of our local newspaper, a few of my regular patrons at the library I work for, my coworkers, the president of our historic society, and my gaming group (including a LARPer) on the prowl for me, and that doesn't include my old contacts before I moved (granted, out of state, but still). It's wonderful when people suddenly realize that they met someone who could use the tools they've had sitting around; a friend of mine just informed me that a friend of his who suffered from a stroke has an old railroad anvil I can borrow for an extended period/upgrade to if I can get over there to get it. Still looking around just in case a solid, more permanent option crops up, but it is amusing how things pan out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 It's also a surprise to people that there are more anvils hidden away in cities than out in the countryside. Pretty much every factory had a complete smithing set up and some factories that made tools could have hundreds. However HVAC, auto repair, even hospitals often had a smithy in the old days. Shoot I know a sugar refinery that had a smithy that my Great Uncles in Law used to work at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibrariaNPC Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 I was reminded to check Craigslist again and saw this, and I'm curious: how would something like this work as an anvil? If it is viable, I'm curious how one would even mount it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Actually I'd consider that a bad design by someone who doesn't understand the physics of how an anvil works. You want SOLID STEEL under the sweet spot all the way down to the base. You can get fancy and odd for the horn and heel without much of an issue but if the hammering spot is not a solid chunk all the way down it's not a good design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibrariaNPC Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Gotcha. It looked amusing, which is why I even had to ask if such as thing is valid or is just an Anvil Shaped Object. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Well if you were doing light work, probably cold it would be a handy bench plate sort of thing; but for smithing I would consider that big rounded corner stump anvil to be FAR FAR superior. I have a 25# stump anvil that was a gift to me from another smith who forged it from one piece and I use it a lot for my medieval demo's and beginners classes. It's all sweet spot and I can use it to teach them how to bend curves without a horn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibrariaNPC Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 The two approaches to stumps are still on my docket if only due to size (i.e. I can build a small stand or keep my eyes peeled for anyone chopping down trees) and portability. Thanks for that input so I didn't waste my time seeing this odd-looking thing in person! Speaking of curves without a horn: can you describe how that process is done? I know it's a bit of a topic derail, but now I'm curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Multiple methods: a couple are--- Place the hot end on the anvil face, (flat or at an angle depending...) and hit it in the hot zone between the end on the anvil and where you hold it. Then flip it over and dress it. Or what I show making S hooks after you have done your taper put a bit over the edge of the anvil, (for our small hooks about 3/8"), and bend it in an L then flip it over and hit the tip towards you while raising the stock till almost vertical---make the circular counter bend on the end. Then you can re-heat and bend over the edge a substantial amount opposite to the counter bend and flip it over and dress it to the curve you want for the hook. If you bend the hook to tight, heat and stick the crosspeen end of a hammer in it on the anvil face and crank the hammer handle to the side opening the hook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibrariaNPC Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Makes sense to me. I'll have to give it a whirl when I am practicing after the weather breaks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Did you read the thread >Finding your first anvil? It has some good information that can be applied at any time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibrariaNPC Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 I didn't get that far back; I'll start reading through it now. Thanks Glenn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 How about forgetting about "networking" as such, just talk to everybody you encounter EVERYBODY. Be friendly and polite and tell them you're a blacksmith and need an anvil, post vise, etc. Just make it part of the conversation. By everybody I mean every single person you encounter from the neighbors, relatives, church, school, cop giving you a speeding ticket, guys at the coffee shop, the checker at the store, the person in front of and behind you in line, the guy mowing his lawn, everybody. Don't try to choose people you THINK might have tools, ask everybody, especially the neighborhood kids. Do you remember being 10+/- blasting around the neighborhood with your friends on your bikes snooping everywhere? Of course they're going to want you to make them a sword if they find you something but what the hey. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Talking with kids can help out in other ways too: When I lived in the inner city in Columbus OH; one of the local kids came over and wanted to make a knife, he was a younger teen so I talked with his parents and we worked through his first blade forging. I later found that he was a leader in the local "young" gang. Funny thing my shop had a significant drop in vandalism and theft after that. I don't think he ever got through the filing as I don't recall doing a heat treat on it. Casting your bread upon the waters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibrariaNPC Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 I'm a bit wary asking the kids due to the amount of gang activity in our area, and since I work for the township, doing things like teaching kids how to make knives might not go over so well. . . Thankfully I remember to bring it up with a few of my regular patrons here at the library; just often enough to sow the information, but not so often as to make my home a target for anyone looking for things to steal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Well if you get tired of NJ I'll put you up if you want to spend some time in Juarez... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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