beammeupscotty Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I worked for my first 12 years smithing on a Taiwanese 125# anvil that I bought in about 1983 (though I didn't really start smithing until 1991) and my second 12 years on a very heavily used 278# Peter Wright. That Taiwanese anvil is still in extremely good shape, believe it or not, and I still use it daily even now. Having recently sold a LOT of bottle openers over the course of two weekends, I decided to spend my take on a new anvil. For a combination of cost and features, I selected the Texas Farrier Supply (TFS) smithy special in the medium size. I just picked it up on Monday and have only had a chance to dress the edges and use it twice since then, because I have been pretty sick with a cold for nearly two weeks now. The anvil is a German pattern I believe, with a side shelf and upsetting block. I questioned the side shelf initially but a Hofi video showed me what it can be used for and I am glad to have it. Like the JHM anvil, this anvil is made from ductile iron, a material I was unfamiliar with, but which seems to be appropriate for the use. The anvil is supposed to be hardend to 52 RC. I found it impossible to radius the hardy hole with a file, it is simply too hard. I ended up using a carbide burr to do that. The far edge was pretty easy to radius with a 120 grit flap wheel. I further smoothed it out with to 220 grit on a random orbit sander. I found the random orbit discs to be pretty ineffective, again, because the anvil is really hard.So far I am pretty happy with this purchase. The only failings I can find so far is that the 1" hardy hole is somewhat oversize, such that I am going to have to lay some beads of weld on the shank of my guillotine tool so that it fits a little tighter in the hardy hole, and TFS didn't bother to grind more than the top half of the round bick, so I will have to do that myself pretty soon. I am also going to have to dress the point of the bick down a bit more so I can more easily open bottle opener loops with it. The anvil is not particularly loud, at least I don't think so. I probably will wrap some chain around it sometime soon, even so. No point in xxxxxxx off the neighbors unnecessarily. I have temporarily mounted the anvil as shown in the pic, with some 1 1/2" pressure treated spacers. I had to do this because the TFS anvil is about 2 inches lower than the PW it is replacing. I'll get a new, slightly taller stump pretty soon. There is a sizable log left over from some tree removal we had done at the family cabin last year. I just have to get up there and cut off an appropriate length piece. The cost of the anvil was $1155.00 plus about $180.00 shipping, Texas to California. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJS Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Howdy. Have you done a ball bearing rebound test on it yet? I would be really interested to see how she does with that. I have to admit I was very suspicious when I saw that they were made with ductile iron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beammeupscotty Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 Howdy. Have you done a ball bearing rebound test on it yet? I would be really interested to see how she does with that. I have to admit I was very suspicious when I saw that they were made with ductile iron.No I haven't. I have never bothered to do that test on any of the anvils I have owned or worked on. I am not entirely convinced that such a test actually means anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricJergensen Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 That's a good point. A ball bearing rebound test doesn't do much to tell you about depth of hardness. I suspect that a fairly deep 52Rc is better than a very shallow 60Rc for vigorous hammering. You'd need to drop something much heavier to approximate that. Like a 5# sledge head ... YIKES! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpankySmith Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 My next anvil will have that little shelf, I used one once at someone else's shop, fell in love with that feature. Nice new anvil - I'm jealous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beammeupscotty Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Just an update on this anvil. I am still pretty happy with it. I am very careful with it so the surface is still pristine. I recently helped teach a class at a local arts cooperative where they have several JHM anvils which are also made of ductile iron, likely in the same foundry as my TFS anvil. They seem to be holding up pretty well considering the abuse they receive from beginning blacksmiths. I can't attest to how this anvil would hold up were I working 1" stock with an 8 lb. sledge, but for the sort of work I do it is pretty much perfect. I LOVE the german pattern with the tapered heel. It is really useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrelonastick Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 What kind of things do you use the shelf for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimpl Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 Hi beameupscotty, How has your TFS Anvil been working out the past 4 years. Any current pictures you can share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HVACguy Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 I would also love to now how the anvil is holding up after so much time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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