Anvils

[apprentice]

what types are there and where can i get them?

[MLMartin]

look around the site, there is a lot of information on here about this topic, no need for a new post

[Glenn]

Go to the IForgeIron Gallery and do a search for anvil.

IForgeIron > Lessons in Metalworking > Blacksmithing > LB0005 Blacksmithing Anvils

You may want to review the IForgeIron > Getting Started page.

[Ted T]

Apprentice,
I would agree that you asked a couple of worthy questions. The problem as I see it is that sometimes what may sound like a simple question on the surface is not so simple to answer at times. That is for me anyway.
Your questions deserve the best answers you can get. So here goes is my version to the answers to your questions:
The way I see it, there are so many unseen variables that are attached to your questions that only you can answer at this time.
Here are a few questions, but not limited to the following questions that may be helpful to ask you

[Johannes]

cheers to that ted!

aprentice, you should first think about what kind of shape would be usefull to you,
and as a designer, I have to say this; but astatics is wourth something to, an anvill that looks nice to you, will give you more fun and pride working on, but thats only my opinion and I maybe right or wrong ("but you can find them both in the grand cannion at sun down" sorry guys I could not withstand to quote Bob dylan :-) )
greetz

[philip in china]

This is a very sensible question. The answer is on the site but let me share a few thoughts with you.

An anvil is a piece of material (steel) on which you beat hot metal. The earliest anvils would have been a rock!

It is not:
A perfectly flat, level, true etc. edge as a reference although if it is these are all bonuses.
Something on which to beat cold metal (or you will mark the anvil).
A bench on which to weld, grind etc. etc.

It should ideally be:
Made of good quality steel or lower quality metal with a steel face.
As heavy as you need for the work you are doing. A person resizing gold wedding rings uses a smaller anvil than somebody making anchors.
ANchored to something (see articles on anvil bases) such as a stand or a tree stump to stop it dancing around when you strike on it.

It does not need to be a professionally made anvil although that is usually best. It can be:
A piece of railway line,
An offcut of heavy structural steel such as an I beam,
An offcut of heavy steel plate
Any other big piece of steel such as a caterpillar wheel, a large pulley, a hatch from an old tank (I used to work in Kuwait remember).

My advice to you is to go out and find a big bit of steel. Take it home and get some iron hot. Hammer it and see how you enjoy the fun. If by the summer you are still enjoying it then get yourself some sort of incusoform anvil. New is easiest and dearest but used is a lot more fun. Somebody here will have one for sale that is for certain.

One final point. DO NOT BUY A CAST IRON CHINESE MADE ANVIL. THEY ARE USELESS AND DANGEROUS. YOU WOULD BE WASTING YOUR MONEY. "A FOOL AND HIS MONEY ARE EASILY PARTED." I make no apology for the capitals.

Of course if you, or anybody else on the site, wants a 150 pound or a neat small 50 pound cast iron anvil they are still here. Anybody who wants one or both can have them simply by collecting them. They are free of charge and less than a year old.

[ThomasPowers]

Well there are thousands of different "types" most varying by very little from certain "styles".

As to where to get them? Last two I have gotten were: 1 in the storgae shed of a fellow I go to church with and 2 out in a field behind a university surplus building---both went to a fine arts metals instructor at that same U as #2.

Anvils are everywhere you just have to ask enough people to find them.

[matt87]

Don't get hung up on the shape of your anvil; an anvil is something fairly heavy and hard to hit things on. There is a blueprint on using 'things' as anvils I think.

[yesteryearforge]

My anvil is fairly heavy and hard to hit things on

Mike Tanner

[habu68]

Philip do you live in the house with the red roof?
31

[Phil Dwyer]

For some of us who can not afford to purchase the preferred anvil(s) of our choice we have an even more basic type available: the second-hand or whatever we can hunt down type. It is both encouraging and discouraging to hear the tales of others' second-hand acquisitions. Hearing others' successes at scrounging anvils keeps you ever hopeful with your own efforts. On-the-other-hand, it can also be a bit discouraging when you yet again come up empty handed.

So far I have found two people who threw anvils away, a fellow who collects them and won't part with any, a guy who had one stolen and a family who is hanging on to their departed Dad's farrier anvil. I found one I was able to borrow and another that I can borrow, but haven't been able to get the guy to part with it yet. I also bought one of the cheap Harbor Freight anvils. I've bought one off of eBay near my folks in NH (I'm in Hawaii) but I haven't figured out how to ship it economically yet. I bought a farrier's anvil off Craig's list in Maine (a two hour drive from my folks) and as it weighs just under 70 pounds I'm bringing it back as "luggage" on a plane.

Anyway, I wish you luck with your pursuits. I know there are a lot of types, shapes and weights of anvils out there. For some of us, we use whatever we can get our hands on. You can do a lot of smithing with very little.

[philip in china]

The places with the red rooves are probably classrooms. My building isn't quite clear on the pictures I have seen on the internet.