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build an anvil handcrafted with recycled materials


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hello I would like to realize a metal anvil to beat us over the iron recovered material would have picked up ideas, ll'incudine made tracks seems a slight bit to beat us over with 12 libre poker, what would you suggest? I should also realize the pedestal to support it as it should have and how high taking into account that are one meter high and eighty centimeters, if you had pictures would be great thanks

 

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I should pick up and recover from a massive junkyard piece of industrial machinery, eg, forklift or earthmoving machine or the like in demolition

 

a friend of mine used as a stand an old tank of gas as the anvil of track rail piece, but when he uses makes noise type sound bell, unacceptable in my opinion

 

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As much as a rail anvil seem popular and many people invest many hours into making one, to me they have very little value. That particular sort of rail and made in that way, Almost no value at all.

If you can find a larger section of crane rail, some go as far as 100mm wide may be it is worth the effort. Might be. Particularly if you forego the horn altogether. 

There is however one way to make a rail anvil that has a larger mass under the hammer, and that has some value. That is by making a T with a vertical section of rail and the horizontal section from the head of the rail, welded at the top of the vertical section along the web ... if that makes sense. 

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, Marc1 said:

There is however one way to make a rail anvil that has a larger mass under the hammer, and that has some value. That is by making a T with a vertical section of rail and the horizontal section from the head of the rail, welded at the top of the vertical section along the web ... if that makes sense. 

Marc1, why would such an arrangement be preferable to simply turning to rail on its end?

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I-beam is good for anvil stands, but not for anvils. 

For an improvised anvil, you don't want surface area; you want depth of steel below the hammer. That's why people recommend standing railroad track or forklift tine anvils on end: the more steel there is below where the hammer hits, the more rebound the anvil gives back, and the more effective your hammering will be. 

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7 hours ago, JHCC said:

Marc1, why would such an arrangement be preferable to simply turning to rail on its end?

Well ... my point is that rail anvil are useless basically. Good for very small things and very noisy. However something that I have never seen is comments about the different rail tracks. I remember a steel merchant that had an old pile of crane tracks that were massive. Those would have  made an almost decent small anvil.

A rail on it's end is precisely what I am saying, only topped by a short piece or rail without the web and base, welded along the vertical section's web from the head to the base or a bit longer cantilevering at both ends. Not my idea by the way. This vertical 'anvil' will have to be bolted against a log, post or similar. The work are is multiplied by 4 or 5 this way as compared to the rail on it's end. 

Such arrangement will give the satisfaction of homemade and be way more efficient than a horizontal section and surely quieter. Not that I advocate home made anvils, but there is such a push for making tools from scrap that I will not stand in it's way. 

I once found a rail anvil in a second hand shop and since I buy everything to do with metalwork I took it home. Someone spent a long time on this rail to make it look like an anvil but as soon as I put a bit of hot steel on it and hit it with a hammer I took it off the log and under the bench. Once I was making a gate for my daughter I took it with me to flatten the hinges and left it in their garage. It will most certainly continue it's journey from garage to garage :)

When I need a small anvil I can lift with one hand and put on a bench or table for a small job, I have a 14k Kohlswa that cost me peanuts and works like a charm. Small anvils under 20 kilos are cheap and there is no need to work that hard to make a useless rail anvil in my opinion anyway. 

 

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Forklift forks, big earth moving equipment bucket pins, hydraulic breaker points, or any other large chunk of steel. Avoid items like I-beam, tube, and other structural steel shapes. You want a dense mass under the hammer blow, and the face only has to be as big as the face of the hammer being used.

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3 hours ago, bobasaurus said:

J.W.S., where did you get that chunk of steel for so cheap?  Ordering a piece like that online would be $300 or more.  

I get drops for $1/lb on tool steels. Best part about A2 is we can harden it here in the shop. Granted, it's almost 2 hours to bring to temp, but after that it's fairly easy.

-J

And yes, London pattern anvils are overrated. Bick tools can easily be made for and hardies work well in a post vise.

-J

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thanks for the right advice, maybe I find used effectively if you use oil bimario or a piece of beam and beat with heavy mace or large hammer, risks dent the surface on which to beat, maybe I can find a used but they cost so much, I read that the anvil must weigh eight times the weight of the hammer or mallet therefore think that to use the bat should be an anvil at least 40 kg, am I wrong? you would have to address the case of anvils manufacturers new contact, to find out what new costs, thanks again for the right advice

http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/blacksmith/farmshop.html

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Ciao Angiolino, è un po' difficile capire quello che scrivi per via dell'inglese... (senza intendere nessun vilipendio, per carità) se vuoi scrivere in Italiano posso tradurre io per te. Comunque, quello che twntano di dirti è che devi star lontano da pezzi non solidi come la putrella, il binario ecc. Se trovi blocchi massello anche non enormi, 40 o 50 kg bastano, pezzi di rimanenza da tornitori, fonderie ecc va benissimo le forche del muletto vanno benissimo ma le devi usare verticalmente altrimenti la flessione è troppa e fai lavoro doppio.

Se vuoi, su ebay trovi un fornitore che ti spedisce una incudine decente e le spese di spedizione sono abbordabilissime ed il prezzo dell'incudine è molto buono. Son fatte in cina ma è c45 ottimo acciaio per iniziare. Io ne presi una ed ha un rimbalzo ottimo, ancora la usiamo. Se vuoi ti do il nome del venditore in privato, non so se si possa pubblicamente. Fammi sapere!

Fra

 

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thanks to the availability, the network there are offers of anvils used, but are far from my house, would cost more than shipping and transportation expense anvils, I do not find producers of new anvils, I assume they do not build more, are outdated, I found only one products manufacturer farrier to shoe horses, but absurd prices prohibitive thanks againUnknown-1024x768.jpeg

 

 

 

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There are several Anvil manufacturers still in business including several in Europe, and I know of one making Italian styled anvils in the USA---http://www.nimbaanvils.com/   Finding them is the problem.  I would check advertisements in blacksmithing journals,  (Unfortunately I only am familier to a German one Hephaestois ---spelled wrong I am sure)

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in Italy believe they would produce perrin mundial ansaldo rinaldi Fervi, I could not find online addresses, keep in mind that a good anvil should weigh at least 30 kilograms, for the locksmith would be good to use a fifty kilograms or a ton to fight power over with a bat eight ten pounds but valla find, I do not know if in germany produce anvils good steel heat treated, then the anvil should be made of good steel heat treated steel casting no, you should beat us over with the hammer and ring bell type if it is cast iron makes a bad thud, am I wrong? German anvils what do you know? and cheap Chinese? thanks for the advice and collaboration

amboss

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when I looked for used anvils in Italy, on the internet, I saw that they are not very cheap, but I'm sure that with little patience you could find one. In France you could find FANTASTIC anvils for around 100euros anytime. just 2 days ago I looked for anvils in France for a friend. I found quiet a few in the area where my friend has an opportunity for the anvil to be shipped.

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Avoid cast iron Chinese junk anvils, they're pretty useless as anvils. A good anvil I haven't seen suggested is a truck axle mounted on end flange up. The shaft gives it an excellent depth of rebound and the flange has a number of useful shapes and holes.

Don't get too set on the "London" pattern anvil, its a recent design and not necessary to do good work. Have you looked at some of the videos of modern Japanese sword smiths and their anvils? How about the fellows in the 3rd. world forging on whatever they can find, a sledge hammer head if their lucky and using animal dung for the fire. These smiths are professionals and doing outstanding work on small square or round blocks of steel, no horn heal or hardy hole, just a heavy piece of steel for an anvil.

As modern practitioners we get too caught up in what we think of as "traditional'. Traditional is a personal choice in most cases and has nothing to do with the products you make. Sometimes is makes a good marketing tool, so the public thinks it's old time special. That's okay but not necessary to do good work.

I hope my post isn't too long winded for your translation software to handle.

Frosty The Lucky.

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