Cavpilot2k Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 I was just wondering, since the Mousehole/ Peter Wright style of anvil with the wrought steel body and forged face are so popular and are widely considered the "best" style of construction (at least for old anvils), why doesn't anyone make them that way anymore? Are modern casting techniques better than those old wrought/forged techniques? Is a modern drop forged anvil the equal or better or is it just a matter of economy of manufacturing process? I'm guessing modern techniques are better, otherwise somebody would still be making the Peter Wright style, even if at a price premium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 I'll take a quality cast steel anvil over a wrought iron body ( or cast iron) with steel face plate anvil any day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Good Morning, Different times, different process are available for less money. Cast 8640 Steel is a great material, it just hasn't had the length of time to work harden the top surface, but it does after awhile. Wrought Iron is no longer produced in volume. It was used because it was available at the time and it wasn't expensive. There are quite a few manufactures of GREAT Anvils, nowdays, they are not Forged Wrought Iron. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Wraught iron is only produced on a very limited/specialty basis (I have only heard of on manufacture) so is more expensive than other materials, second it has to be forged to shape (originals were forge welded from multiple pieces). A one peice cast steel anvil is much cheaper to praduce and every bit as good if not superior ,when your descendants get stupid and mill the face flat, they can dust send it out to a heat treat shop to fix it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Forged solid steel anvils are generally considered the best; but are much more expensive to make than a cast solid steel anvil which, with modern alloys and techniques, are very good indeed! Anvils are a very small part of the ferrous manufacturing stream and would NOT support tooling up to make real wrought iron---even using the Byers process! The reason so many people go with old is not quality but economics---a lot of them are out there and cheaper than new ones. As the recent rise in anvil prices gets close to the new price I expect a lot of folks will go with new anvils---when they find out that there are good new ones for sale! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasent Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Take rhino anvils for example. They are cast steel (similar to rock crusher plates) and the hardness/toughness is the same all the way to the core. If the deck is badly damaged you can mill it down to flat again and still have the same hardness as it started with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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