Chuyn Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 Hello! I'm still very new to I forge iron. I recently just finished building my first forge and I completely forgot about a stand for my anvil. I actually bought my anvil from a craiglist deal for almost nothing. Not sure if it's any good but I'm sure it's better than not having one. I read multiple articles about stand design and I'm just gonna keep it simple and try and make something from home depot. I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions for materials. Thinking of just buying some wood and make something this weekend. Also if you guys have any suggestions about my anvil I would also appreciate that. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 Well, the good news is that you didn’t pay much more than it’s worth. My suggestion would be to ditch this and get yourself a real anvil — that is to say, something that you can actually forge on. That does NOT mean that you have to spend a ton of money on a London-pattern anvil; check out the Improvised Anvils thread for some inspiration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 There is a whole thread on anvil stands that if very helpful: I learned a lot from reading it and I wouldn't go to Home Depot until you read through it. On the anvil, I would check the rebound on it's face before I built a stand for it. Some cast steel anvils from China are good and some are nothing better than a door stop because they do not have hard steel faces (tops). Find yourself a steel ball bearing and drop it from 10 inches. If you get at least a 7 inch rebound the anvil will be decent. This speaks to durability. You can forge on a soft faced anvil but you will mark it up pretty good if you miss or forge steel at or near a black heat. As many will point out, for thousands of years blacksmiths forged on mildish steel blocks and anvils so it will work. I'd just hate to see you build a nice anvil stand, get to work with it and find your anvil is pretty soft and you need something with a hard steel face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 On the bright side you have a hardy hole and so can go with an improvised anvil that will work MUCH better than that one and not need to worry about creating a hardy hole for it. The cast iron ASOs, (Anvil Shaped Objects), tend to be rather low grade door stops that attack ankles. The rebound test will show if you have lucked out---how much was almost nothing? I remember when HF sold 55# ASOs for US$28 and a lot of them were mistakenly purchased. There was even someone on the bay mis-representing them as professional grade smithing anvils, I hope he got dinged for fraud.... At my favorite scrapyard you can buy a 110 pound chunk of steel for $22; paired with your hardy holder you could forge great things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuyn Posted August 2, 2018 Author Share Posted August 2, 2018 Thanks for the feedback! I had a feeling that it wasn't a good one but I thought I was getting a deal out of it. I paid $15 for it plus I got some other stuff with it. I will need to get a ball bearing to be able to find out if it's any good. What are some keys thing to look for when finding a used anvil? I feel like most people test them out with the rebound test before buying them. Is that an appropriate test to determine if the anvil is worth it? Or should I worry about other things? Most anvil I seen on IFI seem rusty and heavily beaten but after some work they seem good as new. I just don't wanna make the same mistake again and get another crappy anvil in the near future. I'm considering using a railroad track if my anvil doesnt pass the test. 4 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: At my favorite scrapyard you can buy a 110 pound chunk of steel for $22; paired with your hardy holder you could forge great things! If I was to find a a similar place like that? What kind of steel do I ask for? I just wanna have an idea in what to get and be able to explain to the people who are helping me at the scrapyard. As I recently learned from building a forge, it's difficult to get certain things from the store if people don't know what I'm talking about or how it's going to work lol. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 27 minutes ago, Chuyn said: What are some keys thing to look for when finding a used anvil? Did you read the other links that were given? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 It's a scrapyard; you ask for a big hunk of steel, (not cast iron!). If you look through the improvised anvils thread you will see a lot of different things that will work. As many city scrapyards won't let you in the door you can go a step upstream and ask a place that does dozer repair about getting a heavy chunk of steel as scrap---dozers are pretty much built of improvised anvils! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuyn Posted August 2, 2018 Author Share Posted August 2, 2018 1 hour ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said: Did you read the other links that were given? Yes I did. Sorry if I miss the part about used anvil. I mostly saw ideas in how people used certain items to forge on and how to made stands for them. I'll take a closer look again. Thanks! Thanks Thomas I'll take a look around. I know that we have 3 different places in town were they deal with scrap metal. Hopefully I'll be able to find something useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 The rebound test with the ball bearing just determines hardness of the face (top) of the anvil. Tapping the anvil on the face should provide you with a pleasant bell like ringing sound unless it is a Fisher anvil - they don't ring but are a great anvil. A hard face speaks to longevity of use more than anything and some say rebound helps in the forging process as well. I suggest you get a nice beverage, kick back and start reading everything you can find in this forum about finding anvils. I did and it helped me tremendously when I began looking for a good used anvil. Generally speaking, it's not likely you will find a great anvil in the $15 range. I paid $300 for my first decent anvil. Watch out though, people list junky anvils on CL and Ebay for high prices. A big price tag doesn't always mean a superior anvil. Take your time, save your money up and find a decent anvil. Read , read, and read some more. Check-out the book Anvils in America by Postman from your local library system. This will educate you on the different anvils out there. I always tell people not to spend big bucks on things they know nothing about. The more you know, the better position you will be in to bargain with sellers and avoid crappy anvils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuyn Posted August 3, 2018 Author Share Posted August 3, 2018 Thank for the excellent advise. I'll add that book to my reading list. I have very little knowledge about anvil as you guys can see with my purchase. Hopefully I'll be able to find something so I can began forging and I'll keep my eye open for a used anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Hey, we all started out exactly where you are at. My first anvil was borrowed from my Dad and it was an old one but it didn't have great rebound and was more of an anvil shaped object that only weighed about 75 pounds. When I got my 179 lb Trenton, it was like night and day. Having a hard face helps in many ways. It's been argued and debated here on rather rebound matters since you are hitting a softish object like hot metal, but in my experience it made a difference. Of course adding 100 lbs of anvil helps tremendously too. Don't be afraid to ask the forum before you buy a used anvil. Take good pictures and make sure you've done a rebound test before posting because you'll be asked that question first thing. I'll tell you this too, $1, $2, and $3 per pound prices are pretty good for an anvil with a good face. $4 per pound pricing better get you a pretty much pristine anvil with no edge chipping and great rebound. You may have to settle. Mine I got for $2 per pound but I did have to accept the edge damage that came with it. All considering, it was probably worth more than I paid. With that said, deals are out there. Check out the TPAAAT thread that shows a tried and true method for finding anvils that works. It worked well for me and so many others. Here's my first anvil before cleaning up: Here's the face after clean-up Notice the edge damage. In our world it's not a big deal at all and this is a very good and usable anvil. You don't need crisp, square corners but you do need a face that's in good condition and I would say mine is an example of a face in good condition. Whenever you go to look at an anvil you may consider purchasing, take your 1 inch steel ball bearing, a ruler or tape measure, a wire brush and a small hammer. Ask permission to clean the face with the wire brush before doing the rebound test. Tap the hammer over the entire surface of the face listening for a consistent ring. A buzzing sound may indicate a problem with the face delaminating from the base or a crack or something of that nature. Age and manufacturer are not as important as the above tests. Be wise in this and don't be afraid to pass it up if you suspect it's not going to perform well. You also may decide some damage is not bad such as a big chip out of the edge back toward the heel (back of anvil) or maybe there's a piece of the tip of the horn missing. If the face is good and usable, you may decide you can live with the blemishes and then use them to negotiate a lower price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 ^ Good advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuyn Posted August 3, 2018 Author Share Posted August 3, 2018 Thanks again MC hammer for the great advice and the detailed information! So I recently have gone to 5 scrap metal places in town and only two of the 5 I can buy metal. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find anything close to "block of steel" but I was able to find a good piece of metal to forge on while looking for something better. I'm gonna try and go to car junkyard and see if there's anything there. If not, I'll just keep checking the other two places and hopefully something comes in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted August 4, 2018 Share Posted August 4, 2018 Dimensions ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuyn Posted August 4, 2018 Author Share Posted August 4, 2018 It's about 6lb, 1in by 5inch in diameter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted August 4, 2018 Share Posted August 4, 2018 A heavy sledgehammer head will work well, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuyn Posted August 4, 2018 Author Share Posted August 4, 2018 13 minutes ago, JHCC said: A heavy sledgehammer head will work well, too. I'll keep my eye out for one. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuyn Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 S I got 1inch ball bearing from Amazon and I tested both my anvil and the piece of metal and they both go less than 3 inches in the rebound test. I'm currently working on getting a piece of railroad track. Hopefully my buddy is able to get it. Kind of weird question but would this affect the quality of how my metal is turning up? I defaced my hammer and thought it would leave less marking on my metal(railroad spike) that I been working on. It's my first piece that I ever hammer so I wouldn't be surprised if I'm doing it completely wrong. Just wanted to know if that would increasing marking on the metal by having a bad anvil? Or I just have terrible technique and I just need to keep playing with it. Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 1 hour ago, Chuyn said: they both go less than 3 inches in the rebound test. From what height? From 3-1/3” is 90%, which is great. From 10” is 30%, which isn’t. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuyn Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 5 minutes ago, JHCC said: From what height? From 3-1/3” is 90%, which is great. From 10” is 30%, which isn’t. From 10", sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 And the ball is hardened? If so it sounds like the metal is annealed! If the markings are coming from dents you made in the anvil face then there is an issue. If the marks are from the hammer then not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Rebound won’t have much effect on finish. What will are irregularities in the anvil and hammer faces (which will transfer to the workpiece) and hammer control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuyn Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 39 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: And the ball is hardened? This is what I bought. Five 1" Inch Chrome Steel Bearing Balls Material Alloy Steel E52100 Its definitely coming from my hammering. I will try and improve my technique and maybe play with my hammer face a bit more. Thanks again guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuyn Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 I found a place in town where they would sell me a piece of 865 metal beam for about $50. Do you guys know if that's good material to use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Is it the exact right height for you and your anvil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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