Review of TFS 100 Anvils

[Quenchcrack]

I have been looking for a 100-lb. anvil to use for demos and to take to meetings of the Houston Area Blacksmith Association. After about a year of fruitless searching, I purchased a new Texas Farrier Supply 100# Blacksmith anvil. My shop anvil is a 170# Old World German Pattern that has served me very well for the past 5 years.

I ordered the anvil from a local Farrier Supply who said they bought from Delta Horseshoe. It took only a week to get the anvil to Houston and I paid no shipping charges. The anvil retails for $550 and county taxes added another $32. Not cheap but not that much more than an eBay anvil of questionable heritage for which premiums are usually paid.

The anvil came wrapped in cellophane, no crate. The anvil body was painted flat black and it had no rust on it. The horn and face were ground to an acceptable finish, not further grinding is necessary except for rounding the edges. Evidence of grinding to remove superficial defects was found on the horn near the cutting table. It is only an aesthetic issue and the blemish will cause no problems. The anvil appears to have been cast on its side. The parting line was ground but not cleanly. The casting gates were roughly ground off and evidence of their presence remains. My question is: how much longer would it take to grind these castings with some workmanship and pride?

I put the anvil on my garage floor and did the ball bearing test. After repeated testing, I would say that this anvil averaged about 80%-85% rebound over the entire face. I put it on the wooden stand and repeated the test with the same results. The manufacturer says the anvil is hardened to Rc52 and the rebound and file bite suggests this is about right.

Last of all, I fired the forge and made my first tool for this anvil: a bench dog type hold down. The anvil rang more than my 170 pounder but my big anvil is chained down to the stand. The TFS anvil is just sitting on top of the stand. I plan to chain it down to reduce the ring. While my hammer control has improved since I did the review of the Russian Anvil, this anvil showed no marking of any kind after my first project.

The anvil returned the hammer well enough. Not as good as my bigger anvil but it will work just fine. I like the longer conical horn as it tapers to a finer point than my Old World German. The hardy hole is almost perfectly 1

[racer3j]

The word I would use describing this anvil is, "crisp." As for aesthetic grinding, add $75 to the price. Or get out your 4 inch angle grinder with flap wheel and clean it up.jet

[KYBOY]

I like it. The way you described its forging characterisitics Id say its a real nice anvil Id be proud to own it. Very good post.

[Quenchcrack]

racer3j, I worked in a foundry right after college graduation and I can assure you it would only take an extra few minutes to grind the gates flush. They do not pay the grinders so much it would add $75 to the price of the anvil. It is a very serviceable anvil but it could be made more aesthetically appealing. My Old World Anvil has no such cosmetic imperfections.

[Drew]

Does anyone know what these are made of? I like them a good deal, but I've always been curious, and I've heard about three different rumors as to what the steel (or malleable iron) is.

[racer3j]

As much as I have done from scratch fabricating( did not make my own steel) and grinding I was exaggerating a bit. But if it costs $8 in labor time to detail, you can expect 5-6 times that in retail price. I still have not put hot steel on my fairly big(196 pounds) Vaughan anvil- considering a Delta Future 100 pound and selling the V & B. So, I know nothing about anvils to be commenting- should have kept my mouth shut. It is a very crisply shaped anvil and so I can see that flash would be distraction.jet

[rthibeau]

wouldn't take but 5 minutes with a flap disk today....five more minutes tomorrow, and the next day, etc.....until you got it the way you like.....no expense to speak of and just a little something to do each day

[Quenchcrack]

Drew, the anvils are cast steel, probably about .40% Carbon and 1.50% Manganese but that is a guess. It is not malleable iron. Malleable iron is just grey cast iron that has been normalized for an extended period of time that causes the graphite flakes to dissolve into little colonies of pearlite in a ferrite matrix. It is still basically cast iron and this anvil is NOT cast iron. And yes, I could dress it up a bit and maybe I will do just that.

[blksmth]

I believe the TFS/Delta anvils are all made of ductile cast iron. This can be confirmed with the Delta factory.

[Max Mulholland - Tetnum]

no they are mad out of cast steel witch has a lower carbon content than cast iron so they are not as britle

[blksmth]

If you call the Delta company and talk to someone who knows, they will confirm that TFS anvils are made of ductile cast iron. JHM anvils are also ductile cast iron. You don't have to take my word for it. You can find out for yourself. Ductile cast iron makes a serviceable anvil. It is a lower cost process than making anvils out of steel. Also you might consider looking up ductile cast iron on the internet to find it's properties. It is heat treatable. It has a carbon content as high as (4.7%) as does other cast irons. It is not brittle like other cast irons. The process was developed in 1943.

[Rutterbush]

Hey Quench,
Haven't heard from you in many ages. Still the on-line metallurgist on the knife forum?

I have one of these anvils at the college of welding knowledge. This anvil serves well with various skill level blacksmithing students, but does take the occasional ding.

Good review.

[racer3j]

Heat treatable is the key. As we all know, with correct elemental make-up, some ferrous pieces can be made tough enough for Thor.mike

[Quenchcrack]

I found the phone number for Texas Farrier Supply and I will call them and ask about the material.

Rutterbush, good to see you! No I don't hand around the knife forums anymore, not even Don Foggs' place. Too many arrogant know-it-alls and prima donna metallurgists!

Edited June 28, 2008 by Quenchcrack

[Quenchcrack]

Well, you live and learn. I called TFS and yes, the TFS anvil is indeed Ductile Iron. While I am disappointed that it is not cast steel, I still cannot complain about the performance of the anvil. It is a good hard surface and the finish, although not elegant, is acceptable. It remains a problem that you can buy a 170# cast STEEL anvil from the Czech Republic for the same price as a 100# cast ductile iron anvil made in the USA.

[Quenchcrack]

I thought it might be helpful to explain the differences between grey iron, malleable iron and ductile iron. Grey iron gets its name from the grey sooty appearance of the fracture surface when grey iron is broken. It has about 2%-4% carbon that exists as graphite FLAKES in the iron matrix. It is brittle because a crack can jump from flake to flake and easily propagate to complete failure. Malleable iron is basically grey iron that his heated to about normalizing temperature and held at temperature for many hours. The graphite flakes begin to break down and dissolve into the iron matrix. When cooled, the malleable iron has a structure of pearlite (iron carbide and pure iron) colonies in ferrite (pure iron). By getting rid of the flakes of graphite, cracks cannot propagate so easily and the ductility of the cast iron is greatly improved. Ductile iron is unique. Ferro-magnesium is placed in the bottom of the casting ladle and covered with steel scrap. Grey Iron is poured into the ladle causing the magnesium to flare up causing the iron to froth. The graphite precipitates in the bubbles caused by the magnesium flare and when cooled, the iron has graphite spheres instead of flakes. An alternate method is to use magnesium wire that is fed into the molten iron. Either way creates an iron with graphite spheres. Now when a crack starts and encounters a sphere, it stops. The energy to propagate the crack is spread over the sphere and is insufficient to continue propagating until a larger force is applied. The graphite spheres also propagate sound waves better than grey iron flakes and it will ring when struck by a hammer. Grey iron and to some degree, malleable iron have a dull thud when struck. The Chinese ASO's are GREY IRON and totally unsuitable as an anvil. We will see about the suitability of ductile iron.

[blksmth]

Quenchcrack, I wouldn't worry too much about the ductile cast iron. It is what some US companies are doing to keep the price down. Everyone knows that blacksmiths don't like to pay over a $ per pound for an anvil. Sounds like the price was right. In many ways it compares favorably to a steel anvil and probably better than some. The Czech made anvils I've used and seen are made of pretty poor manganese steel. Big grain size and soft. They do work harden some, but have to get pretty banged up in order to get any harder. I used a JHM ductile iron anvil at a demo site and thought it was a good anvil. Unfortunately new anvils are high priced. The higher the price the better the anvil. Give us a report after you have used it for a few years.

[Quenchcrack]

blksmth, I have a 167# Old World German Pattern anvil I paid $360 for about 5 years ago. A few small dings in the surface but no big ugly divots. The casting quality is better, too. As I said previously, I started my career as a foundry metallurgist in a gray and ductile iron foundry so I do have some practical understanding of the benefits and limitations of ductile iron. Cost effective? Maybe. Good as cast steel? No, I don't think so but I doubt I will wear it out in my lifetime.

[blksmth]

I doubt if you'll wear it out either. It is too bad the companies that sell ductile iron anvils don't let us know what they are made of without having to call the factory. Ductile iron anvils do have some good qualities and those could be advertised also.

I sell high quality Refflinghaus anvils and the factory won't tell anyone what kind of steel they are made of either. From experience, they are tough, and they are guaranteed to be RC 59. They have a nice finish, they rust, they ring like a bell, they have 90-95% rebound, they don't have a chipping problem, they rarely dent, they cost $7 - $8 per pound. I know that about the anvils, but not much about the kind of steel.

Dick

Edited July 1, 2008 by blksmth
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