Discussion desired

[Kellerbomb]

Looking for your thoughts on these brands. I'm looking to get a German style double horn and budget is under 2k.  I'm about an hour away from a store carrying Peddinghaus, Kanca and Perun brands. A local used option is a Refflinghaus. 

[Glenn]

What weight anvil are you interested in purchasing?

Any reason to limit yourself to just the brands you listed?

[Kellerbomb]

Those are the options I have locally to that I don't have to pay shipping on. I'm not opposed to other brands, just wanting to get opinions on those options that are available close. Depending on price I'm considering minimum 160 with the option up to 275 pounds for the Reff that I have available. 

[Glenn]

What you do on the anvil will help determine the weight of the anvil.

General rule is 150# is enough weight for most shops, until you get into bigger projects, or full time professional business type blacksmithing.  You can use the 150 pound anvil to pay for the second heavier anvil when the time comes.

Did you check on what has already been posted on the brands you mentioned?  Anvil Reviews by brand 

[Kellerbomb]

I have browsed through the forum casually. I know of the quality of the Peddinghaus, however the discussion I was wanting was in reference to the other two "as a brand". In your opinion, is there a reason you would pick one over the other? I realize my 150 pound Hay Budden will suffice for everything I do or will do in a non-production capacity. The search for a nicer/larger anvil is to aid in the usage of a sledge in tool and hammer making. The pride factor also can not be ignored. There was also clarification today that the Reff is actually a Peddinghaus and the only reason I would go that large is because it's a good deal.

[Nobody Special]

Yesterday's Peddinghaus and today's Peddinghaus are not the same anvils.  Both are nice, but the older ones are often quite better quality. I've played a bit on both, and was happy with each. I haven't used the other two brands.  Joey van der Steeg is very knowledgeable of the german brands, and used to hang out both here and in the blacksmithing forums on Facebook, sometimes under the name TechnicusJoe, although he's a bit quieter these days.  If all you are concerned about is a large striking anvil, have you considered obtaining a block of 4140 or some similar? When striking with a hammer that large goes awry, it can be tough on the anvil. Good luck any way you choose to go.

[Kellerbomb]

17 hours ago, Nobody Special said:

If all you are concerned about is a large striking anvil, have you considered obtaining a block of 4140 or some similar? When striking with a hammer that large goes awry, it can be tough on the anvil. 

Thanks for the info. I do have an 80 pound chunk of mild that I have made into a striking anvil, but I have not finished the hardy hole in it yet. Such a thick piece is proving to be daunting.

[rubinperry1987]

I'm a newbie and looking to get into blacksmithing and I was wondering if I was to take a bunch of steel and forge weld it together how much steel would I need to make a striking anvil 2" thick by 18" long? 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Welcome to IFI... I always suggest reading this to get the best out of the forum. READ THIS FIRST

A bunch of steel welded together will not be as efficient as a solid block of steel from a scrap yard or heavy equipment repair shop. You might want to read through the improvised anvils thread.

[Frosty]

22 minutes ago, rubinperry1987 said:

I'm a newbie and looking to get into blacksmithing and I was wondering if I was to take a bunch of steel and forge weld it together how much steel would I need to make a striking anvil 2" thick by 18" long? 

Welcome aboard, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many members live within visiting distance. 

A couple points to your question: First, anvils are 3D so there's a 3rd. dimension involved you forgot to mention.

Assuming you want something useful and have the equipment and skills to forge weld a finished 100 lb. piece, figure you will need to factor in between 10%-15% loss due to scale PER weld.

That's as close as I can come without knowing what you really want, your, skills, equipment, etc.

You might consider a more practical approach and start looking for easier to acquire anvils. RR rail on end makes an excellent anvil. A piece of square or round shaft say 3" or wider on end is another excellent anvil though a little less multi tool than rail. A trip to the scrap yard for a piece of steel plate say 1.5" minimum thick, again mounted on edge. I like a broken truck axle on end bolt flange up, a dump or semi axle is better than a pickup but any will work a treat.

Basically ANY piece of steel that's reasonably heavy is an anvil it that's what you use it for. RR car coupler knuckles are legendary anvils, they have so many useful shapes it's hard to describe.

The important thing to remember is; the effectiveness of an anvil is determined by how much steel is directly under the hammer blow, next is how little flex there is to absorb energy. This is why you want to stand rail or shafting on end and plate on edge. Neither is nearly as effective an anvil if laid horizontally. Make sense?

New folk intuitively want to lay steel plate flat thinking they need a big flat surface to work on, It only makes sense if you don't know how anvils work. It's NOT a good way to mount plate and you do NOT need much flat surface at all. It's true just take my word for it for now. Later we can talk about it but I don't want to confuse you more than I already have. Okay?

I see other replies coming it. Later,

Frosty The Lucky.

[rubinperry1987]

Yes anvils are 3D sorry bout that and I live in lubec Maine ok so the striking anvil plate size would be 2" thick by 5 1/2" wide and 18" long 

I just want to make small stuff until I learn some techniques 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

We won't remember your location once leaving this post, hence the suggestion to edit your profile to show it.

[rubinperry1987]

I updated my profile.

Edited March 14, 2019 by Mod34
Excessive quoting

[ThomasPowers]

Note that forge welding is considered an advanced skill; it sounds like you want to do an advanced project as your first one.  Did you enter a Formula 1 race as a way of learning to drive?

Have you looked at the Improvised Anvil Thread? 

You will notice a large number of these don't even require arc welding and are designed for people getting started.

[Cavpilot2k]

RubinPerry, 

To echo what some of the much more experienced folks here are saying: You're biting off more than you can chew. 

If you don't have an anvil, how do you intend to forge weld all this stuff together? I assume you may have access to a press or power hammer that you envision using?

If you haven't really done any forging, you really shouldn't be looking at forge welding yet. Forged In Fire makes it look easy, but if that's what you're basing your assumptions on, look at all the experienced smiths on there who get bad welds, delaminations, and whatnot. It's far more complicated than putting some metal together, fluxing the hang out of it and smashing it with a press or power hammer. 

Nobody here wants to discourage you in this craft - we're just trying to help you set realistic goals so that you won't get frustrated right away and abandon it. 

Get some sort of forge, an improvised anvil, some tools, and some steel (free salvage stuff is fine for learning basic technique). And more importantly, if at all possible, get some professional hands-on instruction. YouTube is great, but it's no substitute for someone who knows what they're doing standing next to you correcting bad technique and showing you how it's done. 

Good luck, and forge on.