a very new smith Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 i received this anvil for christmas and am wondering if it is good or an a.s.o. im not sure. it is made of a piece of mild steel square tube and 1/2" thick mild steel welded. Either way i will use it because its better than the back of a bench vise. (edit i also plan on drilling a pritchel and a hardy and filing the hardy square) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Welcome aboard... I always suggest reading this to get the best out of the forum. READ THIS FIRST It is full of tips like editing your profile to show location, how to do a better search, how to post pictures and how to keep the moderators happy. Don't know what happened to the first part of your post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a very new smith Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 sorry spelling is a little messy on this computer but basically im asking if this anvil is any good the rebound is 70-80 percent and its made of quarter in mild steel just wondering if that will stand up to forging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 If you tried to post a picture, it did not work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a very new smith Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 ok i think i made it work this time the first image was the wrong format Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Not really, but you can make it work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanglediver Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Yea, I pounded on more than my share of bench vice backs over the years. I still do, and I won't supply my employer with a good anvil of my own. So on the job, I resort to a small chunk of rail that stays with my tool box, and which fits in the jaws of a vise when I need to cold shape metal, or I just use the back of one of the bench vises. If you get 70-80 percent, that is a bonus, and you are moving in the right direction. You don't have to stop anvil searching! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 A heavy piece of solid steel may serve you better. Here is a thread of improvised anvils to give you some ideas. https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/52308-a-collection-of-improvised-anvils/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 18 hours ago, a very new smith said: i received this anvil for christmas and am wondering if it is good or an a.s.o. im not sure. That anvil can be perfect for some jobs and useless for others. I would confidently use that for hand cutting sheet metal into figurines and then shape them with little ball peen hammers and miniature punches. You can make a chess set or a nativity set that way on that anvil Forging a 3/4" round bar into a knot will not work on that anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Would make a great silver smithing anvil. Not very good knifemaking or general smithing anvil. Take a piece of chalk or crayon or even a marker and mark where there is solid metal from the top to the bottom---AKA "the sweet spot". That is where you get the most "bang for the buck" when forging steel. I assume you will have a narrow open square with that configuration. Keep it for doing small work. (For knifemaking I would use it for setting pins and making throats and chapes for sheathes for example.) Then look at that improvised anvil thread for ideas to get/make a pounding anvil! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a very new smith Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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