NateDJ Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 (edited) When I decided to take up blacksmithing as a hobbie I went looking for an anvil... before I went looking for information about anvils! I checked around at a few places and ended up at Harbor Freight. They had a 55# anvil on sell for ~15$ so I go it and brought it home. The next day I was looking around the web for more information and found several sites talking about anvils and discovered what you guys already know! This anvil is not an anvil it is merely an Anvil Shaped Object. :mad: After I built my forge I tried to make a leaf key chain and found this anvil was great for that, the more you used it the more dished the face became and made it possible for you to use the face directly as a spoon/leaf swage... good if that is what you wanted to do... not if you wanted an ANVIL! So I decided I had to build a new anvil and set off to the local scrap yard to buy some steel for the purpose. I settled on some forklift forks and grabbed some other stuff for later while I was there. In the back of the last image you can see my first attempt at creating a forge. Think it turned out more like a smelter than a forge. Edited August 5, 2008 by NateDJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateDJ Posted August 5, 2008 Author Share Posted August 5, 2008 I started cutting out the pieces of my new anvil and found I was going to need a bigger torch tip! So I decided to try and fix the HF - ASO... I cut a piece of the end off the smaller fork, still 5" wide and 10" long and about 3/4" thick at the thick end, and put it with the anvil in front of my makeshift propane burner to preheat the 2 before welding. This was necessary because the ASO is cast "Pig" iron. Once I noticed the face of the anvil starting to glow a bit I placed the "new" face down on another piece of iron and set the anvil face down on it. I used a 7024 (iirc) rod and welded the top to the anvil. I figured to "quench" it a little by pouring a bit of old motor oil over it... And since I seem to like fire ... I had to give it a few more squirts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateDJ Posted August 5, 2008 Author Share Posted August 5, 2008 I then finished cooling it down with slowly pouring 10 Gal of water over it and was left with this: I have now sanded the top with a belt sander and knocked the burnt oil and paint off but the belt sander did almost nothing to the few scratches the new face had in it from it's previous life. These scratches are not deep and will likely be hammered out soon enough anyway. I Also took my grinder and clened up where the welds come near the face as well as putting a "Hardy edge" along the back of the new heel. It is only about 3/8" thick there anyway and my edge is only at a 45* angle. Sorry no picture of the "finished" product but it worked MUCH better as an anvil, and I can still use the Pot Iron nose to cup my leaves :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam cyphers Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 watch those fumes from the oil man...NASTY STUFF in used motor oil.aside from that totally excellent job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new guy Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 hey nate how did the welds hold up over time? and do you think it is worth taking the time to weld on a plate? although i think that is way cool and great idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateDJ Posted May 21, 2009 Author Share Posted May 21, 2009 So far they are holding up fine, this anvil has been relegated to the kids so it doesn't get as much use as my other one does, but it perhaps sees more "abuse" which I am not sure the original face would have ever stood for. The original face could be dented by dropping a hammer on it from 1' or so and just in a day or so of use it was already showing some serous sway/potholes/etc. the new face fixed that and has not had any more trouble since except for the nose which I did not cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new guy Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 ok that is good to know. did you use mig, tig, oxy, or some other kind of welder i do not know of? this seems like a really interesting project. and does it ring really badly? or is it like a fisher and almost ring free? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateDJ Posted May 26, 2009 Author Share Posted May 26, 2009 I preheated the whole thing, then used a 1/4" 7018 stick. It rings kinda like a gong but that is because I welded it to a stand that causes it to ring... or more correctly clang. Better than the splat sound it made before the new face :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisher_norris Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 wow this thread is awesome! good thing i don't need to do this as i don't have welding gear. did you mill in a hardy hole? that would be useful but not needed (i think). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quenchcrack Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I guess this is what they mean by "putting lipstick on a pig". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 Not a bad way to make a serviceable anvil. I like it! A couple notes: You CAN cut more than you think. That fork is alloy steel and cuts better with some pre-heat. Either pre-heat it or make one cut and then make your final cut jut an eighth inch farther back. You can also cut it with a slight stirring motion to the tip. Sounds like you know how to weld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateDJ Posted June 11, 2009 Author Share Posted June 11, 2009 LOL couldn't have said it better, what with it being made of "PigIron" To do the cutting I finally had to go buy a real torch, had no trouble after that. But that is all covered in my other anvil thread. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trollkeep Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 This approaches something I have wanted to try but have not gotten to. Besides I know it can be done but not the how. I have several anvils in poor shape that I would like to reface. When I worked in a die shop there was a welder we sent broken die steels to. He brazed the entire broken surface and then welded the exposed surface. Nothing he welded ever broke where broken before, had one break across his repair once. I know that I am not up to forge welding an anvil face. But I might be able to braze and then weld the surface. What are the details if anyone has an idea of how to do this? Trollkeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Parker Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Nice work, I took an easier route. I used a 100 pound counterweight from a large tractor for an anvil for a while. I asked several people about an anvil and was offered a 55 pound HF ASO for $20. When I explained that it would not work the owner goes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sukellos Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 I wish I had happened upon this thread when it was fresh. I don't know if any of you all will see this now. Years back, I built up an anvil from plate steel. I topped it off with a piece of an old snow plow blade. I'm weak on alloy knowledge, but these blades are easily cut with a torch and can be welded but they air-cool harder than the back of my head. I used the anvil for 20 years and gave it to a friend who still uses it. It weighs about 80 lbs and has no horn but I cut a 1" hardie hole through all of the plates and then lined the hole with angle iron to make a 3/4" hardie hole. No law says an anvil must look like the ones in the Bugs Bunny cartoons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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