Fabricated anvil build (I'm new)

[ThomasPowers]

From the earlier pictures I was going to call that a "Dagwood" anvil as it looked rather like a Dagwood sandwich from the side; but you keep filling it in!

Upsetting blocks usually go better with large anvils that are mounted lower anyway.  A thick slab on the floor works for me.  The side shelf was for particular jobs.  (Coachmakers anvils had them for making the clips to hold the wooden pieces together.) If you do a lot of them it's handy; if you don't do a lot of them it's in the way.  

You could build a JABOD in a junked propane grill cart, cheap, fairly weather resistant, less likely to cause problems with the neighbors---especially if you are burning lump charcoal.  Upgrade the frame a bit and add better wheels and it would even be movable!

[Vinito]

Ooh, I just had a thought... which hurts a little to do but sometimes a guy can't help it.

I bought the little cabin across the street at a tax sale long ago and it has a small entry porch - about 8' x 9' maybe. It has a wonky but intact concrete floor so that's not bad. I am just storing a few things in there and it's not much at that, so would be fairly easy to set that up as a nice covered blacksmith area. Has a low ceiling/roof so somewhat trivial to install a ventilation chimney even. For my level (beginner student), that seems like a nearly perfect area to set up and be adequate for quite a long time.

I know it's goofy to just forget you have something like that, but forgetting is one of my most prominent traits.

[ThomasPowers]

Sounds like a plan as long as that neighbor across the street don't complain...

 

[Vinito]

I'm calling the anvil "done". I'll hardsurface it someday but it should work well for a while. The top & bottom are flat and there's a ledge now. It's reached the point of diminishing returns.

I could fill & polish the thing for a week but that honestly seems kinda stupid considering its function. It looks shop-made and I don't mind that. If my welding was better it would look less rough, but it is what it is.

I'm going to try forging on it a bit again tonight and see how I like it, but I liked it before and I'm pretty sure it's improved now.

I tried to include some pictures but my phone won't upload to this site for some reason. I'll upload some photos of it acting done and also a couple of the machining once I get to my PC. Could have waited to post this too, but just consider this a teaser I guess.

[Frosty]

Good plan! When/if you hard face it, a copper bar chill stop works really well for getting edges that require minimum grinding. I've never used brass for chill stops but if it works it works.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Vinito]

Thanks Frosty.

Yup I have a pretty good selection of copper that I use for welding helpers pretty often so was already planning to do that on the edges. Brass works OK and that's what I have for the holes so I'll be using those pieces shown before for that.

But it's always good to add the suggestion because a) anyone who hasn't heard of that will benefit from learning the tip and b) I am constantly forgetting crap like that so you may have helped keep me from forgetting... I'll report back once I do it and we'll all find out together which way that went. 

[Vinito]

OK here's the pics.

First I clamped it upside-down to establish a flat base.

Then flipped it to mill the top. The yellow-circled area shows the high spot from a light pass. It was humped about .050" total. If you're metric, then DO THE MATH! I mean that's what I have to do.

Then I decided a shelf step might be handy and the material was there, so did that.

Once all that was done, it was just a matter of deburring edges and a light minimal flap-wheel polishing just to get rid of the machining marks.

Oh yeah... and I whipped up a little bending jig for the Hardie

I'm happy with it!

Hope it's not too many pictures.

 

[Jobtiel1]

Wow, that looks like a really good home made anvil, I have a forged anvil, but yours has a lot more usable things on it than mine. I don't have a hardy hole or step. Very well done! I'm checking this thread to see how it performs!

~Jobtiel

[JHCC]

That's pretty awesome, Vinito. Nicely done!

[Purple Bullet]

Well done, indeed! The deep shelf may be useful. On my anvil, that surface is not hardened. I use it when chiseling, but I have used it to start a gradual bend.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Very nice, the only suggestion I have is to radius the edges some, sharp edges are a detriment to good forging ( I read that in one of my old blacksmithing books).

[Frosty]

I've never used a shelf for chisel work, a saddle is too easy to keep handy. I use mine as a swage to help contain forge welds say 3-4 rods. It's good to back for upsetting long stock. Setting corners say a coping chisel etc.

Nice anvil. Ditto radiusing the edges, sharp edges can damage the work.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Vinito]

At the third "Forge Friday" in a row at my brother's forge, the anvil performed great.

I did some S hook practice which was frustratingly more challenging than I expected, but just kept thinking it through and pushing to an acceptable final hook. Just one, but my first one ever so...

My brother finished a split 3-hook coat hanger thing he started last week. He faced similar confusions thinking through the steps but seemed satisfied with the result. Then he drew out some rough-cut copper bar out to be a little over 2x original length and round. That was interesting. It's going to be parts for some cooking utensils.

Then I beat some 1-1/8" hex jackhammer shaft into a hardie cutoff chisel. This was my first try with hard material and it took a couple heats to realize it works a lot easier once you get it hot enough. I first got one end to fit my 1" hardie hole and that went better than I expected (encouraging) so then it was just a matter of shaping a chisel to the other end. I am not sure why - maybe because I half expected it to not work at all. But this was extremely off-the-scales gratifying. Once done, I just kept having to drop it into the hardie hole over & over to witness how well it fit. I'm not sure if the chisel shape is exactly what I want, but it's pretty close and of course I can heat it up again and tweak it.

The piece of resistance for me was we cooperated for more hands on deck and on the third attempt, we forge welded some bar stock together. Also don't know why, but this was very gratifying. After reading (and learning from) several queries from people attempting this with no success for years, and both of us having xxxxxxxx tried it a couple times in the past with a torch, it was pretty cool to persevere and have success on the first night of trying it in earnest.

Two things I wasn't previously aware rose to obvious priorities, which is kinda what this learning stuff is all about.

1) I now have got to shift my attention to building a proper base for the anvil. I set it on an existing log stand thing and it's at least 10" too high. This often made things somewhat awkward to deal with and you could really feel how tired your arms get having to lift everything up so high.

2) I am sadly uninformed about metallurgy for a layman, but especially for a dang machinist. Honestly (possibly surprisingly to you) it just doesn't come up all that often in my job so whatever little I ever knew has been replaced in my brain by other data long ago. So I just need to focus on that bit. Also might have to look around for a budget heat treat oven for tempering, though a kitchen stove might work for some things for a while. Anyway, the hardie chisel has been half-hardened but I need to look into things (like what the metal probably actually is) and what it takes for a proper heat treat.

Important but lower on the priority list is ... proper fitting tongs are important! we have about 10 tongs to choose from, but most of them need attention and none of them fit great. Good enough to play, but that's it. Good tongs are gonna be a thing soon.

Forge Friday #3 was a resounding success!

OK this has rambled long enough. But the anvil performed great and helped to illuminate my next priorities to address.

 

Edited October 31, 2021 by Mod30
Language

[Frosty]

Between wrist and knuckle height when standing relaxed with your hand at your side. Is pretty close to THE height for anvil faces. Be aware the REAL correct height is what works best for YOU and it makes a real difference all round.

A good way to test the height is to lay a piece of wood about the thickness of what you'll be forging on the anvil and smack it with your hammer. If the dent is the shape of the hammer face the height is about right. If it's a crescent then it's not right. If the deepest part is towards you then the anvil is high, if the deep side is away from you then it's too low. 

If it's to either side then you're rolling your grip right or left. 

Congrats on the new hardy. A hardy IS the cut off chisel that fits in the hardy hole. Few things in life feel as good as using tools you made with your own hands. If you put a curve in the edge like an axe blade it will cut better for the same reasons axe blades are curved.

Oh, I almost forgot. Where are the pics of this mythical hardy? It didn't REALLY happen if we don't see pics you know.

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

Most jackhammer bits used to be 1050. Spark test and check yours against a regular car axle, (not a race car axle) and see if they look similar.

[Buzzkill]

On 10/30/2021 at 10:16 AM, Vinito said:

Important but lower on the priority list is ... proper fitting tongs are important! we have about 10 tongs to choose from, but most of them need attention and none of them fit great.

Remember, if the tongs are close to what you need, you can heat up the jaws, place the stock between them, and hammer them to a better fit.  You can adjust the reins for a comfortable grip at the same time.

[Vinito]

Hadn't updated in a whlie 'cuz... busy beaver.

We have stuck to diligently having Forge Friday and this week will be no different. Besides several other things, last week's S hook turned out a ton better than the first one. Each try is better than the last and I expect that to continue moving mostly in a positive direction. I decided to do at least one S hook every time for practicing analysis, greasing the gears and repetition, yada yada.

But anyway, here's a pic from earlier tonight. Finally have a halfway decent stand under the anvil. Nothing special, but it's functional and at a proper height for me and I'm very much looking forward to testing it out tomorrow (Forge Friday). It's built up from various 4" thick boards I scrounged. I'll probably add some straps & tool racks eventually. I like to use first & let the upgrades reveal themselves by need.

[George N. M.]

Vinnie, I always find it a good practice to do something fairly simple as a warm up exercise.  S hooks are good.  Nails work. It gets your mind going and activates your forging muscle memory.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[ThomasPowers]

Nice stand!  Nice to see someone get the "grain goes vertically" right on their first go!

I tend to make mine out of demo lumber and so they look a bit rougher; particularly the ones I made from the rough sawn oak floorboards from a scrapped horse trailer, some of them were even cribbed.  Exposed enough that at least they didn't have any added organics to deal with.  I bolt them together by setting them up on the edges of an I beam. Put a couple of pipe clamps to hold them together and drill holes for long bolts or all thread using an electricians bit. (Used a hand brace and auger bit for the last one as it was softwood.) I like to use electric pole bolts with eyes or they have eyed "nuts".  Good places to lift the stump with and they will hold anvil tooling, hammer or tongs.  Pretty gentle when you run into one too.  Local Electrical CoOp scraps their stuff at my favorite scrapyard; so 20 USCents a pound.

It's so dry out here I don't usually finish the stands.

As you can see this stand is considerably higher than the oak one to the right. As I do a bit of teaching I need stands for folks 6'4" to 5'---which anvil is placed on which stand helps to dial in height for students as well.  I have the ends taller to "trap the anvil and I will cut some half moons to lag bolt on the stand and fit in the sides of the anvils.  They are stable but can lift off easily for transport.

 

[Vinito]

Thomas, those eyelets are a good idea. Funny enough, I am sitting on 6 of those at this moment (the nut variety) because I just this past Wednesday picked up some salvage utility poles for a project and the hardware was left on. I would not have thought of using those on the anvil stand, but I just checked and hammer handles do indeed fit just right in them. Cool!

If I don't get fancy and fabricate something from straps & angle, then I'ma go do dat.

[ThomasPowers]

The smithy has 4 utility poles holding up the roof along with some extensions from the metal frame of the "clean shop" where they come together.  It's weird how useful utility pole fittings can be on utility poles.  They are on my "pickup when I can find them" list at the scrapyard. (Though once the SEC dumped a large load of stuff and I ended up running out of money before running out of their stuff.  I donated a lot of that find to our church camp that uses utility pole sections along the road and runs cable across to control access at various places.)