Anvil like objects.

[rcs7]

I have these two drops that weigh about 120lbs a piece and I was looking for suggestions on either welding or some other way of fastening them together to make another surface for an anvil.

I was also wondering if you guys thought I should (temper?) the surface that ends up being the top. I'm really not sure how hard they are only that they really heavy for being as small as they are. Pictures attached.

Again open to suggestions and ideas.

Russell

[Gayle Brooks]

we have a "cube" of metal the same size that we made a stand for and move it around. Its a good tool to use for whatever it maybe (mostly straightening or teaching new people how to swing a hammer) but none the less. No heat treating, just took the rag off, cleans up the edges and made the stand.

[Scratch]

I have one similar to that also and have been wondering how I can dish a bowl shape into it, to use like what I always see on swage blocks.

Any ideas...?

[Bentiron1946]

Now all you need is a 2" dia. drop to weld on to the side for a horn like object and your in business. I don't think that I would be overly worried about how hard it is. Put it on a stand and start hammering.:D

[welder19]

Grinding, and a lot of it is the only way I know of making a bowl shape in a block of steel, unless you have a big milling machine.

welder19

[Sam Falzone]

Hi Scratch,
Contact any local highschool that has a machine or metal shop. If they're equiped any way like the ones in Ontario, they should have a milling machine that can accomodate your drop. They should be able to mill out the majority of stock for your dish shape and all you'll have to go is the final grinding into the finished shape and smoothness. Give it a shot - it doesn't cost anything to ask.

[rcs7]

That's a good idea about swage block. Maybe I could use one as another anvil and carve on the other one to create different shapes.

Would any you weld them together?

[millwright]

I would grout one in flush with the floor to use for upsetting big long peices of stock.

[rcs7]

That's another great idea. Sure beats having to pick one up and set it on a stand.

I couldn't figure out why i was having a hard time picking them up or even just sliding one around until i got out the scale and figured out they weighed 120 a piece. :o

[evfreek]

These are great drops! Lots of things to do with them, but until you have tried to do a large full pen weld, you would not treat welding them together very lightly. It is hot, dirty and hard work. The upsetting block idea is nice as is the swage block idea. You could also make an Easy-Smith like device by grinding interesting shapes on both and setting them in a line. Also, a tool steel top can be welded onto the edge of one of them. Half the tedious scarfing for a full pen weld is done already. Have you tried scarfing with an air carbon arc? Hot, dirty and hard work.

[Quenchcrack]

I bought two 100# blocks of 4130 when I worked at the steel mill. They were about 4x6x12". I sold one to a beginning swordsmith for $35. I use the other one on a shelf under my 170# anvil that I mounted on a 2x6 stand. Putting 100# just a few inches off the floor lowers the center of gravity and keeps the anvil from jumping around.

[ChrisB]

You could send one out for heat treating and hardening. Build a stand and have them stacked and use it like an anvil. Problem is that you'll probably spend as much on getting the 120# object to the heat treating facility and having it done as buying a 100lb-ish NC or JHM. Then just use those drops under the anvil as part of the stand.

[rcs7]

Thanks for the heads up on welding them together. I hadn't really thought about hard they would be to do and I'm not what you call good at it either.

I think using one for a swage block of sorts sounds like a good idea, I also like the idea of using one on the floor for upsetting as well.

I really appreciate all the input.

Russell

[ThomasPowers]

Well unless you know it's a steel that can be hardened you generally have to assume that they won't harden so trying to do so would be throwing money down the drain.

However that steel will still be much harder than red hot steel and as it stands will be a better anvil than an HF cast iron ASO

There is a fellow in SOFA that demo's on a big round chunk of shafting. His anvil stump has been carved to hild the chunk either flat or turned on edge so he can use it for regular smithing or for drawing out.

Edited September 8, 2008 by ThomasPowers

[Bentiron1946]

They sure are a lot better then the rocks that early Iron Age smiths used as anvils.:rolleyes:

[Frosty]

Oh I don't know, they had some pretty nice rocks. I've seen pictures.

Frosty

[rcs7]

I have a different question for you guys. If I were to attemp to create various shapes without the help of say a milling machine how would you go about it?

I have a 4" grinder any other suggestions?

Russell

[ThomasPowers]

Explosive forming! Casting! Forging! Filing! A mixture of all of them!

Now can you help me: I need to do something but I won't tell you enough details to let you make any sensible suggestions. How should I go about it? BTW I have a 9" grinder.

[Frosty]

I can help you Thomas! You can make grindings 2.25 x as fast as a with 4" grinder!

Seriously, that's WAY too broad a question to answer in a meaningful way.

Father was a metal spinner and I can go into quite a bit of detail on the process but doubt it's what you're looking for. I also know a number of guys who work on and build bridges but suspect the same holds true for their expertise.

Tell us what you have in mind and we'll be more than happy to make up something plausible.

[rcs7]

Sorry about that.

In an earlier reply someone mentioned making a swage block out of one the drops. Not having machining equipment, I was thinking of my grinder to creat shapes in it and was looking for some alternate method or maybe I'm just crazy and should leave well enough alone. :)

[Frosty]

Major, MAJOR job hand grinding a swage block out of a billet of steel. You'd end up spending more on grinding disks and cup stones than just buying one. If there's an iron foundry near you you could make up a wood pattern and have it cast next time they poured. In either case it'd cost you a whole lot more to have one machined from a billet. It'd sure be pretty though.

Instead of attempting that I'd start scrounging pieces of heavy wall pipe, saw them in half lengthwise and weld them to a base or piece of sq stock to fit the hardy.

For the through holes you can either use short lengths of the heavy wall pipe or roll different diameter rings from round stock and weld them to a base. Of course you can drill the through holes in a piece of plate but Silver and Demming bits much over 1" are really spendy. It'd take a good end mill to use a fly cutter. You could buy carbide hole cutters but they're REALLY expensive and again you need a pretty beefy drill press or better yet an end mill with auto-feed.

To make the square and rectangular through holes use either heavy wall sq and rec tubing or weld them up from 1/2" x 2 or 3" bar stock.

The hexes are going to be harder to come up with but I haven't used the ones on mine in 15 years or so, so I wouldn't bother improvising them. Unless of course you do have a use for hex swages.

This is my Lancaster swage block and the swages I use most are on the edge facing away, the two larger round through holes for dishing and the 1" sq through hole to hold hardy tools. The 1" x 2 and 3" rectangular through holes are handy for hardy tools as well but that's all I use them for. I use the larger sq through holes on occasion to hold anvil stakes when the vise is taken.

On occasion I use the "V" groove on the near edge to forge triangular cross sections.

Frosty

[John Martin]

I don't what help I can be, but I use a whole bunch of RR track plates bolted down for an anvil for a while, worked alright. As long as you didn't miss and dent the track plate a little, it worked real good.

[rcs7]

Thanks Frosty.

I think I'll be using one of them as an upsetting block on the floor. Jury is still out on the other one for now.