Hi, I was wondering if the Indian Chief anvils/vises have anything to do with the motorcycle brand. Anyone have any info?

As far as I know there is no connection between the motorcycle and anvil brands. Maybe someone who has a copy of Anvils in America will know for sure. This is what Google AI had to say

"No, the Indian Motorcycle factory did not make full-sized anvils for blacksmithing

. It did, however, produce small, cast-iron novelty anvils as collectible items and paperweights."

I can’t control the wind. All I can do is adjust my sails. ~Semper Paratus~

I'm sure there were Indian vises in the motorcycle plant and certainly in the dealer's shops, otherwise probably no connection at all. You're reaching too far for info that has almost nothing to do with blacksmithing. Don't sweat it, everybody draws parallels with things when breaking into a new craft but it can be distracting from actually learning the craft.

You do NOT need a "real" anvil, forge or tongs. Bootstrap yourself by making a forge from what's available, an anvil is any hunk of steel / iron or rock large enough to moosh HOT steal on with a hammer. Find yourself a 2lb. drill hammer, they weigh enough to move serious metal but the short handle give means better control, and not being so heavy you're MUCH less likely to injure soft tissue learning.

A 5lb. "blacksmith hammer will damage your joints and muscles learning to use it. "Blacksmith" hammers in stores and yard, garage, etc. sales are almost always single jack sledges or engineer's hammers. You can find pretty darned good straight pein hammers if you look for demolition or rock mason's hammers. 

I have at least one of each.

Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks for the encouragement, it was just a spot of curiosity. My brother and I started on a JABOD forge, and yes, I was a major culprit of saying I NEEDED an anvil early on. I currently work on a small cast steel cylinder, and a piece of Rr track with a horn I ground into it. I have noticed recently that my accuracy with my 2lb is much better than trying to hammer with the 4lb sledge. Thanks again all!

Good Morning ASA,

The formula for Hammer Effort is; weight of the Hammer X speed of the Hammer Head (squared). You get more Bang for your Buck by Speeding up the Hammer Head, rather than Increasing the Weight.  Watch what a Farrier does with a smaller Hammer, but really fast Blows.

Another Day making Shadows....... You can't Eat Shadows..........

Neil

Isn't the formula for kinetic energy as in a moving hammer head. KE=1/2 MV squared, Neil?

Frosty The Lucky.

Hi Asa,  

If you're still looking for an anvil for a beginning blacksmith, you might want to look at Harbor Freight.  They have a cast steel Doyle anvil that is OK, and relatively cheap.  Mine was $150 a couple years ago.  It might be more now.  Make sure you get the RED one which is cast steel not the blue one which is cast iron.  Some of the reviews have mentioned inconsistent quality, some with defects on the face and suggest opening the box and examining it before you drive home. (mine was OK out of the box).

   That said, it's a small anvil 65lb and may not be significantly better that the RR track you have (I was using an old sledge hammer head so it was a HUGE improvement).  The edges are crisp so you'd probably want to radius at least part of them.  Make sure you mount it securely.

Brian

 

 

If you can find a scrap yard that will let you pull something, the cheapest and most effective for the money is any large block, cylinder, or whatever you can get scrap, with at least one relatively flat area. Last time I tried it was anywhere from about 30 to 50 cents a lb. A Brian Brazeal style anvil is nothing but a big rectangular piece set on its side with dies ground in.

A lot of junkyards won't let you walk around due to liability issues, but the occasional conversation, bottle opener, or case of beer goes a long ways - they may pull something for you if nothing else. I've also had a little luck in industrial jobs - there's usually something laying around in old shops and industrial buildings, but it's been about eight years since my last one. I got a picker's permit at my local dump and occasionally get all kinds of interesting steel for free - last was a bent five-foot prybar of the sort used for moving boulders and opening septic tanks. I don't know what the heck they did to it, but it's some sort of tool steel and came home with me.

Indian Motorcycle started as Handedee motorcycle in 1897. The Columbus forge and iron company started 1898. The vices were called "Indian Cheif" while the anvils they made went by the name "Trenton", "Blue patent", and "Arm and Hammer". 

The company Columbus Forge and Iron was liquidated in 1983. 

Wow, awesome feed back everyone, thanks! Swede, that is interesting, I’ve never thought about that. Brian, I have heard of the Doyle, and I’ve thought about it, our nearest Harbor freight is an hour away, and they have it in stock. Nobody special, we do have a great metal yard nearby, and they let us walk and pick things. A friend once found a forge blower, and took it home, works great. And Billy, Ahh, I just love all the juicy dates and names! Thanks all!