During the cold Northern Indiana winters the barn gets pretty cold. At what temperature is too cold to beat on an anvil before having to warm it, and whats the best way to warm it ,or keep it warm and ready?

Up here in saskatoon, she gets down to -30 celcius commonly and I've never bothered warming up my anvil. Sucks the heat out a bit faster but if you watch your heats and are smart it works fine. IMO it would take much longer to properly heat an anvil without introducing stresses than it's worth. Of course I only use a 2-3 pound hammer on a 128 pound anvil. May want to if you're striking.

As to ways to, many heat up a sheet of metal in the forge and lay it on there while getting organized. There's a thread on it if you search.

Thanks Easly,stay warm.

pretty common thing i here about is the "cords or heater coils that are wrapped around engine blocks that you plug in over night to keep the old engine worm so it will start better, i use the same thing on all the pipes over ground that run to the pool so they will not freeze in winter.

http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f11/warming-anvils-8534/

Referenced in the above thread, but this post is enlightening;
http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f22/anvil-heater-691/index3.html#post38385

Good Luck!

Thanks BDF, good thread ref. I think a heat box is a great idea,thanks for the help.