April 27, 200521 yr I have a steel plate that is 1/4 inch think and 6.5 X 11 inches square. Mounted to a hardwood block, will this make a suitable anvil for a beginner? Any input as to what would make a better substitue anvil is welcomed. I am a student and have little money as of right now. I would prefer to use something very inexpensive to obtain. Thank you.
April 27, 200521 yr Dan, An anvil must have some mass but part of the relationship is based on what you will be forging. Anything is better than nothing and what you are proposing is better than a rock but I think a piece of square or round shafting would be better (buy it at the scrap yard for not much). A possible set up would be a piece 5-6 feet long and set endwise in the ground semi-permanently. Another very good style used by the Brazeal brothers was a piece of plate 14x14 by 3 inches thick. They ground various radii, flats and a beveled corner on one edge and mounted it in an angle iron holder. This is quite useful and offers a lot of flexibility.
April 28, 200521 yr Dan, If you are having trouble locating a chunk of steel for an anvil, then you should consider getting in touch with a blacksmith group near you. This group will almost certainly have someone near enough to you for you to visit and get some pointers. I can tell you that if someone showed up at my shop with your needs, they'd leave with at least SOMETHING substantial to bang on. So I'm sure the blacksmiths up there will be just as helpful or more so. Email or call the contacts you see here: NEW ENGLAND BLACKSMITHS Pres: Owen Bostram 99 Chase Hill Road Ashaway, RI 02804 (410) 377-2611[email protected] Ed: Fred Mikkelson 23 Waterman Drive North Scituate, RI 02857-2036 (401)647-3086[email protected] You can also go to their site at:www.newenglandblacksmiths.org
April 28, 200521 yr Alright, first off just quit, there are too many Dans coming around. I was here first... almost.... maybe.... lol just playing with ya. Now for that anvil, It will "work" if you can move metal on it. But you will most likley just wear yourself out. Look for a section of railroad track. I used RR track for a while. Go to a scrap yard and look around for a nice hunk of steel atleast 4x4 it should work for light forging as well. An anvil is actually just a glorified hunk of steel, sure they tend to work better than a normal hunk of steel that you would find but be creative. Check auctions for anvils. you never know you might find a steal.
April 29, 200521 yr Dan: Ed Thomas is right. Learn smithing through a mentor, self study, and lots of practice. If you'd like a copy of the How to Get Started In Smithing notes that I use as a hand-out at beginning blacksmith classes, look up the Saltfork Craftsmen ABA on the ABANA site and drop me an e-mail. Jim C.
July 24, 201213 yr As that was 7 years ago hopefully he has graduated and now has a paying job and can source an anvil.
February 23, 20206 yr Author This is going to be a blast from the past...BUT! are there perhaps any legacy members who recall this discussion, and recall a member offering to ship me chuck of steel to use as an anvil? After about 11+ years out of the game, with only a little tinkering here and there, I've set all of my equipment back up and refreshed my Lively Style forge. I do indeed have a paying job, but the aforementioned chunk of steel has been working well enough for me that I've not sourced a 'real' anvil (yet). However, I would like to find the contact information for the person who provided me with this steel, and send them a few somethings. If this was you, please reach out. I've scoured my messages and posts and can't find anything related to the exchange.
March 2, 20206 yr On February 23, 2020 at 9:48 AM, Rantalin said: This is going to be a blast from the past...BUT! are there perhaps any legacy members who recall this discussion, and recall a member offering to ship me chuck of steel to use as an anvil? Yesteryearforge Posted April 29, 2005 Rantalin If you would like to send me your shipping address I will send you a piece of steel in the 80 to 100 lb range suitable for pounding on. It will be either 1018 crs or hot roll. this is the conversation.
March 3, 20206 yr i like this thread a lot, it was started a year before i was born and now im reading it. I hope you have a blast getting back into blacksmithing!
March 3, 20206 yr Hey they had computers when I was born; my father mentioned programming them in college---with a soldering iron! (Analog not digital back then.)
March 4, 20206 yr ya'll arent old, you're just ripe but to be honest im still quite young so dont feel bad lol
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