Anvil or substitutes??

[maddave]

I've made a forge and wonder what's the cheapest way to obtain an Anvil or something that can be used instead of an anvil

Are these any good or is there something that can be recycled/modded??

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/11-5kg-cast-iron-anvil

 

[Gill]

A piece of railtrack is better buddy,if you know someone that can get you a bit.

 

[maddave]

A piece of railtrack is better buddy,if you know someone that can get you a bit.

Sounds interesting. How would it be mounted if I managed to procure a bit??

 

[Everything Mac]

I've made a forge and wonder what's the cheapest way to obtain an Anvil or something that can be used instead of an anvil

Are these any good or is there something that can be recycled/modded??

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/11-5kg-cast-iron-anvil

that anvil will do for very light work and even then may dent. it will most likely chip if you strike the face with your hammer as it is only cast iron.

there are many alternatives to an anvil.

the do come up quite often on ebay - but be prepared to pay a good bit of coin for them - they go for anything between £50 - 350 (unless you are a jammy git like me and get one for £10.50 )

two good options are - rail road track or a sledge hammer head set in a wood block.

I don't know what you intend on forging but if it is only small stuff like knives then a sledge head will sort you out for some time. indeed I know a few blokes who used them for some years.

A piece of RRT is also a great option - my portable anvil is made from a 12" section of rail which was hardened up using a fire and wheel barrow full of water - there are a few pics of it up in the Comrie croft picture threads.

only problem with rail track is that if you want to give it a horn it require a LOT of grinding - must have taken me a good few days to get it sorted.


failing those there are other options:

a piece of caterpillar track is quite good. as is a section of fork lift truck steel. - though I do not know if these require hardening - I suspect they do. a good section of I beam works too.

failing all that - a decent chunk of any steel will get you going for the time being.


check ebay - and check your local scrap merchants. if you have a local smith/farrier then go visit them and have a chat - if you are lucky they might have something you can use. I saw the farrier local to me and walked away with a leg vice for a fiver.


all the best

Andy

 

[robin wood]

Get the biggest lump of steel you can from your local scrapyard, I used a lorry axle for years, set it on top of the biggest lump of wood you can get from your local tree surgeon. Hold it down with big staples made with your new forge.

 

[Everything Mac]

taken from the Comrie thread.

here you can see my little portable anvil - it weighs in at just over 8kg. it was hardened up in water some time last year and hasn't let me down since.

it doesn't have the rebound of the bigger anvils obviously but it sure does work.

Then Andy(Everythingmac)arrived and started forging and just never stopped the whole weekend.

.

atb Andy

 

[mikeybear]

How about this one ? maybe a little small ,but much cheaper.
http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Axminster-5-Kilo-Anvil-19775.htm

 

[Everything Mac]

just a quick link to the anvils section on ebay.

http://business.shop.ebay.co.uk/Anv...pcats=11804,12576&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_pgn=1

quite a few on there just now - its all a matter of your budget and how willing you are to travel.

 

[Tengu]

The Japanese swordsmith used a tiny rectangular block.

a bit of railtrack or a big hammerhead would do.

 

[PRKL]

Finnish solution suggestion thats is proved to be good in actual work:

Tengu,did u mean anvils like this one:
http://forums.dfoggknives.com/uploads/monthly_05_2008/post-830-1209637383.jpg

 

[wingstoo]

How about getting a section of Girder, "I" beam, "H" beam, RSJ, BSB, or whatever you like to call it?

Wings

 

[maddave]

Finnish solution suggestion thats is proved to be good in actual work:

WOW!!!

 

[locum76]

I have an anvil I don't use I'll sell it to you for £50 + delivery....

 

[Matt.S]

Avoid cast iron anvil-shaped objects, they are simply inadequate (unless they have a welded-on steel face, of which there are few).

Railway track makes for a good anvil, but only if used in the vertical/end-on position. Otherwise it is springy and ineffecient. You only need an anvil face slightly bigger than your hammer face, and 2-3" is plenty big enough. Lengths of heavy mild steel bar stock work well like this too. a 4"x4"x4" cube will weigh about 20lb, which (with a nod at Tengu) is basically what has been used in most ironworking cultures since the dawn of the iron age.

I-beam/RSJ/girder makes for a poor anvil; it was the same inherent springiness of railway iron and cannot be used vertically without a lot of welding.

If you can find one, a 20lb sledgehammer head will work well.

Mild steel plate 2" or wider will work well if you use it narrow edge upwards. You can also grind multiple tools such as fullers and butchers onto the top surface.

It's well to remember that the 'anvil shape' as most people think it is a relatively modern concept -- only a few centuries old. Most smiting is done on the face or over the edge, so don't worry about your anvil having a bick/beak/horn (pointy bit). You can make one and set it in a stump, in the vice etc. quite easily.

 

[demographic]

I ambled into the side entrance of the rail head hardening plant at Workington and asked the first bloke I saw wearing a boilersuit if there was any chance of scrounging an off cut of railway line.

"Aye marra, I'll get you a bit out skip"

Then I had a section of 110 Lb per yard railway line about 18 inches long and he wouldn't even take any money for it.

 

[Everything Mac]

Railway track makes for a good anvil, but only if used in the vertical/end-on position. Otherwise it is springy and ineffecient.

true - it is inefficient compared to a bigger anvil - but it gets the job done.

having the track end on does make it a lot more efficient.

you can actually weld a piece to the top of an upright length of rrt which is quite effective.

 

[leaf man]

Wahoo, i read this in the week and managed to cadge an 8 inch piece at the wkend from a local heritage railway centre. Just need an angle grinder now...and a forge... And some etc etc

 

[PRKL]

Wahoo, i read this in the week and managed to cadge an 8 inch piece at the wkend from a local heritage railway centre. Just need an angle grinder now...and a forge... And some etc etc

if you can build any crude forge after youve managed tlo get that anvil in right shape,you should try to make the hitting surface hard.....make it red hot and then sink the surface in some hand warm water till the whole anvil starts to change its colour to black again.this way the hammering surface lasts longer and doesnt immediately start to get hit marks from mi****s of your sledge.

 

[Bravo4]

PRKL, that is a work of art, seriously.

maddave, I reclaimed an old bench vise like this one,
http://toolmonger.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/DM_BenchVise.jpg

 

[maddave]

PRKL, that is a work of art, seriously.

maddave, I reclaimed an old bench vise like this one,
http://toolmonger.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/DM_BenchVise.jpg

Ahh never thought of a vice with an anvil face.. That may be an option