Anvils.....How useful, and how much ???

[Shiro]

Try your local steam railway, I got a 2 1/2 foot length for a donation in the charity box from Bodmin a year or so ago. It's a lot of work to make an anvil out of it though. Unless you have a cutting torch I suppose

Love to do that Paul but i have no idea where on earth to get a chunk of rail! Anyone know where or have any going spare ?

 

[astro_al]

I'm after a big anvil if he's got any going spare! Happy to recondition.

Al.

 

[bigbadbugga]

Love to do that Paul but i have no idea where on earth to get a chunk of rail! Anyone know where or have any going spare ?

My mate is cutting me a piece tonight, do you know anyone near you who works on the railways? Just ask one of them to cut you a piece and buy him a pint for it. They have to cut the old track to remove it and apparently it's really tough after years of work hardening.

If all else fails, I'll get him to cut a few more pieces and arrange to drop one to you next time I'm in the Chester area.

 

[109party]

me too im looking for a anvil too just out of my budget at the moment

 

[astro_al]

I know where there is a large supply of unused Brookes anvils in Hampshire, I'll get a price when I'm over there in a few days in case anyone needs a decent quality anvil of modest size for non-megabucks.

Al.

 

[Tamcox]

I know where there is a large supply of unused Brookes anvils in Hampshire, I'll get a price when I'm over there in a few days in case anyone needs a decent quality anvil of modest size for non-megabucks.

Al.

Hello astro-al,

If there is any going spare I would be interested in one ,

Thanks,

Tam

 

[Shiro]

You're a star fella....

I know where there is a large supply of unused Brookes anvils in Hampshire, I'll get a price when I'm over there in a few days in case anyone needs a decent quality anvil of modest size for non-megabucks.

Al.

 

[astro_al]

I should be going on Saturday, so will report back then...

Al.

 

[astro_al]

Hi guys, not quite the killer deal I had hoped for. See what you think:

Brand new, but with surface rust (edges still look pretty sharp though), 1 1/4 cwt ( so about 65kg-ish) - a good balance between useable size and unmanageable object - about 20 or them (very roughly), going for 180 + vat (but you can probably haggle a bit).

PM me if you want details. They are in mid-hampshire.

Al.

 

[scar]

Like others said, I wouldn't be without one, I also have a propane forge though. When a piece of thick steel has a mind-set of it's own reagrding the shape it should stay in, I convince it with fire and anvil. I always win. He-he..

When the forge isn't fired up, I usually use the anvil to punch the initial dent on metal before drilling. It obviously is an overkill but works GREAT! Mine is about 75kgs from Groz. It's not very large and taking the advice of an experienced smith, I set it on a large stump of tree trunk. This was important since when bashing on it, the deep thud would resonate throughout the whole garage, giving you the feeling as if the concrete ceiling was about to come down.

If you find one for a good price, then I wouldn't discourage you from getting it. Even if you're not forging, the occasional hammering of metal is required by anyone at some time or another.

Just some points of caution...

1) Don't get one (at any price) which is made from cast iron...don't even think about wasting 2 cents on that. (Beware ebay - most of them are cast iron)

2) The best you can get are older ones made entirely from FORGED STEEL (they don't make them anymore like they used to) - so new good anvils are hard to find. Forged steel ones also have a layer of hardened steel on the face - usually about half inch thick. This layer protected the edges from blows and the face from indents.

3) The second best you can get are CAST STEEL (NOT CAST IRON). Mine is cast steel and it has held up a lot of abuse. It's not one of the best and it doesn't either have a hard face - obviously since it's cast, so the entire anvil is made up of the same composite. The edges are a bit bent downwards from blows throughout time but you can sort them occasionally with an angle grinder. Even though it's not the best it's still quite hard. In fact you could very easily shatter a hammer head if you would hit it hard on the anvil without any other metal in between. (You should never do this)

4) Cast Iron - one blow and part of the anvil remains on yer bench, the other part on yer foot !!