Anvil price?

[BobRip]

I bought one. I have not used it much, but I think it's OK for your limited use. I am probably not enough of a Blacksmith to notice the different. I now have a used (1904) anvil (138 lbs). Can't say I notice the difference. For the novice occasional user just having an anvil at all can help with many task. I took apart a U joint using the anvil the other day and the owner who was watching me said I did it faster that the pro he watched. Blacksmith is a really different frame of mind for me. It makes a hammer into a fairly precise tool.

 

[BobRip]

Cali,

The more telling aspect is that it has a dead feel. It's kind of hard to quantify, but swinging a hammer multiple, multiple, multiple times you tend to focus in on the surfaces and work at hand. My cheap anvil doesn't exhibit much rebound or ring as mentioned in earlier post and it's subjective, but even the occasional user could tell the difference between my anvil and a nicer one.

You have hit the nail on the head. The energy that you put into the hammer is used more efficiently with a good anvil. If you let a hammer fall on a good versus cheap anvil, it will rebound further on a good one. If you use it a lot, efficiency becomes important. I have taken a few classes on Blacksmithing, but I am still an untrained novice. There is a lot more to this than I ever thought.

 

[California]

If you let a hammer fall on a good versus cheap anvil, it will rebound further on a good one. If you use it a lot, efficiency becomes important.

Now that part I understand. I got my start working as a framing carpenter, driving nails as fast as I could literally all day long.

An excellent, properly weighted framing hammer might drive a 16d in 2-3 blows after the initial tap while a cheap hammer would absorb the energy instead of applying it to move the nail. The worst hammers would transfer all the shock back into your arm.

In that application cost isn't a criteria, you simply buy the best tool.

But I'm not earning my living with this anvil where production time matters, or (40 years later) working to exhaustion beating on the thing.

I'm trying to decide how cheap is still acceptable, for my occasional amateur application.

 

[schmism]

see my previous link about testing the rebound of an anvil for an indication of how much energy is going to be put into squishing the hot metal instead of being absorbed into the metal anvil and going to waist.

the higher the rebound (of the metal ball bearing) the more energy is returned (ie less absorbed)


I never was very intrested in a Harbor freight anvil. figured it was no better than the chunk of railroad rail i have.

 

[California]

I have two chunks of rail. I'm sure they are much better steel than that anvil, but their curved shape requires a real precise strike area. I assume the flat deck on the anvil is easier to flatten things on.

I saw somewhere that a user added a steel plate, I think with a welded skirt to keep it in place, to get a true flat surface on the top of an anvil. I wonder if that would improve this cast iron anvil?

 

[California]

been on the hunt for a good anvil for the past 3 years. ...


eBay Fraud : Purchasing an ASO (Anvil Shaped Object)

Good site!

Ok, the HF object at $40 for 55lbs is clearly an ASO compared to real anvils that cost around $7/pound, per that site.

The main point that page emphasizes is that a good anvil isn't just steel, it is real tool steel professionally hardened.

 

[rundogs]

The one I bought from HF was on clearance for 19.97.I figured for that price the only way I could get hurt was if I dropped it on my foot.This is the code I used, 56084-1YAH dont know if that price is still good?

 

[rbcsaver]

If I'm buying one I suggest paying by weight because it's just a lump of steel....If I'm selling one I explain that it's not a simple lump of steel so much as a sophisticated tool that would take a great deal of work to reproduce.

That IS JUSTNOT true! Some anvils are far better than others Ring and bounce are huge
considerations, in addition to brand names, age and condition.
regards,
Steve

 

[Soundguy]

That IS JUSTNOT true! Some anvils are far better than others Ring and bounce are huge
considerations, in addition to brand names, age and condition.
regards,
Steve

i think he just said that in the last line of his post... it's a complicated tool, not a lump of formed metal.. in case you didn't get the humor, he was mention wanting to 'pay' for it just as if it was a blob of metal.. but if 'selling' it, then sell it as the complicated tool it is.

soundguy

 

[forgeblast]

How to find Anvils and Tools : anvilfire.com How-to.

Very helpful. I was able to find a mini bench top anvil at a antique store, it was holding open a door I think I paid $20 for it and use it a lot for smaller jewerly.

My larger one I got lucky at the end of an auction most people gone, I went up to 165, and would have gone to 200 for it but at 165 i was able to get it. Nice ring, nice horn, bit rusty but not a big deal. Other anvils I was after went for a lot more and that was over 15 years ago when I got this one.