Recommendation? Anvil advice/forge question.

[Theforerunner]

so I’ve been working with stock removal for a while now and would like to start forging. I’m having a real hard tome finding a decent anvil that isn’t over 1000$ (I live in a small town where if someone has an anvil they aren’t interested in getting rid of it unless it’s sat outside for a century and they still want 1k for it.)

I’ve been looking at these 66-75 lb cast steel, hardened anvils on eBay and Amazon and have heard that they’re actually pretty decent to get started with and are around 125$ or so. Is this a waste of time? I’m looking to do knives and hopefully some stuff like hatchets and maybe small hammers.

There’s a place here in Michigan that sells some for like 500$ for 125+ pounders and I’m sure that would be a better choice long term but I can’t reallt afford it yet.

Also, question #2; I built a gas forge using black pipe and copper fittings and all that jazz and my flame seems a bit orange. I think the hole I have that the gas is coming out of is too large, like it’s getting too much gas and not enough air, if I choke the air supply it just gets worse. (I have a high pressure regulator) the hole the gas comes out of is like #66 or something like that? Ive been thinking about drilling the hole out to an m6 and tapping it to fit mig tips so I can try different sizes. I read that 0.030 works good and the hole I have now is close to my 0.035 ones I have on hand. (I’m thinking the tips will help direct the gas down the pipe better)

I’ve used the forge as it is to heat treat about 35 knives so far and it sure works great just would rather see it produce a more efficient flame, makes me nervous about safety issues etc.

Sorry for the text wall.

Thomas

 

[A.McPherson]

I would definitely go with the mig tips. I’ve really struggled with my Venturi style burner, it just doesn’t want to run very well.

I switched to a blown burner when I made my new forge, it really seems to have fixed all he problems I was having getting it to run reliably.

 

[Theforerunner]

Thanks I think I’m gonna try a few different sizes and see what happens. I’m almost positive it’s a “too much gas not enough air” sort of thing, especially if choking the air makes it worse

 

[Theforerunner]

I would definitely go with the mig tips. I’ve really struggled with my Venturi style burner, it just doesn’t want to run very well.

I switched to a blown burner when I made my new forge, it really seems to have fixed all he problems I was having getting it to run reliably.

How about the 60-70 pound anvil conundrum? Lol

 

[i4Marc]

I would wait for something over 100 pounds. I think the 125-200lb range is pretty good for forging knives. Be patient. Keep looking. There are still "reasonably" priced anvils to be found.

 

[Aidenag]

Anvil would be one of those buy once, cry once items. Don't go cheap, either save up and pay the premium for a good one, or wait for a deal on Craigslist, auctions, swap meets, etc. But the wait could be a while. I hunted for a year looking for an anvil about 5 years back, with no luck. had half a dozen smiths keeping eye out for me too, with nothing showing up worth buying. Dave Lisch finally took pity on me and sold me a damn near mint Nimba Titan for a good price. Which if you end up having to buy brand new, that is what i would suggest. LOVE my Titan. Packs so much punch for only being 120lb. Someday i'll move up to a 200+ anvil, but honestly the nimba hits like a 200+ pounder.

 

[joedhiggins]

If you need a starter anvil and can't afford a purpose built one, a chunk of mild steel in the 4x4 to 6x6 range will work well. The face will mar a bit with errant blows but it will far outperform cast iron. Maybe 10-12" in length. Build a good stand for it.

I would definitely skip the used anvil market at the moment unless you find a great deal. modern cast steel anvils perform far better than older wrought iron bodied ones, pound for pound.

I would recommend a blown burner in lieu of a venturi.

 

[Lieblad]

I’ve been looking at these 66-75 lb cast steel, hardened anvils on eBay and Amazon and have heard that they’re actually pretty decent to get started with and are around 125$ or so. Is this a waste of time

Its pretty safe bet those not going to be cast steel or hardened. Whoever wrote their reviews are anvil clueless or shills.
There are dozens of better anvil expedients as easy & cheap as ones imagination.

 

[MBB]

You could always go with one of the NC Tools 70 lb anvils. They're not terribly expensive.

 

[Josh Rider]

You could make a post anvil if you want to get started until you find one you’re looking for.

 

[Ian Fifelski]

I started with a rail track piece and that lasted a few months and then I made the best anvil for 8 bucks.

I started with a steel tub. Found a 3.5 by 3.5 piece of steel from a local structural metal industry (free from a scrap bin) and then with a bag of quikrete. I put an L shaped bit of steel in the cement to hold it down and then it being about an inch in the cement kept it from moving side to side. Only price im not including is for the base. Nearly any wood/lumber stood on end would work.

I just recently got a 120lb anvil and just got it set up and to be honest, its not a vast improvement from the 8 buck one. An good improvement for sure, but when I had a much lower budget, the block o' steel was great. And I plan on keeping it around to use as a striking anvil.

Here it is;

 

[Theforerunner]

I wonder if this thing I made will actually work? I made it out of a long slab of steel that I had cut and (tried) put a hardy hole in it. I guess whatever experimentation I tried with it might have been negative because I didn’t try to mount it to anything. Should I just try and make a post for it or something and use this for a while?

(If that doesn’t work https://imgur.com/a/AhMhyiF)

 

[lanternnate]

If you aren’t having much luck finding anything used local, the farrier anvils will get the job done. You can get away with a smaller anvil for bladesmithing than general blacksmithing. A brand new NC Tool anvil isn’t bad for price. It’s what I was going to get before my wife surprised me with a Peddinghaus that is more anvil than I need (but I’m not complaining ).

On the burner, if you are making the burner yourself just for economical reasons and not because you want to, I’d suggest checking out an Atlas burner. It’s simple, just works, and the price is really good. I don’t think you would save much making your own compared to an Atlas, especially if you figure you’ll probably have multiple goes at it trying to get it right.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

That flat piece of steel you show would work fine to start with. Mount it in concrete like Ian did, or make a laminated wooden base for it.

 

[Theforerunner]

Thanks guys. I’ll give a wooden base for this hunk of steel a try.

 

[Atlas Knife Company]

Back to your burner issues, it's not a lot of gas that you're trying to run. Any chance you could show a picture of the setup. I have a couple ideas, but need to see it to tell you which one is your problem. Neither of them would suggest changing to a MIG tip. My recollection is that a .030" tip is around .035-.038", so you would have more gas instead of less if you changed.

 

[Theforerunner]

I’m not good at posting photos or anything on here (especially on my phone) but you should be able to see what I’m working with here on this link.

https://imgur.com/a/FooJ7PN


Is a Ferrier anvil going to be heavy enough to do something like hatchets and small hammers, and basically tools? I want to make my own tools like tongs and hardy tools and stuff

 

[lanternnate]

Forging hammers by hand is typically only done with the help of a striker (a second person swinging a sledge hammer). Folks seriously forging with a striker usually use a dedicated anvil for that. Mild steel tongs certainly wouldn’t be a problem. I’ve forged a hatchet on a little piece of railroad track, so I’d say your fine there. I don’t have personal experience to speak to on forging my own hardy tools, but I would think you would be fine there as well.