Anvil idea

JTknives

JTknives

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Jun 11, 2006
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there is a metal store by my house that sell scraps. thay have a chunk 5.5 x 6x5 x 20" at around 130 pounds. thay charge 40¢ a pound. its mild steed but the edge does not dent when hit with anouther steel. will this work ok for an anvil. could i weld a layer of hardened steel to the top. thay also have large round cutoffs. thanks
 
Grab it

if it doesnt dent easily its good to go

its only going to get harder by getting hammered

lots of people that have anvils have ones with not exactly pretty faces but they work fine

all anvils besides brand new ones or refaced ones have these dents
 
JT, grab them all if you can! they will be great little anvils to have around the shop, set them in a base of concrete-in-a-bucket.
 
would the round cut offs be better. i saw some around 12" accross and 15-18" tall would thay work :D. i have to move it out side to use so not to hevy. thay have smaller rounds as well. just need a good basic forging anvil. i do like the square ones as there is a nice length to work with.
 
Get a square and a round, i personally would go with the square as it is easier to forge bevels with a corner to work off of.
 
how can i tell if its mild steel. i just assumed (dont even say it:D) it was. is there a simple way. its weird because i grabed a small chunk of steel that was sitting there and started hitting the edge of the steel that was sitting there. it would put good size dents in every thing and its self but when i tryed it on the stack of these large blocks i was shocked. the block would not dent on the edge but put what looked like cuts in the steel that i was hitting it with. i was hitting it prety hard. ideas?
 
Ask the people there if they know what kind of steel it is. You can always add a piece of tool steel to the top, weld slow so you dont take away any temper that might be in the tool steel...weld a small length and take a break. That way might take a while but its better than taking all the temper out of the tool steel ;)
 
Don't know if this applies to your situation at all, but I have a piece of 1x5 boiler plate. It is T1, which is extremely resistant to impact forces. They use it for road grater bits and rock crushing teeth. It may be what you have.
 
im going to take some ball bearings with me and see if that helps. i think i saw paint on the end of one of the blocks.
 
I know alot of tool steels are color coded. O-1 is painted green, S-7 i do believe is yellow, and D-2 i think is pink. Not sure if these are correct, but ill check on it tomorrow
 
Get the big squarish block (or two) and a round one, if you have the options why limit yourself you've got 4 sides to screw up per square. Weld up a base of some sort, and bolt it to one side, then if you ever need to rotate to a fresh face, unbolt it, drill and tap new holes, rebolt

Good find

-Page
 
Take one of the rounds and weld it to a 24" disc of mild steel. Then you just tip it on the rim and roll it where you need it. I have a 300# post anvil that I move easily that way.
Stacy
 
I wish I could find a scrap just like that...
 
one simple test which can be done is to hit it with a center punch. if the punch easily leaves a mark chances are it is 'mild steel'. if the piece(s) resists the punch and your punch tends to deform instead, it is likely a heat treated steel of some sort. also, a sharp blow with the pointed end of a chipping hammer will do the same thing. if it is mild, the hammer will mark it.
 
well i got the steel today. i just got one because thats all i could afford. its 4.5" x 5.5" x 24" :) and weighes 175 pounds :D. thay wanted like a buck a pound. my new anvil is about all i can move.
 
No i could not afford one, i was just kidding(kind of, i would take an early birthday present;)), thanks for the offer though JT. Let us know how it works!
 
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