Anvil idea

I just picked up a piece, 4 x 10 x 24, 275lbs. Just cut off all the webs from previous cutting. I will put it into the band saw tomorrow to cut the bottom square. Many anvils are not hardened. That is why you do not want to strike the surface. I got thrown off an anvil for putting a dent in it as an apprentice. If you want to make the surface of a Mild Steel plate harder just bang on it with a hammer for a few hours and work harden it. Not too hard though just a nice rythmic bounce. If you are striking hot steel though it should not make that much difference. I can't wait to get this new chunk of steel put in place. I think it may help forging bevels etc. I will keep the edges pretty sharp.

JT a buck a pound sounds a but spendy for scrap but they hold all the cards when you want something.....

Chuck
 
A buck a pound is expensive for mild, but not expensive if it's any sort of tool steel. Really depends on the alloy. You should be able to get 'shorts' and 'cutoffs' of large bars for around 50 to 60 cents a pound at a steel yard, usually not much of a premium over scrap value.
 
Yeh I picked up mine for 50cts a lb. Even the 4140 (if marked) at the scrap yard is .50/lb. If it is old rusty stuff it's only .40/lb. Don't even want to talk about copper and brass though. SS is 2.50/lb though, still a deal if you can find a smaller piece that fits the job. The scrap guys know me by my first name arrgh.. spend way too much time there. I'll be dropping by tomorrow.

Chuck
 
what i ment to say was that the rounds where a buck a pound. i payed 0.55 a pound. so my new anvel cost me 100 bucks with tax for a 175 pounder. what side should i use 4.5 or 5.5. im thinking about shaping a horn and cutting in a hardy and pritchel hole. what do you think. its one big chunk of steel. thay had bigger chunks like 10,000 LB+ wonder if thay deliver :D
 
Use the 5.5 side, The 4.5 deep. If you really want some type of horn to draw with heavily radius the back edge. If you ave Wayne Goddards books he explains it there. They also charge a premium for round shafting here. They have a piece of 12"x24" that I really wanted. $500 was a bit too much but it does weigh 800lbs. The 250 will work fine.
You need to get that thing set up and hit some hot steel.

Chuck
 
How did the ball bearings go.
I have a few anvils ranging from 30 kg chineese to 225 lb forged anvils from 100years ago.
The cast chineese the ball bearing bounces back only 10 percent the forged one bounces back may be 80 to 90 percent or more.

Both work but the bigger anvil is harder and better to forge on I have taught a few blokes to forge on the soft one to avoid damage to the good one. They all came away forging and smiling.
The 30 kg cost me $99 the horn was flat on top so I ground it round to help with the drawing out.

The only thing I will say is don't try to forge out a cast horn. I heard a story of some blokes who tried that and snapped it off. Grind it. I used a 100 mm angle grinder I cut a lot of parralell groves through the corners and cold chiseled the off the ground down the lumps. It was some work but I think it was worth it.

Good luck
 
i will take some pictures tomarow. it does have some rust pits but it would take for ever to remove them by hand. i have been working the face trying to get it as shiny as possable. i used a chunk of that aluminum 2" x 1/2" x 82" that i scored. just glue some 2" belt to it and sand the face. what should i do about the rust pits there not to deap maybe around 1/32" or less in some places. man this is a beast and has a ton of surface area.
 
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