blacksmithing on my knife anvil

ScottRoush

ScottRoush

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Jan 10, 2010
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I'm putting together my knife anvil today which will be a piece of heavy rail oriented so that the cross-section of the track will be my working surface... and this will be mounted in container of concrete with another piece of rail below it providing more mass. At least that is the plan.

My question... Since this thing won't have a horn or hardy hole... what are some methods I can use to do other simple blacksmithing jobs... like making tongs, fire strikers, kitchen utensils, etc? I suppose there are a variety of things I can do by mounting things in my vise. Anyway... got any good ideas?
 
I've seen rail that's had the web cut or ground away on one end and shaped like a horn. You could also fabricate a hardy out of square tubing or pieces of flat stock and weld it to the other end.
 
Thanks Mike... I'm looking into welding a hardy hole on. But I won't be able to shape the track into a horn because it's gonna be mounted vertically to provide more mass below the working surface if that makes sense.

But... I guess I could just get any hardy tool and put it in my vise???
 
If you have a post vice you will be able to do almost everything with it (with hardy tools). If you have a bench vise you will have to be more carefull, and only do light hammering on it.
 
Make a dedicated hardy.
Take two plates of mild steel, 1X3X12, and two pieces of 1X1X12. clamp them together to make a square tube with 1" thick walls. Weld down the outer joints ( does not need to be pretty, just strong). Plug the hole with paper towels, and mount this in a bucket of concrete with a piece of plate or rail below it for mass and stability ( you could even weld it to the piece of rail).Leave about 2" sticking out the concrete. Pull out the paper towels after the concrete dries. Now you have a 1" hardy in a100# bucket of concrete. This should work fine.

Stacy
 
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