Looking for Ideas to Mount Starter Anvil

[0x4447]

I have just purchased this block of steel as a drop from my local metal supplier and looking to use it as an anvil, it's 3x3 square stock and ~4 inches long weighing ~15 lbs. I would like to use this as a starter anvil but I was wondering if you all had any advice for mounting it and/or trying to augment it's rather meager weight. I know that people often will put a smaller sledgehammer head anvil in concrete and wasn't sure it would be a good idea to do that for this piece. Here is a picture of the block in question

 

[Ian Fifelski]

Welcome to bladeforums.

If you have a welder, I would weld a bar or some piece (any shape would work) of steel to the bottom. Then cast it into concrete. The piece welded to it will help it stay solid in the concrete.

If you do not have a welder, you could still cast it into concrete, you may have the block bounce on you after some use though.

One thing that helped me when I was starting was keeping in mind that my first rail track anvil and then block anvil were only temporary. I would use them until I had the skills to put a real anvil to good use and until I could find a good one for a reasonable price.

 

[0x4447]

That sounds like a good idea, I don't have a welder but do have access to a drill press, would it work to bracket/bolt it to another piece of steel? Or is the welding important to make it one piece of metal?

 

[Ian Fifelski]

That sounds like a good idea, I don't have a welder but do have access to a drill press, would it work to bracket/bolt it to another piece of steel? Or is the welding important to make it one piece of metal?

If you could solidly attach another piece, that would be fine.

 

[0x4447]

Okay, I will probably go that route, also which face would you recommend using for the top of my anvil? Is it a good idea to round the edges?

 

[Ian Fifelski]

Okay, I will probably go that route, also which face would you recommend using for the top of my anvil? Is it a good idea to round the edges?

I personally would like more surface area so I would put the 4 inch face up. If you wanted it a bit more solid in the concrete, you could mount it the other way.

Round two adjacent edges and leave two sharp, makes it more versatile.

Good luck and have fun forging!

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Before you go too far with spending money on concrete and time drilling and bolting on "legs", consider that your anvil is not useful for more than l;little things like peening rivets. It takes much more mass to forge on.

A cheap HF 55# cast iron anvil (definitely not the best, but equivalent to your drop) is only $63. You may spend that in making the base for your tiny block.

 

[0x4447]

I would love to do that but I have already spent $30 on the anvil that I have. I don't really have enough to buy a whole new piece and would prefer to save up and get a proper anvil next. Also I have seen multiple people forge on sledgehammer heads and this is a good bit larger/heavier than those. Also I will likely not be starting with knives, I am planning to start with smaller blacksmithing projects to gain experience moving metal before I move on to something more complex like a blade

 

[weo]

Hello Ox. If you put your location in your info, you may be surprised at how many folks are close by that are willing to lend a hand. For example, if you are in the PNW, the NWBA (Northwest blacksmith Association) is having their weekend "Swaptoberfest" at the end of October where you could pick up some advice and tools.

Regarding the edges, I'd round all of them, just with 2 being a really tight radius (almost square). Steel doesn't like sharp inside corners.