Poormans anvil...Lets see em!

E

EdgeTim

Joined
Jan 2, 2006
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104
Looking to get into making my own knives, and VERY curious to see some cheap anvils, made, found, bought whatever. Wayne goddards $50 knife shop really gave me some interesting ideas. Would love more.

Doesnt have to be pictures (though I want a few lol) Gimme some ideas lads.

Thanks in advance.
 
this is mi little RR anvil. too light to forging but good for pins and other light works. I'm looking for a 50-60 kg post anvil.

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I was at the scrap yard Saturday. There was a man there looking for an anvil. The yard never nothing ( They never get a good one). I took the man over to the pile of drops and cut outs. We found a 5" thick by 12" round piece that weighed 160# and a 5X4X8" piece of block that weighed 50#. He bought both for $60 total. Not a Peter Wright, but it will work.
Stacy
 
The one with hole in the web is for drifting hawks.;)
 

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I originally bought these two plates for weights for doing deadlifts and squats but they are serving a more useful purpose now. They were drops I found at a scrapyard and I had my machinist friend make the holes in the centre. They are 15" diameter, I can't remember the width but I calculated it out to be 190# total.

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loneronin said:
this is mi little RR anvil. too light to forging but good for pins and other light works. I'm looking for a 50-60 kg post anvil.
Click to expand...

How did you shape that? I have a similar piece just as cut, square on both ends and I'd love to mod it to what you have.
 
I don't have pictures atm but I use the top of an old craftsman tablesaw which died. I don't forge blades, but I do use it from time to time for soft metals and such.
 
I have a few makeshift anvils but not all are used as an anvil anymore. I've had great success getting drops at the local scrap yard.

This is a ~200# 22" drop that is 3" thick. Drilling those 11/16" holes in it to mount the vise was a fun project. I currently use this as an occasional hammering surface but I also put my Pexto's into the vise while resting on the plate.

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Small 8" drop that's about 5" thick, soon to be a swage block once I go over my buddies house and do some milling. Behind it is a ~175# layout table I snagged at a local machine surplus company (HGR) for $39.

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Last is my stump anvil, I think it's about 12" IIRC. I use this for wailing on stuff I don't want to do on my primary anvil.

In the background you can see the grinder stand still waiting for my Wil Hurley grinder :jerkit: :mad:

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I have maybe $110 in these 3 scrap anvils & the table.
 
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Here is one I built

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I did a little creative shaping with a torch and grinder for the horn then milled the top and sides square. Then I rounded the corners over with with a grinder and attacked the whole thing with a grinder and abrasive flap disk. Polished it up and slapped a coat of paint on it.

Then, a month later, I put an ad in the local online buy/sell that I was looking for an anvil. A guy contacted me a few days later and said he was getting out of knifemaking and had one for $25.00. Needless to say, 20 minutes later I was driving home with this

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Brad
www.andersonknives.ca
 
I know everybody wants their piece of rail to LOOK like a traditional anvil... but all that cutting, grinding, and milling is just taking away mass from underneath your work.

With an anvil, you want mass...and you want it underneath your work.

If you get a piece of rail, you start off with very little anyway, as the web on rail is pretty thin... if you start cutting it away and just make it worse. If you want to make rail a LOT BETTER anvil, try to find some angle bars when you get your chunk of rail. These are the bars used at the junction of one rail to another. Bolt or weld them in place and you will REALLY build up the anvil.

Just my $0.02 :)
 
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went through th scrap bin at work. saw a piece of 50 by 100 mm , welded a piece of high tensile on top .just got to cast it in a big bucket of concrete , and hey presto ! post anvil.
 
shoeman said:
How did you shape that? I have a similar piece just as cut, square on both ends and I'd love to mod it to what you have.
Click to expand...

with an angle grinder and a lot of time. the final result seems good to me but I know I'm not objective. :)

Teknition, your RR anvil is unbelievable!!!!!!! please don't tell me you did it by hand.
 
Mine is a piece of 1045... 4x4x14... burried in a chicken feeder... lol

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I also use a few other anvils... that is my hot cutter on the far right...
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I guess this one will qualify as homebuilt, 22# of lead poured into the rectangular
tube, top is 3/8" thick x 2 1/2" 440c barstock that I drew back to mid 50's Rc, been
doing pins on it for about 4 years no problems. Sometimes the 125# Trenton below
it sees use.
Ken.

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Hey all,
Some nice looking home made anvils out there!
I keep thinking about it and there is something I have to say. Regarding IG's upside down RR track anvil....I love ya bro and I mean no disrespect..., but I have forged on that upside down chunk of rail and...well....it sucks!:rolleyes:
There...I said it.;):p Please understand I do not chide George for his anvil...I applaud him for trying something new. However I think it would work much better if it was just fliped over. IG, don't be mad:(....I'll buy you a cheap beer!:thumbup::D
Mace
 
man i saw this and could not help but posting mine :D. it does not look like this any more as it has forging scale all over the bottom plate :D

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Mace said:
Hey all,
Some nice looking home made anvils out there!
I keep thinking about it and there is something I have to say. Regarding IG's upside down RR track anvil....I love ya bro and I mean no disrespect..., but I have forged on that upside down chunk of rail and...well....it sucks!:rolleyes:
There...I said it.;):p Please understand I do not chide George for his anvil...I applaud him for trying something new. However I think it would work much better if it was just fliped over. IG, don't be mad:(....I'll buy you a cheap beer!:thumbup::D
Mace
Click to expand...

No problem, Bubba.:jerkit: The two RR anvils that I have are for the newbies at the HI's, that way they will not mess up the faces on my 300# Fisher or the 150# Peter Wright that I have. I'll be holding you to the cheap beer and allot of them. HEHEHEHE!!!!
Have a good one Bro.:D
 
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