Post anvils

[stiletto]

I was in the process of working on my treadle hammer, and decided to try the anvil for it as a regular anvil. Other than being too tall, it worked beautifully. I had heard of people who use post anvils and had a couple questions. I have heard of people who don't put a harder face on it and use it that way. Others have said that without a harder face, it will dish out with use. There is a piece at the scrap yard that is 10 1/4" in diameter and the perfect height. The monster wieghs a little over 800 pounds, and would end up being cheaper than my current anvil.

Should I put a tool face steel on there or should I leave it untopped? Does anyone else have any opinions on making these types of anvils?

Stiletto

 

[Osbourn]

I'd top it. A piece that large will take a long time to mushroom out, but it will collect dents in the meantime. Just my opinion.

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Oz

"This is your life, and it's ending; One minute at a time."
http://www.freespeech.org/oz/

 

[mikeS]

Harder is better. What to look for is rebound. Drop a 1" ball bearing on it. A good anvil will bounce it back to your hand. So I"ve heard I don't have a good anvil. I have one i made from 516-70 and an old worn out Vulcan. I read somwhere about "workhardening" an anvil by peening it with small hammers. I will try that first, If it is not satisfactory,I am going to try quenching it in SuperQuench.

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If God did not intend for us to eat animals. Why did he make them out of meat?

 

[mikeS]

Oh yeah, hardened commercial anvils dish out too, it just takes a little longer,there are a lot of swayback anvils out there.