Worthy Anvil??

R

ritzblitz

Joined
Dec 31, 2006
Messages
293
Hi everyone,

I bought this large 85lb block of steel at an auction for $8. Since my current anvil doesn't have a great surface, I was wondering if I could use this block for an anvil. It is probably 8x8 and 4 inches tall.

I was wondering if there are some tests I can do to see how good of an anvil it would be. It rings nicely but I don't know how hard it is. I will need to surface it, which I can do at work hopefully.

Anyway, any input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Alex
 
Well, smiths have been using block anvils since the beginning so yes you can use it but you need to be aware of it's limitations. It would be better if it were closer to five inches square on the face and say two to three feet long so you could use it vertically as a post anvil but you could easily mount this on a stump for a servicable anvil that woulf be better than say a section of RR track in my opinion. A piece weighing twice as much would be better as well. Any idea what kind of steel it is? Mild will deform a bit on the suface as you forge on it though it may work harden a bit, higher carbon will still deform so your idea of hard facing it is a good idea. In the end you will just need to decide if this will work for what you want it for and it may well be what you need until something better comes along.
 
I think that size wise it will definitely work for me. By surfacing I meant just making everything flat, not adding a hardened piece on the top.

I have no idea what type of steel it is. Are there any ways to tell if it is mild or high carbon steel?

Thanks.
 
well, the sparks will give you a good idea when you are grinding to smooth out the surface. but you can also check the surface by dropping a 1" ball bearing on it. a good surface should cause the bearing to bounce back 90% or more.

Ken
 
Also if it's 8x8x4, you'll want to stand it up and use the 4x8 edge as the 'top' not the 8x8 edge

Depending on the hardness of hte steel, there might not need to be much done to it other than beveling an edge and afixing it to something so it doesnt move.
 
A beveled edge will prevent making deep creases and sharp marks on your blade especially when forging the riccaso area. This is particularly important if you intend forging closely to shape as you can have a devil of a time filing or grinding the marks out. There will be times however that you want a sharp edge to forge on but you have four sides to the block so you can keep some relatively sharp and some beveled over. Beveling two corners on the same side works nicely too as this allows you to flip the blade from side to side while forging. Standing it up on edge is good advice as well.
 
Yeah I will do that. It is less area to surface as well. I am just wondering how I can fix it to the base.
 
ritzblitz said:
Yeah I will do that. It is less area to surface as well. I am just wondering how I can fix it to the base.
Click to expand...

Get yourself a tube of construction adhesive. Something like liquid nails. You'll need to find someplace where its not freezing so the adhesive will set up and let it set for a couple days before you use it.
 
Cool, thanks for the suggestion. Makes sense. Will this adhere nicely to wood or will I have to fix it to metal?
 
The liquid nails will stick to both wood and metal. also, you could get 2 pieces of angle iron, say 1 1/2" or 2" and as long as your block, drill 7/16" holes on each leg about 1" from each end(four holes in each) then drill and tap the block for 3/8"bolts. bolt the new feet on your block and use carriage bolts or lag screws to attach it to your stump.

Good luck
Ken
 
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