I'm working with some Boy Scouts and we're making some knives. We've built a small forge and have been borrowing an anvil. We'd like to get one permanently, anybody know of a good place to look for used/cheap anvils?
Source for an anvil?
- Thread starter re_guderian
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you can try antique shops liek Brass Armidillo or Cucumber, any of the antique malls, check on line like Dixie Gunworks, or panther primitive. after many years of Civil War Reenacting you do tent to find alot of sorces...........also check upon cave creek rd north/east of dunlop there are also a few rustic places / antique shops ...thats were id start first
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A hunk of railroad track and some quality time with a gas axe nets a nice anvil. Unfortunately used railroad track isn't as common as it once was.
Know anyone who works the railroad?
Interesting side projects for the scouts would be making small anvils out of used railroad track if you have the cutting torch. My dad is retired from SP, and has a small one that was cut out of some old track. Works just fine for the normal pounding uses, wouldn't be so great for shoes and such as the horn isn't rounded enough, but good enough for most minor smithery.
Glenn in Tucson
Interesting side projects for the scouts would be making small anvils out of used railroad track if you have the cutting torch. My dad is retired from SP, and has a small one that was cut out of some old track. Works just fine for the normal pounding uses, wouldn't be so great for shoes and such as the horn isn't rounded enough, but good enough for most minor smithery.
Glenn in Tucson
Rob,
Good anvils are worth nearly their weight in Silver.
While a chinese HF anvil will likely fit the bill for most of what we do as home shop fabricators and doing around the house type stuff, you can never beat the quality of an antique American or English anvil. That said you can easily expect to pay between $5-$10/lb for a quality anvil. Ive been looking for a good deal on an antique anvil for over a year now and still haven't come across anything of quality for under $5/lb. Although I'm looking for something in the 150+lb range.
I have seen in the past and actually have the intention of making my own small anvil from a piece of rail road track. A 18" cutoff firmly anchored to a big ass old sump can do a surprisingly good job of taking a beating.
There are a few local smithing groups that have GTG's around the state and Az is full of world class knife makers. Check some of them out for leads on anvils. I'll try to find you some links.
Good anvils are worth nearly their weight in Silver.
While a chinese HF anvil will likely fit the bill for most of what we do as home shop fabricators and doing around the house type stuff, you can never beat the quality of an antique American or English anvil. That said you can easily expect to pay between $5-$10/lb for a quality anvil. Ive been looking for a good deal on an antique anvil for over a year now and still haven't come across anything of quality for under $5/lb. Although I'm looking for something in the 150+lb range.
I have seen in the past and actually have the intention of making my own small anvil from a piece of rail road track. A 18" cutoff firmly anchored to a big ass old sump can do a surprisingly good job of taking a beating.
There are a few local smithing groups that have GTG's around the state and Az is full of world class knife makers. Check some of them out for leads on anvils. I'll try to find you some links.
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Thanks for the leads. I've got a line on a 24" dia. eucalyptus stump to put this on. I'm discovering the disparity between the cheap junk and the real expensive anvils. Not sure what we'll end up with. No $$ for a nice one, probably don't need more than 75 lbs. On the rail road track, how do you get the rail flat? Torch and grind?
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This looks perfect for you...bit of a drive.
Let me know how this works out...I donate my time to the scouts too...explorer troop. This looks like a fun project.
55 lb Cast Iron Anvil
Let me know how this works out...I donate my time to the scouts too...explorer troop. This looks like a fun project.
55 lb Cast Iron Anvil
use 2 pieces or cut flip weld one back together. The top is rounded and the bottom is flat I got some big ass print plates from Inkpot that I have bolted together and been using to hammer on. They work but I don't yet have them stump mounted and they aren't perfect but they work for the crap I need them for so far. I've thought about welding them up and going from there. A chunk of one welded to the top of a tie would be pretty sweet. Check with him to see if he's got any that are being replaced any time soon.
Hmmm, that CL anvil looks a lot like my HF one. You could check out their online catalog for the different sizes available. The stuff I got from work is roughly 1/2" x 8" x 40". It has a few mounting holes in it. If you just want to smash stuff, then it works good, but not so much if you need the horn to shape curves over. I've still got some pieces with just minor surface rust, but no pitting if it will do you any good. Oh, and used industrial grade (gas powered) hack saw blades make great donors for custom knife blades if your not into forging. . John
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That will work, but a Dremel isn't going to cut it!
A real, manly grinder with a real stone (like ~4 grit) will make short work of it.
I should have 4-6 more chunks with me tonight. The bad news is they have gotten a bit rusty from the last couple of storms that were real windy.
Rob, the Harbor Freight anvil is the same as the one in the Craigslst pic. They run $60 regular price. Yes, they are cast iron.
I doubt the boyscouts would foot the bill, but here's an option...
blacksmithing/knife making equiptment
blacksmithing/knife making equiptment
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