Anvil Advice

[merl67]

I have giant I beams that are 36” tall 75 lbs per foot 10’ long x2. They would make anvils?

I would certainly think so...

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

By the way Smokey Ward said the difference between a good blacksmith and a sorry one is, a good one can fix his screw-ups.

Why is it that people wanting to blacksmith look for cheap anvils.
The anvil arguably affects the forging process more than any of the other blacksmith tools.
Go ahead and get a new peddinghouse. It will always be worth what you paid and most likely like a nice S&W revolver appreciate in value.

I have seen some quality work done on some, way less than perfect, anvils. The guy, like me, may not have a couple grand
plus to spend on an anvil at this time.

 

[merl67]

Thought I would share a few new things I've made. A small 100 layer Damascus blade using 1095, and 15n20 lots learned with that one.
Then there's the Rams head railroad spike knife also lots learned. I am going to look in to building a knife grinder soon as I do not at this point have the ability to to hollow grinds easily. Although the flat grind I do is fully functional in the looks department they are lacking.

 

[merl67]

Thought I would share this one. We were at out local flea market last weekend, and I was looking at draw knives to buy. My wife said why don't you just make one well here she is sharp as a razor...

 

[WR Moore]

I have a short piece of railroad track that makes a good little anvil for
smaller jobs. If I remember my railroading correctly a 3' piece of mainline
rail weighs 133#

There are a couple of different grades of "mainline rail" and there might be some slight differences depending upon source. If MY memory is working right, at least one firm had both 140 lb and 160 lb mainline rail. The Edgar Thompson Works (of USS-named after the then President of the Pennsylvania RR in a shameless bid for business) was, at least at one time, the largest rail mill in the world.

Dunno about using I beams as anvils. There are many different grades of steel and don't know which is used in I beams and what's used in RR rail. Also, kinda depends upon how thick the flange is. I would expect hardness to be a factor too.

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

I have a rail anvil that I bought about 25 years ago at an estate/farm sale.
The old man had done a good job shaping the rail into an anvil like object.
It was the only thing I bought that day. I had gone to school with the
man's daughter. She and I were close friends in high school then she
went off to college and later was a Play Boy bunny. I was disappointed
I didn't see her.

Back to anvils, rail anvils do not have good rebound but work for smaller
projects. They are flat and some knife makers like them for that reason.

 

[Stevens]

Here is mine, I had the good luck to be at a friend's shed when someone gave him a much larger one. He asked me if I wanted this one, I said yes, how much, free he replied, I loaded it up and brought it home! It is 14" long on the flat face and 22.5" overall. It is stamped 98 it seems about that weight in lbs. Long before I got it a chunk was cracked off of the side of the face, but it is very usable anyway.
There is a makers name and a stamped shield on the side, but, I can't make out just what the are.
Steve W