Building an anvil

colu41

colu41

Joined
Dec 24, 2014
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So my brother had the idea to build me an anvil. He's manger of his crew on night shift, so he kind of plays around a bit at slow times.
What he's done so far is built me a base of the anvil with a 4x8" head on it about 6" thick. Made up a few different steels including Inconel.
What type of steel should be use for the face, and at what hardness should it be for optimal punishment?

I know this is very much a backyard experiment but, I've been known to make even worse things work :D.

Any tips would be cool.
 
Thanks again Stacy. Is 4140 a specialty steel or could I go grab some at my local steel shop?
 
Depends on your steel shop but probably not, some places stock 4130 but not 2" plate. Just depends where you live.
 
I just did a quick search online and for a 2"x4"x8" piece will cost about $90 not including shipping. Then it needs to be HT'd. That seem normal?
 
Big chunks of steel are always pricey!

If you've got the access to folks that know how to weld, you might look into having the face simply welded up with 'hard facing' rod. Just be sure to use the impact-resistant hard facing rod rather than the abrasion resistant variety. It will usually hit in the mid fifties on the rockwell scale, just like a heat-treated tool steel face plate.
 
VaughnT said:
Big chunks of steel are always pricey!

If you've got the access to folks that know how to weld, you might look into having the face simply welded up with 'hard facing' rod. Just be sure to use the impact-resistant hard facing rod rather than the abrasion resistant variety. It will usually hit in the mid fifties on the rockwell scale, just like a heat-treated tool steel face plate.
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Rod for the anvil face?
 
Hard facing rod leaves behind material that is martensic or work harden able.

I've decided to just work harden the face of my 4140 block. The rebound is getting pretty good already. It will never be as good but cash is a bit tight as I've been outlaying for several larger projects.
 
Lieblad said:
Dont forget the cost of hardfacerod, energy, abrasives ,& time.
Behind the scenes, DIY anvils can run into good money.

A home made anvil, I would just use a steel block as is.
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Was thinking about it. I am just experimenting as of now so. If I find I like it, which I'm pretty sure I will, ill invest some more money this spring.
 
A good hardfacing rod like MG-710 or Stoody 1105 will leave a hardness of RC55 as welded..Fair warning, not cheap and one needs to know what they are doing to use them right.
 
I found some forks from a fork lift. Cut them up and re positioned them. Added a square tubing base. Anyone with thoughts please feel free. I'm new with very little direction.
 
There are some vids on YouTube for building forklift tine anvils.

If possible, you can also see if you can source some railroad track as a basis for your anvil.
 
NJBillK said:
There are some vids on YouTube for building forklift tine anvils.

If possible, you can also see if you can source some railroad track as a basis for your anvil.
Click to expand...

Thats what I originally had in mind as I seen a video of a guy making damascus on a big piece railroad track. Just not sure if I could get my hands on a piece. Cutting it to size would be a chore too..
 
I've only heard of hardfacing rod. Glad to read more on it. Thank you all.
 
I can't find a photo it, but a while back I saw a photo of an anvil made from two used fork lift tines. They cut the heavy back part off at 12" long on one and 10" long on the other. They cut the blade part at 24" long on the 12" one and 22" on the 10" one. These were laid on each other and welded along the seam to make a big "U". The ends of the "U" were welded on the cut off pieces of the forks so it stood up. It made a serviceable 150# bridge anvil with a 12X4X4" top.
 
I just got this little 108 lb. Mousehole at a pawnshop for cheap but, as you can see it needs some TLC.

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/19089828@N00/albums/72157660346902899

That's when I found this:

http://www.anvilmag.com/smith/anvilres.htm

The article notes several HSR that will work; the trick is to pre-heat the anvil. So I imagine that you could do the same building one from scratch.
 
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Questions for you Stacy, I'm thinking of doing the same thing for a bladesmith anvil, already got a good blacksmith anvil. I was thinking of using 1 1/2" 1045 and a 3/8"-1/2" spacer in the middle and welding outward for a near 100% weld. I was thinking of heat treating the flat bar first then welding, taking my time to not build up too much heat. Would 4140 work better for this application? And if I used either what hardness could I expect? Figure roughly a 5"x10" mild steel body with 1 1/2" or 2" thick hardface, so roughly a 7" tall by 5 or 6" wide anvil. Reason for the thick hard face is to prevent overheating during welding and loosing temper. Also gives me some room to mill off if it gets chipped or dinged.

No, this isn't something I have to have, but I've been wanting something like it for 15+ years, so I figured the only way I'm going to get one is to build it.

As for a normal anvil, there expensive, but I can't speak highly enough of Refflinghause anvils. Treat it rite and it'll last for generations.
 
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