Cast steel anvils any good?

Danbo

Danbo

Joined
Nov 28, 1999
Messages
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Picking up a 170 lb cast steel anvil this weekend. Doesn't appear to be used, but has some surface rust and pitting. No marks on the anvil, so I don't know the manufacturer or where it was made. Rebound with a ball bearing is about half what a good old forged steel anvil is. Price is right; about half what you normally pay for a second hand anvil. Opinions???
 
I am lucky enough to have a selection of anvils ranging from 22 lb
139lb (85KG approx 180lb) and a 219 lb. The one I use the most is the
85 kg cast steel. I recon I can feel a bit more spring in the forged steel anvil but the small amount of forging I do it is not an issue.

Some of the guys that do a lot may have some imput but for me if you got a 170lb anvil at a good price I am sure you should have a grin from ear to ear.

Well done.

Offer to give it away see how many takers you would have. It would be a stampeed.

I actually leave my cast anvil out in the rain and sun. When finished I paint it with a layer of lynseed oil. Same with my leg vice. The lynseed oild works a treat just check it if you are in a high rain area ever month or so.

170 lb lucky devil.
Just my opinion
 
I've got a cast steel anvil from Harbor Freight and it's just slightly better than forging on the hood of a car. Seriously though, I can't complain too much because I've turned out some neat stuff with it and the price was right. After using it for a year or so the surface is work hardening. Bottom line: it's much better than no anvil. I've got my eye open for a good deal on a real one though.

BTW, be carefull "Picking up" this anvil. A double hernia could seriously hinder your forging. :D
 
Originally posted by Disco Stu
BTW, be carefull "Picking up" this anvil. A double hernia could seriously hinder your forging.
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Nah...Danbo could lift this over his head, right? :D

Hmmm...let's see...170lbs at 78 inches above ground plus ~250 lbs distributed throughout...

You'd make yourself a heckuva sledgehammer, Danbo!

:eek:

:D

:p

Dan
 
Danbo, they will probably give you a second one free if you could just grab two of them and carry them out together. Sorry, I just couldn't resist!
 
Danbo asked this on another forum as well and the following answer may be of help -

Are we having some mis-communication here? There is a HUGE difference between a cast STEEL anvil and a cast IRON anvil. I could be wrong, but I don't think I've ever seen a cast steel anvil advertised at Harbor Freight or Grizzly or any of those places. Cast IRON is soft, cast STEEL is not. A quick look at the Centaur Forge catalog shows nearly all of the high dollar anvils are made from cast STEEL, including the Mankel. The Peddinghaus anvils are advertised as 'the last drop forged anvil made'. That doesn't mean they are necessarily better, it just means they use an older technology to make their high quality anvils....
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Also with a cast IRON anvil the face can be hardened by welding on a piece of 1/2" (or more) steel plate - I've seen this done with several old large cast iron models - the cast iron still offers mass.
 
Whoever posted that is in fact wrong because I remember clearly buying the cast steel anvil. They also had cast iron anvil for less but I of course knew which was the better.
 
Sean-

As the man said he could be wrong, but the point I see is that just because an anvil is cast steel that it is inherently bad and that ain't so.
 
Originally posted by John Andrews
Danbo, they will probably give you a second one free if you could just grab two of them and carry them out together. Sorry, I just couldn't resist!
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If he could do that John, who in their right mind would stop him? :D
 
Originally posted by Wild Rose
just because an anvil is cast steel that it is inherently bad and that ain't so.
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I'll give you that Chuck. Also, I was too hard on my anvil, it does it's job. It's a fair deal for the price.
 
I have decided to hold off and save up a little more money, and buy a newer anvil of known manufacture. Might get a bigger one too. I'm thinking that this should be a one time purchase, and I want to get as good of an anvil as I can. Yes, I realize I will be paying a lot more.
 
I still don't understand why the price is so high on anvils. So they mold a huge chunk of steel. I realize there is some time involved in making the molds, but, holy cow! You would think they were made by 1000 naked virgins by the light of the moon.
 
John I've wondered about that too. Anybody have any good ideas? Oh, John thanks for the pics, I got a bit of amusement outta them. :D

Dave
 
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