Making Anvil

N

Natlek

Joined
Jun 9, 2015
Messages
6,182
I found in scrapyard two big pieces of stainless hardened steel .They are probably from food industry around me. One side on both pieces is all semicircles channels , I have no idea what this was for but it doesn't matter.
Dimension are on drawing . So what do you think if i weld them together all around and use it as Anvil ??? I haven't taken them yet , I better ask first ...
6IInxV0.png
 
Last edited:
You might drill some holes in one, do plug welds, and then use the opposite side as the anvil face.
I think this would make a very good striking anvil, for use with a striker or a couple of strikers...
 
Hmm, if somebody said they found 16 pieces of 1/4" sheet metal and they wanted to weld them all around like you show in your drawing to make a 4" wide anvil, I would not think it's a good idea. Eight 1/2" pieces, four 1" pieces, two 2" pieces? At what point does the concept of an anvil made from pieces welded only around the perimeter start to make sense (if it ever does)? I don't have a good answer for it, but I would not want to waste my time on it just based on that. And then there is also the question of how to weld hardened stainless steel...
 
That's why I thought it would be good as a striking anvil. They are often made of 2" mild steel... Having double that even if welded, would work well.
 
I'm no expert, but my gut would tell me to lap them as flat as possible and bolt them together from below with blind holes. This would suck the two plates into contact as firmly as possible and prevent the gap between them acting as a spring, impacting the rebound and feel. You could weld around the perimeter for good measure too, but the bolts would make a big difference in helping the two plates behave as one.
 
I am curious how it ends, thinking a bubble between plates unless you spot weld randomly and slowly. Thinking very high amp stick welding.
 
I like the idea of using blind bolts from the bottom side. 25mm bolts would work well. After bolting the plates together, set the "plate anvil" on a 30X30cm ( 12X12") upright wooden beam or a section of an oak tree ( or other hardwood). Drill out a recess where the bolt heads are so it lays flat and won't hop around. This will add a lot of mass below the plates and make a good anvil stand.
 
  • Like
Reactions: weo
CallumRD1 said:
I'm no expert, but my gut would tell me to lap them as flat as possible and bolt them together from below with blind holes. This would suck the two plates into contact as firmly as possible and prevent the gap between them acting as a spring, impacting the rebound and feel. You could weld around the perimeter for good measure too, but the bolts would make a big difference in helping the two plates behave as one.
Click to expand...
Both pieces are exactly the same dimension. Both are surface ground from all side .Put them one over other they create vacuum .......They are some kind of tool and obviously they are pair.I will take them in Monday ............Steel is cheap here ,one kilo cost half dollar .All is iron here when you sell them or buy from them ,only price is different .No steel grade in scarp yards .........
Guys , what I was thinking was to use this part/red color / as anvil face ?? That is 30 x 10 cm working surface , isn't that enough ? I don t need 30x30 working face ,what is the benefit of that size ? And i was thinking that mass , length behind working face was what we count in anvil as good ? I know that anvil are not fully hardened steel , that just working part is hardened to some depth .That s why I asked are fully hardened steel good for anvil . . .
I like idea to join them just with some M10 bolts and no weld .They fit perfectly and joint line would be almost no visible .I can drill holes that size in them .
I have two small Anvil . One is factory one , other one i make some years ago .Original one is ringing like .......it is to loud even with ten magnet on it .The one I make is short .............So I need other one .
K6zSDDr.jpg

xeWCjJf.jpg

This is what i was thinking ...............to use this side as anvil face ?
8upE003.png

 
Last edited:
I didn't watch the vid, Natlek, but if you have a ring magnet, try it on the very horn of your anvil. I have a really ring-y old Peter Wright that all the magnets, chain, etc wouldn't quiet. And then I heard about that magnet on the tip of the horn. (Just remembered, I got that tip from the lead blacksmith at Centaur Forge, a major blacksmith supply company in the USA.) Quieted it down dramatically. Hope it might help your ringy anvil, too.

I am eager to see how your anvil project works out. Best wishes with it!
 
Hubert S. said:
Hmm, if somebody said they found 16 pieces of 1/4" sheet metal and they wanted to weld them all around like you show in your drawing to make a 4" wide anvil, I would not think it's a good idea. Eight 1/2" pieces, four 1" pieces, two 2" pieces? At what point does the concept of an anvil made from pieces welded only around the perimeter start to make sense (if it ever does)? I don't have a good answer for it, but I would not want to waste my time on it just based on that. And then there is also the question of how to weld hardened stainless steel...
Click to expand...
Hubert my friend ...let me tell you something about me .I make a lot of money, and I mean that by Western standards not Macedonian .I can afford to buy a lot of things. It is not a problem for me to order from Japan fishing reel for a thousand euros and a fishing rod for 500 euros .... So I can afford to buy best belt grinders ,HT ovens or whatever I want associated with the making of knives . Only problem is where to buy them????????? Here in Macedonia ??? Should I pay for transportation from USA to here ?? Some day I broke the last drill bits /4mm/ for drilling ceramics and all i can find here is some junk from China .So i need to order them from Austria , Germany .........
Now about anvil.........there used to be a dozen blacksmiths in my town, no anvils! They most likely ended up in the scrap as scrap iron.In fact, there was one blacksmith ...only one now , two hundred meters from me. An old man, he opens a shop every day and doesn't do anything, he spends his retirement days with some other old people there talking . . .
I offered him to buy that anvil and that I would accept the price without bargaining.....He just laughed and said even if I paid him in gold in the weight of the anvil, he wouldn't sell it to me !
So , do you have any idea how and where can I find and buy Anvil , and not to cost me a kidney ?
Just one more thing ............... $ 4,000 for four small Al wheels, a bit of steel and 2Hp motor ?????? Not in this life my friend , not in this life ! I would build it my self for 200 $ !
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top