Blacksmithing and forging

[Lis2323]

The big Kanca anvil is coming on sale next week for $1400 Cdn.... it's supposed to be drop forged. https://www.princessauto.com/en/165-...t/PA0008927840

the price certainly is "reasonable" if the quality is there, considering that's about the same price per pound beat up junk is commanding

[Lis2323]

deleted effing duplicate post

[whtbaron]

At least it has some mass... just watching a couple 100 lb'rs at a local auction. A Swedish anvil that was desirable but badly chipped went for $700. A cheap looking London style anvil (poor imitation of a Peter Wright) went for $400. Think my 97 lb'r will do just fine at those prices...

[N2 Welding]

What do y'all think about a gas bbq grill / forge conversion ?

[52 Ford]

What do y'all think about a gas bbq grill / forge conversion ?

Um.... I'll come back to this tomorrow/later today. Insert beer emoji.

Sent from my Lincoln Buzzbox using Tapatalk

[VaughnT]

I like those Swedish anvils for their narrow faces. They have the same mass, but opted for a design that's tall and narrow.

Having a narrow face makes a lot of things easier, plus they look neat.

For the money, why not grab a chunk of mild steel that's suitably large and put some hard-facing rod on it? Most HF rods come out around 55RC "as welded", and a couple layers of that is more than enough to make a very nice anvil. Might not have the horn, but the horn really isn't necessary for 99% of the stuff people do - especially if you have a shop full of stuff you can bend around.

This stump anvil has always made me smile. I know I've seen triangular off-cuts in many a scrap pile back when I was traveling, but never thought to grab one up and put hard-facing rod on it. With a little work to blend things together, smoothing out the beads, maybe some sand blasting, you could have a real dandy of an anvil.



While small, it's got some great lines and wouldn't be hard to replicate in a larger size if you could source a big enough chunk of steel for the main body...

Love how the top is slumped over. Makes you wonder just how much work the poor lass has seen!



Just remember, there's nothing about a London Pattern anvil that's a "must have" for a shop. They're handy, but we all have more than enough tools to make the horn pretty redundant. Having a pritchel hole or the hardy hole is very handy for when you need to do things at the anvil, sure, but that's easy enough to fabricate into a home-brew anvil.

The real challenge is fabricating something that doesn't just look like a bunch of plates cobbled together. If you check out Grindstone250 on Facebook or wherever, you can really appreciate how much work he puts in to blending all his welds so that the repairs look pristine and you're left wondering if the anvil was ever damaged at all. Most every example I've seen where someone welds up an "anvil" for home use, they end up with something that looks like someone welded up a bunch of plates to make an "anvil".

We can do better. The goal should always be to fool the experts and have them believing you found some ancient artifact from an unknown land.

[whtbaron]

What do y'all think about a gas bbq grill / forge conversion ?

To burn propane? I don't see how you would keep enough heat in with that design. Most of the ones I've seen were just cut up to hold a brake rotor and was used to burn coal. You just end up with a small coal burning open forge.... which can be entirely workable for small projects. I still have a couple coal forges kicking around that I haven't had time to do anything with. Good coal isn't getting any easier to access either...

[whtbaron]

"We can do better. The goal should always be to fool the experts and have them believing you found some ancient artifact from an unknown land. "


Or better yet, get lucky enough to actually find the ancient artifact from an unknown land....

[N2 Welding]

To burn propane? I don't see how you would keep enough heat in with that design. Most of the ones I've seen were just cut up to hold a brake rotor and was used to burn coal. You just end up with a small coal burning open forge.... which can be entirely workable for small projects. I still have a couple coal forges kicking around that I haven't had time to do anything with. Good coal isn't getting any easier to access either...

just kicking the idea around while I’m shedding junk from my backyard. Come to think of it, it’s not a good idea. The lid is stainless steel though. Not sure if I’ll ever have a use for thin sheet stainless steel.

[whtbaron]

I suppose you could bend it down to a more square/rectangular shape, line it with firebrick and add a homemade burner....