Show me your ANVIL

[therealjakeg]

So I went to this auction and bought numbers of items dicounted to my liking, and while I was there I also picked up this anvil... So I made a small stand for it tonight. Nothing crazy but just a good base for whacking things on. Lets see others, dont be shy. This one is just 55lbs... Its gonna be painted as well just need to figure out a color..

<a href="http://s281.photobucket.com/albums/kk227/jakobgribble/?action=view&current=a1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk227/jakobgribble/a1.jpg" border="0" alt="Anvil"></a>

 

[Nealcrenshaw]

Show you my Anvil? Only my wife sees my anvil.

I do plan to pick one up from HF soon,now i just use my vise.it has a 5" square i use for my anvil. Don't paint it,keep it as it is. It looks good with a little shine to it.

 

[therealjakeg]

Right Right Right

 

[Full Size 66]

I still have to find a source but I'm told by the older guys that a good sized piece of railway rail works exelent. Nice and heavy, harder than hard, rings like a bell. They also say all the work it needs is to mill the top flat and the ends which ever way you like.

 

[Fighter-of-Wars]

Here is my collection so far.

 

[RustyBolts]

Yeah railroad track makes a good anvil. I have a piece that's 4 feet long and it weighs about 360 pounds. It came in handy straightening out some kinks in a bent frame rail of an old car. I think railroad track weighs about 90 pounds a foot.

I also have a piece that's about 10" long and it works pretty well as an anvil.

I have a couple of those big steel plates that railroad tracks sit on where they rest on the wood railroad ties, and they come in handy when you need something fairly flat to hammer something on or to use in a hydraulic press as a backing plate. The bottom side of them is pretty flat. You can walk along railroad tracks and find them lying there for free sometimes, along with railroad spikes, and other big hunks of good quality steel.

I think the tops of railroad tracks are induction hardened.

Those harbor freight 55 pound anvils are made out of cast steel or cast iron, and they're not as tough as a real forged steel anvil. I have one and use it a lot, but you can't hit something made of hard steel on it, or it'll make little dents in the surface of the anvil. When you hit one of those cast iron anvils with a hammer, it makes more of a thud noise compared to a real forged steel anvil that makes a loud high pitched ringing sound when you hit it -- like how Curly's head sounds when Moe hits him in the head with a ball peen hammer. gnuk gnuk

 

[KCarGuy]

I have a small anvil that was made out of a piece of RR Track. It was left behind by the previous owner of the house. it was Ruff-Cut with a Cutting torch. So I mounted it to a metal stand and took a grinder to it, smoothed out fairly nice and i have used it alot in the last 15 years.

 

[back2class]

Here is my collection so far.

THAT IS A REAL MANS WORKSHOP! Not the sissy "decorated" garage spaces I see way too many of on this site!

Ive got a 150 pound beast of an anvil out in the garage. Wish I used it more,

 

[c39er]

My anvil-paid $125.00 for it. Use it a lot!

 

[krusty the clown]

mine is made of railroad track as well. i'll try and get a pic up this afternoon.

 

[shovel]

Be careful with the 55 lb HF anvils. All the ones I have seen are cast iron. If used as an anvil it will break, therefore fullfilling that age old prophesy. Cast iron anvils are actually "anvil shaped objects". A cast steel one is ok, but nothing like a good, old anvil.
My .02

shovel

 

[KCarGuy]

Its Small, still alittle rough, But works great for straightening out old automotive trim pieces.

 

[Mattlt]

Railroad rail weights are represented in pounds per YARD. 55-60# is common for small lines 90 - 110#+ for the heavy lines.

 

[mesquiteforge]

Here's my favorite one(that I own)-126# Soderfore Paragon.

Here's my portable setup for blacksmithing group meetings and demonstrations, Buffalo Forge, Champion Blower, Columbian Post Vise, Hofi Hammer and about a ton of other assorted hand tools....

I also have a 100# Trenton and a 59#Hay Budden. I am on the lookout for a clean and crisp shop anvil 300# or larger, but am picky about quality when it comes to anvils and being in South Texas the availability of good old anvils is low.
Here is a beautiful anvil that belongs to the pictured smith-Bob Alexander. It is a 300+ # Peter Wright.... drool drool drool.....

 

[krusty the clown]

ok......i finally got some pics.

 

[snapmom]

 

[Vernmotor]

I got the biggist and the best one LMAO..had this thing for 15-20 years..use it all the time..

 

[snapmom]

 

[krusty the clown]

i plan on making a horn on mine as well, just not looking forward to all the grinding

 

[snapmom]

someone gave me both these anvils years ago. I have thought about the work it took to make the rail one.

 

[Dan1955]

rail comes in many different sizes. I've seen as small as 56 lb. and as large as 140lb. Some of the old mine rail is even smaller. The way they measure weight of rail is not by the foot, but by the yard. So 140lb. rail every 3ft. Rail is extremely hard and hard to machine.

 

[Bigrhamr]

An old blacksmith buddy of mine calls the Harbor Fright ones ASSHO's (Anvil Shaped Somewhat Hard Objects)

 

[Fatbrosracing]

Sorry to be late in the deal, it takes me forever to remember to take photos. This is my railway iron one I've had for years, almost indistructable, every couple of years I give it a grind up to smooth out the uglies. Drink can for size reference.

 

[Brad54]

Sorry to be late in the deal, it takes me forever to remember to take photos. This is my railway iron one I've had for years, almost indistructable, every couple of years I give it a grind up to smooth out the uglies. Drink can for size reference.

I've got a length of rail road rail about the same size, but it doesn't have the "horn" on the end...just straight rail.
I've had it for about a decade... I put a twisted wire cup on my angle grinder and took all the rust off it. It really seemed to burnish the metal, especially the top of the rail.
For the body of it, I shot it with Rust-oleum "hard hat" (or "high performance" Red. It's survived in Floriduh and Georgia humidity without any rust at all for the last 10 years.
Not only does it look better sitting in the shop, but it keeps your hands and clothes cleaner when you use it--you won't get rust on your hands while handling it.

-Brad

 

[Tman]

I am on the hunt for a good blacksmiths anvil. I toyed with smithing a bit and want to build up all the tools for it.

 

[mike's48]

This is my anvilRRtrack that I got from a box of junk at a auction for a buck. I think thats about the best deal i've ever got for a dollar.
Everybody wants me to grind and smooth the edges .... HELLO thats what makes it one of a kind. Somebody took a lot of time cutting that out and I wouldnt change it for anything.

 

[iajonesy]

I have a 200 lb. anvil that belonged to my great-grandfather, I'm 59 so you can figure how old it is. Also railroad rail is not induction hardened as that would make it way too brittle. The top of the rail (called the ball) is work hardened by the train wheels running on it.

Mike

 

[trackwelder]

Here is mine

 

[therealjakeg]

USA thats what I like to see!

 

[WVBrady]

rail comes in many different sizes. I've seen as small as 56 lb. and as large as 140lb. Some of the old mine rail is even smaller. The way they measure weight of rail is not by the foot, but by the yard. So 140lb. rail every 3ft. Rail is extremely hard and hard to machine.

90 lb rail must be pretty common. I remember years ago when I was working on a construction job that a guy told me that the 90 meant 90 lbs/ft. I knew it wasn't that heavy, so I said "Aw, I could put that piece (about 3 ft) over my head. The joke was on me, though, because when I lifted it over my head, all the rust fell down on me.

 

[Rte66Charlie]

Everything you ever wanted to know about rail.........

http://www.akrailroad.com/OnlineCatalog/RailJointBars/TeeRailSectionsData/tabid/76/Default.aspx

 

[buening]

I have a coworker that works at a railroad museum. He has access to 60, 75, and 90# rail sections. I think I may have him cut me a 1' section of the 90# rail to make an anvil out of.

 

[Desoto Iron]

This my 148 pound anvil made by Hay-Budden Manufacturing, Brooklyn, NY. Serial number dates it to 1913. The wooden base adds another 140 pounds. Bought it about 6 years ago for $85.


I also have one of these for light work.

 

[Jack Olsen]

200 pounds of Mexican knock-off, I suspect.

 

[Lippyp]

I have an old double bicked anvil I picked up in an auction a few years ago, it needs a clean up and a stand making (or I need a large stump) It goes with the bottom draught forge I'm halfway through making, I've been collecting blacksmiths tools for a few years when I come across them as its something I want to do as a new career when my kids go to school (I'm a full time stay at home dad at the moment) Got a couple of leg vises, a load of navil and hand tools too. Just need the space to set it all up.

 

[crankshaftdan II]

Re: Show me your ANVIL-Teannney little-one!

Mine is a model BSD-32, has a few nicks and scratches, works great on small stuff!

 

[Greg9504]

Picked this up two years ago. Paid way too much but supposedly it was a good deal. Peter Wright 176 lbs. I have it on a base now... It came from a government machine shop.

 

[BanjoSavesTheDay]

Peter Wright anvils are by far my favorite! I've never seen with the horn turned upwards like that though. Does it serve a specific purpose?

 

[Desoto Iron]

Peter Wright anvils are by far my favorite! I've never seen with the horn turned upwards like that though. Does it serve a specific purpose?

Well... that one spot on the anvil is painted ****** blue...

Even if the price was "way too much" (isn't it always?), this is a very nice anvil. And 176 is a good weight, also.

 

[MMW]

This anvil was in my Dad's farm shop in Florida since at least the 50's, now moved to Texas. It has an eagle cast in one side and " 150 " cast in one leg. Dad said that my brother and I could " tear up an anvil " and you can see from the damage to the top that we tried. kids !