Scored a free anvil tonight!

Hey fellas,

I'm not a blacksmith...just yet anyway. That said, I do find having something around that I can hammer my projects on extremely useful. I've been using this cruddy, 55lb (actually, 52lb) Chinese anvil for quite awhile that until recently, always left transfer marks on my work pieces because of the poor quality grind on the face of the anvil.



A couple weeks ago, I was doing some work on a project and in my haste I forgot to put down my metal flashing that I used as a shield to keep the pieces from getting transfer marks. My project was ruined and I was fed up. So I did what I know I'm not supposed to do and took my angle grinder to face and smoothed it out. While I was at it I stripped the paint and smoothed out the casting marks on the horn. After which I coated it with boiled linseed oil and let it cure in the sun for a week. Turned out nice...but I was basically putting lipstick on a pig.





Well, all that said, my neighbor and I were talking and I mentioned that I was looking for a better anvil because of the aforementioned issues. He said that he's got one out on his farm that he'll get for me next time he runs out there. It was apparently his dad's and it was old and rusting away and he was just happy to give it to someone that would take care of it. He called me today and told me he had to run out there this week and brought me the anvil. He knew nothing of the brand or the size, but free was free, and knowing it was old, I could only assume it was better than what I am currently using.

So it turns out it's a Kohlswa 70lb anvil. I don't know much about anvils, but from what I've briefly read, it seems that this is quite a quality anvil. As you all can see though, it's pretty rusty, but otherwise in pretty darn good shape!

I need a friend like that!

Can't beat free! Take it to an automotive machine shop and have them run it through their shot blaster. In fifteen minutes, you won't recognize it, as it will look like new.

jack vines

Packard V8 said:

Can't beat free! Take it to an automotive machine shop and have them run it through their shot blaster. In fifteen minutes, you won't recognize it, as it will look like new.

jack vines

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That's a good idea Jack!

Hey btw, did you ever get my private message?

Also, since you're concerned about finish on your parts, have the automotive machine shop mill the top on their head surfacer. Again, only takes a few minutes after they stop bitching about having no way to clamp it to their table.

jack vines

Packard V8 said:

Also, since you're concerned about finish on your parts, have the automotive machine shop mill the top on their head surfacer. Again, only takes a few minutes after they stop bitching about having no way to clamp it to their table.

jack vines

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Thanks Jack, that's a good idea!

On those 55 pounders I had a blacksmith tell me you could get the top cherry red turn it upside down and dip it in motor oil to harden...

Don't mill the top.
De-rust it, (maybe electroalysis), and flap grind the top as needed.
That is too nice of an anvil to ruin by trying to machine the top.
Don't do it.

leg17 said:

Don't mill the top.
De-rust it, (maybe electroalysis), and flap grind the top as needed.
That is too nice of an anvil to ruin by trying to machine the top.
Don't do it.

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Yeah I actually joined a blacksmithing forum and asked a similar question and got the same response - "DON'T MILL THE TOP". They suggested a course very much like what you said.

I would flap grind the whole thing, probably take less then an hour, who wants to lug it around to clean it up? If a top is too damage, it can be replaces. The anvil isn't all one piece. The top is a harder metal. Look close you can see the seam.

Chekc out the https://www.iforgeiron.com/ web site as they seem to be good group and very willing to help with anvil identification, etc.

leg17 said:

Don't mill the top.
De-rust it, (maybe electroalysis), and flap grind the top as needed.
That is too nice of an anvil to ruin by trying to machine the top.
Don't do it.

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It is definitely possible to 'ruin' a rusty anvil by overzealously hand grinding the top, but just how is the top of an anvil ruined by a light clean-up pass on a surface grinder? When new, anvils are machine ground flat. Direct from their product description.

Peddinghaus Anvils are Drop-Forged and Produced Entirely from High Grade Steel for Maximum Durability. The Top Face is Ground

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The OP was concerned about the surface finish left on his workpieces.

I would flap grind the whole thing, probably take less then an hour,

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For true, one could clean the non-work surfaces with an angle grinder. However, the work surface can be damaged. A surface which was originally machine ground flat can be damaged by a hand-held grinder. When we get one of those, the first pass of the surface grinder shows the hand grinding left hills, hollows, divots and we have to grind more than usual to get it back to flat.

His anvil, his money, but

left transfer marks on my work pieces because of the poor quality grind on the face of the anvil.

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if he wants a smooth work surface, there are ways to get it.

jack vines

Evening fellas!

I thought I'd give everyone a quick update on where I'm at with my Kohlswa anvil!

I decided to try something new with de-rusting this fella. Electrolysis. Firstly, I'll say that it's incredibly simple to do.

Here's my quick and dirty set-up. My wife walked out in the garage to ask me if I knew where the purple rubbermaid that she had just emptied and left in the living room was and caught me drilling holes in the side red handed. I, of course, denied any knowledge of the whereabouts of it. I don't think it worked, but she turned around and walked away, so I carried on.



Wired ten 12'' pieces of rebar together around the edges and put a bolt through the pritchel hole. Mixed up the washing soda (sodium bicarbonate) and added the anvil to the mix after taking a wire brush to it to knock off most of the loose scale.



Powered on at near 6pm sharp. Bubbles started right away...that's a good sign.

30 mins later:



Just checked it a few mins ago (now 10pm). It's been in four hours now. Can already tell a big difference:



More updates to follow!

So I finished up the electrolysis today around noon. It really did a great job removing the rust, but left a fair amount of black residue. I thought I about leaving it as I did like the color, but even though I dried it really fast, there were some divots that flash rusted.



So I then took a brass brush to it to knock off some of the flash rush but anywhere I used the brush the black residue was removed as well. I ended up just brushing the entire anvil for an even surface.



And then after blowing off the dust with my compressor, I gave it a light coating of boiled linseed oil and have it baking in the Texas sun. I'll leave in to cure out for a few more days and may even do another light coating. All in all, I'm really pleased with how she turned out.



And lastly, just a quick Before/After for good measure

Damn, that turned out nice and best of all, free is the best price.

Free? It cost him (or his wife) a bucket, soda and electricity!! I'd leave the top as is while I got used to it, then maybe a rub over with a (?new, more cost?) fine or 2nd cut file to knock some of the high spots off.

great find (and friend)..
I'm also in the market for an anvil, but just can't seem to run across anyone looking to get rid of one that wants less than $5 lb for it..

That turned out great.
The rags from the boiled linseed oil should be burned or otherwise disposed of properly. They can and will spontaneously combust. Maybe you know this already, but it never hurts to put that PSA out there.

tapered-pin said:

great find (and friend)..
I'm also in the market for an anvil, but just can't seem to run across anyone looking to get rid of one that wants less than $5 lb for it..

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Keep asking around. Even mention it to folks you don't think would be able to help. While my mentioning to my neighbor was organic due to the conversation, it sure paid off!

Username already in use said:

That turned out great.
The rags from the boiled linseed oil should be burned or otherwise disposed of properly. They can and will spontaneously combust. Maybe you know this already, but it never hurts to put that PSA out there.

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Yup, I'm aware, but definitely good to put it out there!