How Big of an Anvil Do You Need for Good Forgework? [Pro Tip #35]

[@20mcarroll02]

Good info as always. I started on a 35ish pound railroad track anvil. I have since upgraded to a 70 pound fisher which i love. And i am paying on a 125ish pound fisher. Currently, i make really simple small stuff that i sell at a local country store. The proceeds from those few sales go directly towards that bigger anvil. That being said, i would like to get up to around a 200-250 pounder. Plenty big enough for my intended uses, and still small enough to use in my current forging area. Keep up the great vids. And God bless.

[@jaredlariscey1037]

Big anvils are like gold, they hold there value. And yes you gave me anvil envy, you got a beauty thanks!

[@williambarnhartblacksmith414]

I was just watching your old video on this topic again the other day. Lol

[@philipprigmore8723]

Great information as all of your videos provide. I would have added one additional comment. When purchasing your first anvil, don't go overboard spending all your money on the anvil. I started with anvil like objects and worked my way up to my current anvil. With all the new interest in blacksmithing and bladesmithing the price per pound for anvils has risen to 4 to 5 dollars this would make your anvil cost over $2000.00. Buy what you can realistically afford, or find a friend with a number of anvils and see if that person will work out a deal to take payments.

[@BlackBearForge]

Francis Whitaker always used an anvil of about 150 pounds. But I still really like larger anvils (except for banging my thigh on the horn as I walk by)

[@ChristCenteredIronworks]

Yep LOL I know how that feels

[@BrianDaleNeeley]

Most people ONLY think about the anvil itself, and ignore what it sits on or how (or even if) it is attached to that base. Having a really solid base, with the anvil firmly affixed, makes more of a difference than absolute anvil weight. I think if you set Olga in the back of a pickup's bed, and also had a small (say 120#) anvil firmly strapped to a solid, heavy base; you would find the small anvil superior for heavy work. If you are only making S hooks or small tongs, either setup would suffice, but anything larger (say hammer heads over 5 pounds) would really start to show the importance of a substantial base. I don't have any empirical evidence (ie: experience) to support this, but that's my considered opinion (based on assumptions and not much else 😜). Also, is it just me, or does anyone else get irked when someone refers to any large chunk of steel used to hammer metal into shape on as an ASO? An Anvil Shaped Object is just that: something that has the general shape of either a German of London style anvil, but isn't well suited for smithing. Glen (Glen GS Tongs) has three small (under 100#) blocks of steel that look nothing like a London or German style anvil, but they are most certainly anvils. ASOs may *look* like a blacksmith's tool, but are at best a poor substitute for a simple block of steel.

[@standaffern6595]

You don't have to go much further that googling inertial mass to find you are in good company. Both Einstein and Newton flirted with this theory. Think if you will about a 25 lb anvil sitting on a 100 lb anvil, and both sitting on a scale. Total weight is 125 lbs. (Gravitational mass). Then hit the forge material on the 25 lb anvil with a 2 lb hammer. The work is only happening between the 25 lb'r and the hammer. The other anvil is merely acting as the stump.the small anvil will most likely jump. You have a 25lb inertial mass. Now strap them together to make them one. They still weigh 125 lbs. Gravitational mass. But now you also have a 125 lb inertial mass. You have to swing the hammer much harder to get the larger mass to even move perceptibly. I have a 105 lb anvil strapped solidly to a dense 300+ sand filled base, and it is like hitting a 400 lb anvil, if you stay in the sweetspot of the anvil.

[@HickokForge]

Good video, I started first with an ASO, anvil shaped object, from my local Big R. I don't recommend that. They are not hardened cast iron and tend to be very soft and light. The face got dented pretty quickly. I was able to make a few pairs of tongs on it, anvil sitting in the dirt and moving all over the place, it wasn't ideal. It was a start though. I then moved on to a 70# NC Big Face farrier anvil and I love it, especially because it was only $270ish. The Big Face, as the name implies, has a bigger face but one good thing about farrier anvils is all the extra nooks and crannies, I've used every inch of my anvil at some point on different projects. I tend to make more knives right now than anything else so I am constantly drawing out the metal to make the length I want. The horn of the farrier's anvil carries a lot of the weight and helps with that. All said and done, I have committed one of the seven deadly sins, Envy. I do have anvil envy but I am going to remedy that within the next year or so by (with my wife's approval) buying a 300-400 pound anvil. I'm looking at a Refflinghaus since I only want to buy once. There is a saying, I'm too poor to buy cheap. While a Refflinghaus is going to set me back quite a bit, it is a high quality anvil. Then again from a business stand point, it will make it all that much longer until my business has paid me back and I start making a profit. Trade offs.

[@JustinTopp]

I moved from a small little 30 lbs railroad chunk that I used for a year to a 150 lb Henry wright for about 2 years. And just today I’ve purchased a mint condition ~250 lb fisher Norris anvil. I hope it to be my main anvil for many years until i upgrade to a kohlswa b36 south German pattern. My dream anvil

[@a-k-jun-1]

I have been told by senior smiths that there are 2 catagories fir anvil purchases. The two choices are as follows, of you can afford it buy the biggest anvil that fits in your work space. The other choice is to buy the biggest anvim that you can afford. I've always felt that about sums it up.

[@paulwharton3488]

Another good video. I was blessed with a 250 lb London pattern that can still be moved if needed but you just demonstrated I need to make a smaller hardyhole like yours. A possible video maybe?

[@Kaleb.R]

Question. How did you get that anvil in there?

[@MedievalMan]

What about an anvil on a block of steel as a "stand"? Like a 130 lbs. mounted on a solid steel for extra mass? Would it rebound as if it were a larger anvil?

[@thomvogan3397]

Another down side to a small striking surface is when you're banging a longer piece flat. Good luck doing that on the end of a hammer

[@jmullens90]

What are the face dimensions of your anvil?

[@roadhandviking2741]

I make knives, tomahawks and a lot of this and that. From my research ( both online and talking with experienced Blacksmiths ) a 120 lbs anvil would be good for my needs , also I'd probably never outgrow it. If you have time id really appreciate your opinion

[@ChristCenteredIronworks]

You can't go wrong with the biggest Anvil you can reasonably afford.unless you need to move it around a bunch in and out a garage I would suggest 250 or larger.. Good luck and God bless :-)

[@kevingrubb9835]

Haha come on man we all know Ulga is the star of the show

[@therealsourc3]

Can i make a pole of welded sheet metal then fill it with concrete to make an aso? I reckon the only issue will be the concrete cracking up underneath the striking surface, but i can fit a thicker slab of metal underneath the surface to fix that

[@standaffern6595]

All you got to do is go to the the Black bear community forum, where I posted 3 different versions of building ASOs and sand filled bases. Yesterday.

[@therealsourc3]

@@standaffern6595 eyy thanks, i didn't know about this bb forum :)

[@cs-rj8ru]

Ah...Ha....You know when your "8" lb anvil is inserted into your 400lb anvil, it's effectively a "408" pound mini anvil. You're compounding mass there boss.

[@huntintrailmetals9343]

How much does an anvil like that cost? If you don’t mind me asking

[@Banjoandguns]

4-8$ a pound

[@realistmabeyea4921]

Please repost. 66 pound anvil. It works.

[@1ton4god]

I was wondering I have a bunch of hammerheads that I absolutely love. As in like 20! Or more. They all either are missing handles yeah, or the heads are loose. Can you direct me in some place to get like a good basic wood to make Hammer handles or a place that I can buy really nice heavy duty Hammer handles for small Hammers and big hammers Etc? I'm not a blacksmith I'm interested in it a little bit. I am a welder fabricator. I love to restore hammers. But have not had good luck with finding good wood to put in the handle so I haven't done many in a long time. I know this is no video hopefully you see this or if anyone else wants to comment on this I would love to hear your thoughts? And God bless you brother. Love the fact that you're representing Christ.

[@willywantoknow2563]

Obviously bigger is better and lighter is good for shows. But the big relatable question is "what is the limits of an anvil by weight?" Between a 50kg and 75kg what jobs would be these anvils be catagorized for? "When would you notice the anvil is too small for a job?"

[@goranzivkovic7254]

650 lbs