[TheForge] How bad are the HF cast anvils?

[Ken Showalter]

I have both the 110lb and 55lb same as HF advertises but from a local dealer
in DE. The 55lb has a carbon steel face and the 110lb appears to be solid
steel. They both have a nice ring and bounce to them , but as others have
noticed in the  past they also have soft faces and ding easily. I plan to
try and temper the faces using  a recipe from Alexander Weygers: The
complete Modern Blacksmith ; Chpt 25: "How to make a small anvil from a
railroad tie" where he shows how to temper an anvil in a coal forge fire
using fire bricks and cast iron pipe, a tricky 10 step process that draws
the entie face to a straw color before quenching. Looks like I would need a
lot of help , may get BGOP to help me.
     I tried to make an anvil out of a railroad tie but after using up abot
$30-40 worth of gas with my cutting torch and still more to cut  I bought
the 55lb anvil for $49  and just recently got the 110lb($62 with a small
edge chip) for heavier work. They'll do the job for us partimers and
tempered they may turn out to be a real bargain. HF does sell a 55lb cast
iron version and it is a dud or a doorstop whichever you prefer.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Adam Whiteson" <adam@whiteson.org>
To: <theforge@mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, December 28, 2001 10:20 PM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] How bad are the HF cast anvils?


> I would bet $$ that "cast steel" in this case is really just cast iron and
> cast iron is not a great material for an anvil.  Someone in this list did
> say, (this is a while back),  that he bought a bunch as student anvils for
> a class he ran and that they did the job.  I guess it's surely better than
> no anvil at all.  But they still cost $100 and that is too much to spend
on
> something that's really just a stopgap.
>
> Adam
>
>
>
> At 09:28 AM 12/28/2001 -0600, you wrote:
> > From another list I've seen a request for information on the Harbor
Freight
> >110lb anvil.
> >
> >http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=46707
> >
> >They say its "cast steel."  Anyone ever seen one of these beasties?
Their
> >products are generally, uhm... "less than desirable", but you can still
> >find some good deals.
> >
> >I know their cast iron anvils aren't any good, but I hadn't seen the
"cast
> >steel" before.  At 1/4 of the price of a Czech anvil, its starting to
look
> >good, if it isn't just a boat anchor.
> >
> >Thanks
> >
> >Michael
> >
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