[TheForge] chinese ASOs

Sat Mar 29 11:42:01 2003

As a maker of  specialized blade smithing anvils, I've looked at and tested
a lot of anvils in the past 15 years.
One of the main reasons that most new anvils being commercially manufactured
today are cast, is because it is so hard to get  perfect complete fusion
welds of anvils made from 2 or more pieces of metal.
The older forged anvils can vary considerably in hammer rebound (lively -to-
dead) depending on how successfully the makers controlled the welding
process. It was a real art, especially considering the lack of sophisticated
techniques available in the old days.
The most critical factor in hammer rebound, assuming that you have no metal
voids or bad welds, is the mass of metal directly under the spot you are
hammering. The vibrational harmonics of the metal are seriously degraded if
the metal has these imperfections, and I suspect that a brased joint woud
also degrade the VH.
To take  a questionable ASO casting and put a lot of time into it is a waste
of time. A person would be better off investing the time using a chunk of
structural steel and sculpting it to shape with a cutting torch and side
grinder, and hardening it in Gunther's super quench. (GSQ can only be safely
used for  simple medium carbon steels of less than >50 points of Carbon).
I make my anvils from 1340  double melt Crucible steel and harden the face
in GSQ.
I try to harden my anvil faces to between RC 45- RC 50.  Much softer, and
the face dings up too easily, Much harder and the edges tend to chip.
If you attempt to harden any large mass of tool steel you had better check
out the heat treating specs for it in the manufactures spec sheets or "The
Heat Treaters  Guide".
Chuck

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jerry Frost" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 1:42 PM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] chinese ASOs

> Basically anvils are such a large mass of metal they can't be heat treated
> like say a blade, hammer head, etc. Typically the anvil would be taken
from
> the forge / furnace and partially quenched, letting the residual heat from
> the body soak(?) back out and temper the face.
>
> There were a couple "traditional" ways to quench/temper anvils that I know
> of. Probably the most common was to suspend the hot anvil upside down in a
> large pond, creek, etc. The other way I know of was to direct a measured
> amount of water over a measured amount of time onto the face of the anvil.
>
> From what I've been told the second method is how Sodorfors heat treated
> their anvils. They had large water tanks with orifices sized for specific
> weights of anvils. The tanks were filled to a mark for a given anvil
weight
> and the valve opened. When the tank ran dry the anvil was quenched and
> tempered.
>
> Frosty
> ------------------------
> If it ain't forged
> it ain't real.
> Wrought iron is.
> The FrostWorks
>
> Meadow Lakes, AK.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dan Tull" <[email protected]>
> To: <[email protected]>
> Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 10:04 AM
> Subject: Re: [TheForge] chinese ASOs
>
>
> > Jerry,
> >
> > I don't understand the quench/ temper part.??
> >
> >
> > dan tull
> > georgia
> > abba, afc, S.C. psba, obg,sofa
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Jerry Frost" <[email protected]>
> > To: <[email protected]>
> > Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 1:48 PM
> > Subject: [TheForge] chinese ASOs
> >
> >
> > > Something I've contemplated and will try one of these days is putting
a
> > > steel face on a cast iron chinese junk anvil.
> > >
> > > It shouldn't be too hard to do:
> > >
> > > Grind the existing face smooth and make a matching steel plate.
> > >
> > > Build a heavy steel stand to hold the anvil upside down a foot or so
off
> > the
> > > ground.
> > >
> > > Put the steel plate on the stand, flux it, lay either brazing rod or a
> > thin
> > > sheet of brass on it, flux it and lay the anvil upside down on it.
> > >
> > > True it all up and build a big fire under and around it.
> > >
> > > Watch closely when it starts hitting bright red. When you see brass
> > running
> > > out of the joint rake the fire away and extinguish.
> > >
> > > After the braze is cool enough to hold, flip the anvil over and start
> the
> > > quench/temper.
> > >
> > > It's a thought anyway. <grin>
> > >
> > > Frosty
> > > ------------------------
> > > If it ain't forged
> > > it ain't real.
> > > Wrought iron is.
> > > The FrostWorks
> > >
> > > Meadow Lakes, AK.
> > >
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Phlip" <[email protected]>
> > > To: <[email protected]>
> > > Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 9:04 AM
> > > Subject: Re: [TheForge] Re: Power hammer questions
> > >
> > >
> > > >
> > > > Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...
> > > >
> > > > > The 55 LB H.F. ASOs that I have seen are porous and they do not
have
> > the
> > > > > necessary tool steel plate that a good cast anvil has.
> > > > > Darrell
> > > >
> > > > A friend of mine just dropped off a 55 lb HF cast steel, and it
looks
> > OK.
> > > > I'll likely hafta work on the horn to round it more- it's pretty
flat-
> > but
> > > > it looks like it will be ideal for my purposes, which is to basicly
> have
> > > > small, light anvils I can take with me to SCA events, and let them
> have
> > > > something to pound on.
> > > >
> > > > Think I'll likely buy a couple.
> > > >
> > > > Phlip
> > > >
> > > >  If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not
a
> > > > cat.
> > > >
> > > > Never a horse that cain't be rode,
> > > > And never a rider who cain't be throwed....
> > > >
> > > >
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