Cast steel anvil?

RJSakowski said:
They certainly could. The issue is the price point. "Name Brand" anvils are going for around $7/ lb.
ref,
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I thought the issue was “is a new Vevor cast steel anvil any good?”
I don’t have a Vevor.
But the Harbor freight Doyle cast steel anvil IS indeed very good. It’s $2.30 a pound.
 
jwmay said:
I thought the issue was “is a new Vevor cast steel anvil any good?”
I don’t have a Vevor.
But the Harbor freight Doyle cast steel anvil IS indeed very good. It’s $2.30 a pound.
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A while back I paid $0.70/lb for cut off steel (253lbs), so having a finished anvil at $2.30/lb doesn't sound that bad at all. Not likely for us to go back to 1930's pricing...
 
WobblyHand said:
A while back I paid $0.70/lb for cut off steel (253lbs), so having a finished anvil at $2.30/lb doesn't sound that bad at all.
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Which reminds me. Any big chunk of steel will work just fine. But I wanted a Nimba anvil for a long time. The Doyle is like a baby cousin I can afford. Lol
Bryan Brazeal has made his living working hot iron on a big rectangular block of steel on legs.
 
jwmay said:
I thought the issue was “is a new Vevor cast steel anvil any good?”
I don’t have a Vevor.
But the Harbor freight Doyle cast steel anvil IS indeed very good. It’s $2.30 a pound.
Click to expand...
That is the question. The vendor doesn't specify an alloy. "Premium cast steel" could be a decent medium to high carbon steel, capable of hardening, or it could be something like 1010 or 1015, which can be heat treated but not hardened.

There has been a lot of discussion concerning "Chinesium" iron/steel on this forum. The Chinese can make very good products. They have sent rockets to the moon and built the largest internal combustion engine in the world, standing 16 meters high. They can also make crap. So where on that spectrum does the Vevor anvil fall?

However, the ultimate test is in the use. If it is performing satisfactorily and meets your needs, certainly at less than $2/ lb,, the price point is great.
 
jwmay said:
Which reminds me. Any big chunk of steel will work just fine. But I wanted a Nimba anvil for a long time. The Doyle is like a baby cousin I can afford. Lol
Bryan Brazeal has made his living working hot iron on a big rectangular block of steel on legs.
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Yep, it's easy to forget that a lot of anvils throughout history haven't looked like the classic London-pattern we all think of when we hear the word anvil. A lot of blade smiths have gone to a vertical post style anvil that's either square or round and maybe 5-6" across...sort of the Sea Robin style.

I still prefer having tool/alloy steel that's hardened to give some rebound and resist dings/dents, but I've certainly used big chunks of mild steel...heck, even round pipe to forge on, when I needed a specific shape...works fine.

I really wish someone would do a hardness test on the HF anvil and it would be really interesting if someone could run a spectral analyzer over one. There's gotta be somebody with access to one out there who likes anvils!
 
G-ManBart said:
I really wish someone would do a hardness test on the HF anvil
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Almost all the videos I watched used hardness files.

We finally found my limit though. I don’t care if there’s a dead cat in the middle of my anvil. I don’t have any interest in testing hardness, or x rays, or core samples. Lol

Everyone who made a video sort of reluctantly admits the Vevor, and the Doyle are as good as any other according to their experience, which you can watch. Hard to fake intentionally striking the edge of the anvil with a 5 pound sledge.
Is anybody even watching these videos I keep linking? The responses seem to say no. Lol
 
jwmay said:
Almost all the videos I watched used hardness files.

We finally found my limit though. I don’t care if there’s a dead cat in the middle of my anvil. I don’t have any interest in testing hardness, or x rays, or core samples. Lol

Everyone who made a video sort of reluctantly admits the Vevor, and the Doyle are as good as any other according to their experience, which you can watch. Hard to fake intentionally striking the edge of the anvil with a 5 pound sledge.
Is anybody even watching these videos I keep linking? The responses seem to say no. Lol
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OK, Watched the video (also the previous videos). They definitely left some dents in the anvil face and chipped edge as well. I'm afaraid I like my anvil too much to try this experiment on mine and it is definitely over the top regarding abuse. A Rockwell hardness test would be enlightening. If don, it should also be done on competitive anvils to mean anything though. Some of the marketing literature for anvils claim an Rc of up to 62 on medium carbon steel anvils. From what I have seen, medium carbon steel like 4140 tops out at around 38 Rc.
 
I've watched several those videos, including the ones using the Japanese scratch hardness test files.
My conclusion, subject to the usual Chinese variable quality control.... Good enough for what I intend to do.
I will make a few hardies for my use. They won't be "professional" but likely work for the little use they will be subject to. I have a melt furnace that can turn steel plenty hot so I'm unlikely to need a forge for now.
 
I actually have a very old, portable forge that used coal and a hand cranked blower. I've never used it, and forging quality coal is expensive to buy and even more expensive to ship. But it might be fun to try. Maybe with BBQ briquets?
 
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