Pritchel Hole Question

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SE18

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I sprang for this: http://www.harborfreight.com/55-lb-rugged-cast-iron-anvil-69161.html

was gonna build one from railroad rail but this is beefier and $80 something. Only thing missing is pritchel.

Do you think it would be worth it to try and drill one? Looks like face might be hardened and I didn't want to do a half-assed job.

I'm thinking maybe make a pritchel hole in a square steel, harden it and place it in the Hardy?

I'm just getting started in blacksmithing.

FIrst thing I think I'll try my hand out at is making blacksmithing tools and things to go in the Hardie
 
You can easily do without a pritchel hole -- not all anvils came with them anyway. My old Peter Wright, for instance does not have one but it's still a very serviceable bit of kit. At 55lbs, the HF anvil is unlikely to be your last if you stick with smithing for any length of time.

-frank
 
SE18 said:
I sprang for this: http://www.harborfreight.com/55-lb-rugged-cast-iron-anvil-69161.html

was gonna build one from railroad rail but this is beefier and $80 something. Only thing missing is pritchel.

Do you think it would be worth it to try and drill one? Looks like face might be hardened and I didn't want to do a half-assed job.

I'm thinking maybe make a pritchel hole in a square steel, harden it and place it in the Hardy?

I'm just getting started in blacksmithing.

FIrst thing I think I'll try my hand out at is making blacksmithing tools and things to go in the Hardie
Click to expand...

A pritchel hole is handy if you are going to do any hot punching but your idea of placing a bushing in the hardy hole should work as well. The good thing about that solution is it is reversible while drilling an additional hole is not. You can always add the hole later if you find it inconvenient to use your accessory.

Bob
 
I was lucky enough to find an anvil made from railroad rail at a yard sale. I've seen the Harbor Freight anvils in the store. And my best friend's father made his living forging in a die shop and had a home forge and anvils.

While it would be nice to have a big old anvil (and a place to put it), I'm happy with my rail anvil. It seems way more robust than the Harbor Freight ones I've seen.

Also Bob Korves is right - the reviews do not seem encouraging.
 
I scrapped a 250+ pound old American made anvil (in excellent shape) 2 years ago, with a Pritchel hole. For the cost of crating and shipping it to you in VA from NJ you could buy 4 anvils from Harbour Freight and throw them away when used. I would have given it free to anyone willing to haul it away, no takers, it was just entirely to big and heavy for most hobbyists to handle, very few modern machine shops use anvils today so I couldn't give it away.
 
I would have driven to NJ to pick it up; I did that to get a SB9A lathe
 
SE18 said:
I would have driven to NJ to pick it up; I did that to get a SB9A lathe
Click to expand...
You missed some great deals then, I also gave away (not scrapped, given to the first person that would haul it away) a Clausing 13 X 48 variable speed lathe that I used daily, in excellent condition with a few quirks however, and a 1960's Bridgeport J Head mill that was clapped out at best, if you could haul it away it was yours. I also had a fork lift.

After listing the machines on the local Craigslist they would show up in small cars and haggle over the price for hours. I offered to put a 2500 LB lathe into the trunk of a Honda Accord once, fortunately this did not happen. Often I was asked to hold it until next Saturday when "I can borrow my ex-Brother in laws pickup truck". They show up at the appointed time, The Ex Brother in Law has a pickup that has never seen anything more arduous then groceries, with a cover to boot. "Don't scratch the bed paint" they say, "Do you have any furniture blankets" they say.

At this point I kept what I wanted and scrapped the rest, it was simply not worth dealing with these people.
 
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