I am 24 years old. I got a job in construction as labor when I turned 18. It was very hard for me to get out of the fast food work ethic that I had, but through watching your videos I learned to love the work and I am now working as a carpenter. My boss just gave me another considerable raise, is paying for me to get CDLs, and is going to put me into a local school for construction blueprint reading and building construction management. Thank you for these videos. You have taught me to invest in the work I do, and the work is starting to invest back into me.
I go to Florida Tech and we have a construction management degree course track, since I’m studying Civil engineering I work through those courses with them also. We have students getting a 4 year degree at a school that cost 62k a year for that degree. You’re getting that same degree on a way less expensive experience. Legally all the courses have to be on the same level of quality or your degree is void. Great work
Dude, in a world going to shit your testimony is like a candle flame overcoming the darkness of the abyss. Good fucking for you my man, remember if a job ever begins to make you not care, not to take pride in your work, bounce before that happens. Your worth your weight in gold and don't ever forget that.
I just stumbled upon this video. I have no particular interest in either anvils or blacksmithing, but I still found this video both interesting and informational. Thanks for sharing.
I work steel as part of fabrication I do. I could not find a good steel anvil so I talked to a foundry in Phoenix AZ and they cast a chrome molly steel anvil from a wooden mold I gave them. That anvil has been a great asset to my work.
I’m mildly interested in stuff like this but your delivery and information had me glued. I usually do 2-3 things at once (multitasking myself into an early grave) but this video had my stopped and motionless for the duration. Good on you Mate. Cheers.
@@lovesloudcars Every time I drive by an old rickety barn that’s falling, or has fallen, down I wonder if there’s an old anvil in there waiting to be rescued.
@@bahmdiggity9577 that's funny. I've had similar thoughts, though I tend to watch for old vehicles machines and engines. Picked up a 59 Chev Apache pickup a couple weeks ago ( not that I need any more projects...) I'm behind on posting videos let alone completing projects!! Happy pounding my friend.
Thanks I have an old Kohlswa anvil. It has rough edges but it is flat and true. I installed it on a stump from my own property and it is now an heirloom for my family and I.
Am 61 yrs old and I learned something new today. Been around tools all my life, graduated from Nashville Auto Diesel College in `80, joined the USN in 88. Engineering can be a fun, rewarding field pending on what you are doing. I like to tinker with woodworking now, have pulled my fair share of wrenches. Growing up in rual WV nearly every farm I can remember had an anvil, some had forges. A do remember the ring they made when hit with a hammer, the rebound I am unsure of. Thanks for making this video, it was good to see you again.
I think I remember you, we may have worked in the same trucking company shop, I was the guy from Alabama, I ended up driving for them and later returned to alabama.
I have a relatively small fully cast steel anvil from an unknown manufacturer, a medium sized cast steel with a forge welded face Brookes England, and a large forged anvil from another unknown manufacturer. And i was able to identify the way each was made, by all of the signs you've mentioned. Each of them was a rescue from a different place and i am happy i can give them a home where they're useful and not just decorative.
Back in Junior High School (in the late '50s) we were offered "Metal Shop" as an elective. One thing I clearly remember is the massive anvils we had rang like church bells. It was a true joy (to me, at least) to hammer a piece of steel into shape on those anvils. I'd have never known to have checked, but I'll also bet those anvils had excellent rebound - they almost felt alive.
@@alexhayden2303 Yes, It was called Future Homemakers of America, or something like that, wasn't it? I had forgotten all about that. I mourn the passing of the America that was. 😢
Wow , loads of information . I still have my granfathers anvil that he used when repairing things on his river boat among other things, he was a very talented man along with his brothers. I will have to check it out and try to identify it thanks again.
What ever else you do, don't loose that anvil! That is something which represents your family history and your family needs to be aware of it's value, particularly the female members of your family as women tend to have a habit of getting rid of things from a man's workshop and not knowing the value.
Thank you for sharing. During my high school years we have foundry as a credit class. Which gave me so much pleasure to work hammering, heating and shaping the steel to reach dimensions neededed to be adjusted and later tempered.
Technically that a forge, not a foundry. A Foundry is where you cast metal. If you're pouring molten metal into a mold, it's a Foundry, if you're beating on hot metal with a hammer, it's a Forge.
@@andrewalexander9492 we had big metal boxes (I don't recall its name )were air was injected grom bottom to the carbon fireplace we hold our steel rods and we hit with our heavy hammers to fibal shape.
I have my grandfathers anvil that he bought from a blacksmith going out of business in 1910… It rings like a church bell ..?weighs about 50-60 lbs and helped repair hundreds cars from 1910 to 1990….worked on by cousins and uncles and my dad … I am last in line … it is at least 140 years old now …love it …
I love odd heirloom pieces like that. I have my great great grandfathers carpenter hammer hanging in my shop, it’s from the late 1800’s, early 1900’s. I cherish it more than any other tool
I have a 1908 90# Hay-Budden “General Blacksmith’s” anvil that was my great great grandfather’s. My grandpa always had it in his workshop to prop the door open for a cooling breeze. Growing up I never really thought anything of it. Before he died in 2010 at 89 years old, he told me that when he was a child in Arkansas he remembered his grandfather sharpening plow blades on it. He said his grandfather died and the farm started to fail, then the Great Depression hit and they had a sale of the rest of the farm equipment. He said a neighbor bought the anvil. When my Grandpa grew up that same neighbor found him and gave him that anvil. He told him he bought it with intention to give to him later to remember his grandfather and that it should always stay in the family. I will be passing it down to my kids and tell them the same story.
You guys are awesome for offering everything at $9 a month! The biggest obstacle for me was the $297 entry price for the blacksmithing course (after finding an anvil or buying the tools necessary to make one and a forge of course) and it just seems to put it within my reach to get everything at a low monthly price. I was in a really bad car accident in 2009 that messed up my back and neck and I've been fighting the pain ever since. That pain has taken a lot away from me including steady work as I've made a living off of what I could build or serve someone and the last 3years have been the worst of my life as far as pain and work go. I just keep praying that I can get back to making things with my hands again and your course gives me something to aim for. Until then I'll keep looking for remote work from home employment opportunities. God bless from Florida the last bastion of freedom.
20 years ago my little blacksmith shop (hobby) got me into knife making .I usually give them away or horse trade them, or sometimes sell one. I make them from used lawn mower blades, which are excellent spring steel and free. Still a hobby, but yesterday I got 200 dollars for two of them. If you want some free advice on the entire endeavor, reply here. Lew
We have an ancient blacksmith anvil with no horn that has a hardy hole as well as a slot at one end. We found it on the banks of the Nehalem river in 1980.We have used it for many years to shape steel & aluminum horse shoes. When we began to learn how to shoe & trim horses feet we could not afford an anvil & our mother suggested we ride our horse, Turk, to Nehalem and look around the muddy banks for an anvil that might work. Sure enough after a couple of hours searching we found one. The 1 we have is rectangular & weighs about 45#. Light enough to be portable enough to haul on a saddles horn which is how we brought it home. The anvil were sure is cast as it has many of the same markings you point out & is kind of soft with with only a little ring to it. It also has 4 mounting holes at the bottom that one could mount it to a work bench if desired. Nehalem was an old timber/ logging town. The town has at times severe floods & that`s why the anvil was left there many years ago. Unfortunately no makers marks that we can find. Very handy tool which we still use today even though we no longer shoe horses at 66!
@@drd1924 Nehalem is a very old town & my family has worked on many of the old buildings ancient plumbing systems which only my father knew how to repair since he was raised & trained in Nutley NJ. There are & were many old structures related to logging & agriculture located along the Nehalem river since the river was used for transport before trains & vehicles. Many of those buildings were blacksmiths shops at one time. She figured since anvils are so heavy one might be there still & also because of the many floods along the river she also thought one of them might still be there perhaps washed down river.
@@ronskancke1489 Were thinking it was abandoned during many of the big floods that happen along the uncontrolled river without any dams along it. Many times the whole town would be just about destroyed from the severe floods. Especially during the great 1998 spring flood that cutoff the area for > 2 weeks due to all the roads being washed away or landslide covered.
@@frederickbooth7970 Speaking of "trains," that's exactly where I found my anvil. As kid's we had to cut through the R.R. tracks on our dirt bikes to get to our dirt track we made. Grateful to be a bit mechanically inclined, I was into wrenching on my own bikes, motors, & fabricating different things out of metal. One day I was in need of an anvil to pound on to form a tool I thought up. (I watched MacGyver a lot as a kid) Blah,ha,ha!!! So, I seen a 3 foot piece of R.R. track scrap leftover they threw to the side after fixing part of the tracks & had an idea. I got my older brother to drive us back in his truck to help carry this scrap piece of track back home, pulled out the torches & grinders & got busy. Not only did I end up making the tool I designed & needed, (which worked pretty well) but I made it on an anvil I made myself out of a piece of R.R. track I still have & use today that works great! Just an idea to pass on & share.
My apologies if I repeated some of your tutorial in my reply. My hearing is shaky at best.. LOL. Anvils like any early made tool had their good and bad aspects. The dead spots were mostly due to poor forge welding of the "top" work plate onto the Anvil body. The older forged Anvils had no top plate thus had no dead spots. They were forged in three pieces, footbase, body and horn(s). I was the last A-Rated Industrial Blacksmith in my area within the Copper and brass Industry in the 1980's. It was a great job but as with the loss of industry to foreign slave labor countries the Industrial Blacksmith went the way of the buggy whip... I continued to forge in my home shop but due to health reasons closed up after 15 years. Anyhow, thanks so much for bringing back those memories in my old worn mind.
I see some comments below. The trades are the future for any young person . The world needs you. I am 67. I still tinker in the shop and my standad of living has been elevated by my knowledge of the world around me. Thanks for letting me comment here.
Best way I have found to learn how to be a blacksmith, is to learn the trade as an apprentice to a blacksmith. That is not saying that you cannot learn from online courses, as that works great for some people. And I love this guys video’s, as he is highly skilled. But he still cannot teach things that I learned through hands on training under an old school blacksmith and that’s been over 30 years ago. I think anyone would also be a fool to not listen to this man, as he has a wealth of knowledge to share.
Hey Scott, when you gonna visit a casting anvil place? No idea if there is a place close enough that's worth visiting just to shoot a video, but it would be an awesome one !
My GGFather was the last blacksmith of a small Western Michigan town. I Bought a drop forged RIDGID Paddingheus 35 anvil two years ago for $800. Now sells for $1,000 if you can find it. Scratches and dings only make it more valuable. Great investment.
Just came across your Channel. I'm really glad to have. You are very informative. Highly knowledgeable, a great speaker and equally as great a teacher! I am a new privilege subscriber! Thank you very much!
Good information! I'm trying to encourage my husband to sell ours. It's been in the family for generations and has held down our basketball hoop in the wind for 25 years. Well, the basketball hoop stand twisted in the wind this spring and here the anvil sits in front of the garage. I appreciate your knowledge and I no longer shoe my horses, so not sure why we're keeping it.
You could put mouseholes in with a few cents of cores. It depends on if the company who made it wanted to be deceptive. I worked in a foundry for over a decade. We made everything from sewer lids to high tech transmission housings. We did 8 different kinds of grey iron and almost as many ductile irons. It was fun working there and I got emensely strong. I also had multiple surgeries to repair my body. Still, being able to jerk a 300lb manhole off of the floor and slam it on a table to be chipped and ground was invigorating!
That was great. Just bought an anvil today, used, from a retired blacksmith, would have been better if I had seen this video first but never mind too late now! So, I think my anvil will be forged (mouse holes), no obvious casting emblems or marks, might have to paint strip it to see if there’s any faint stamping marks on it. It’s in very good shape. Must go and do the ball bearing bounce and ping test now……
Great to hear that someone still knows the spark test! Best to have a sample of known materials to learn what the spark stream looks like on your particular grinder. And someone selling an anvil may not take to having a grinder applied to their item....
I have no need of the information I just learned about identifying whether an anvil is forged or cast but was interested even so. Now that the video is over, though, I find myself asking the fundamental question that I don't think was answered. Why would one prefer a forged or a cast anvil over the alternative if the other criteria (rebound, ringing, etc) were comparable. Just curious.
Passing this information onto the younger folk is essential in, quality or workmanship and pride....and just questioning your tools for fit and feel or in this case visual and sound.. Great job Coach👍
Thank you for the video but what would be nice is if you explained why a forged or cast anvil is better and the pros/cons to each. Also the value difference between them.
Hey good day, Know a bit about Anvils, however don’t claim to know it all. However cast Steel Anvils, are very good. However depending on who manufactured it. As well as forged ones. There’s a difference in quality in all of them. Some have a good reputation and so on. However it is good to test them individually yourself when purchasing one. And of course depending on the work to be done on it. You do not want cast-iron Anvils. For light small work they are just fine. However the forged and cast steel Anvils are the way to go generally speaking. Hope this helps you. Good luck and have a beautiful day. Jim
My welding instructor also did blacksmithing. I learned a bit when I learned to forge weld and I really enjoyed it. As to protecting your hearing, I have worn ear plugs at work for my entire career and by hearing is very good for someone my age who has worked as a welder. Just a quick question, if I buy a forged anvil, is it still against the law to pay for it with a forged check? 😜😜
Thank you. I joined a blacksmith club for couple of years becauseI couldn't pass it by. Then after I learnt that my great grandfather was a blacksmith. I love it.
I will never have a use for an anvil in my life, but this was an interesting thing to know. I never would have otherwise thought that there were different ways of producing an anvil.
so great to watch your program again......I have been missing you or the algorithms have been leaving you out of my page, best wishes from Florida, Paul
@@paulsawczyc5019 it's funny you mentioned that, A friend just sent me a pic of a 306 pound Peter Wright anvil at a antique shop and right next to it was a smaller anvil missing the horn BTW they were asking $1400 for the Peter wright that was not in the best of condition.
I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. You commented that if it rings with a good rebound, it's an anvil... If it doesn't, it's an anvil-shaped piece of metal. You're suggesting my Fischer anvil isn't an anvil. In most blacksmith circles ls, Fischer is a quality product. Other than a repair... Don't many cast anvils, too, have a hardened steel face? In your opinion, what are the top three or so anvil brands/manufacturers and why?
Can you make out the parting lines on the first anvil you showed? The mounting lugs appear to be offset from the center of the anvil. If I'm seeing that right it means the mold and pattern was a little bit more complex than the one they used to make the Swedish anvil. Nothing the old school molders and patternmakers couldn't handle, but interesting to me as a foundry hobbyist.
Hey good day, great informative video as always! You are helping everyone learn something special each video.! Great job!Thank you very much. As much as I know or, I think I know :-) there is always something to learn from somebody else. It is wonderful! Keep up the great work! Stay well and have a beautiful day. Jim
Yes you're right and even the title of this video shows a basic misunderstanding, "Cast or forged" when "cast IRON" vs a STEEL anvil would be more appropriate for a title. Just because a steel anvil rings or rebounds when struck simply means it's steel not necessarily a forging and steel castings are not usually inferior to a forged item. There are cheap CAST IRON anvils and there are high quality CAST STEEL anvils but some folks just seem to use "CAST" to refer to cast IRON as if all castings are one of the several grades of iron! Then it's a common mistake to refer top quality steel castings as "forged" when they were in fact cast.
@@catman4644 I’m not versed in blacksmithing, but this video didn’t teach me much. The only thing I know about my anvil is it doesn’t deform or crack when I use it, and that’s really all I care about.
Back in the 70's the company i worked for moved to a new location and scrappd a lot of iron and steel scrap, I purchased for $13.00 an Anvil i later found out that was made at the Rat Hole Fordge in Sheffield England in the 1700's. ?? maybe it was the Mouse hole, (cant remember. I recently gifted it to a nephew that was playing with fordging and welding.
Hey Scott, this reminds me, didn't we talk about you doing a video about being able to hear when a tool is being used wrong? i.e. work not flat on a belt sander platen? Dull blades on various saws?
I would really appreciate your recommendation on a manufacturer of a new anvil in the 300 lbs range. Thank you so much. Ps I still keep thinking about your skill saw skills, lol, awesome!
I've got three Given/Bought forged anvils given to me by a guy here in Massachusetts. Coach is gone now but I'll bet there isn't anyone who had as many as he did. From a 1500lbs down to I guess 20 or 30lbs. He had at least 100and probably moren Luckily his sons knew the deal and no one burnt the family when they were sold off. He had an even more awe inspiring collection of tractor seats and grinding stones..
Is a hardened steel plate welded to the tops of some anvils? If the plate is not intimate contact with the base there will be a different ring. A Forging does not have to be hot to stamp it.
I'm getting real tired of the rebound myth. Rebound doesn't matter when you're hammering a hot, very plastic and ready to deform, piece of steel. You're not hammering on the anvil, you're hammering on the hot steel, and the steel will absorb almost all of the force by deforming, so the difference between an anvil with high rebound or no rebound is close to none. An anvil with 90% rebound vs 10% rebound doesn't matter when the potential force lost is a fraction of a fraction of what the steel is already absorbing. It's one of those old blacksmith myths that everyone just runs with because it sounds like it could be true. I have 10 anvils in my shop used for classes, two of which have no rebound, and there is do discernible difference in how they are to forge on besides their weight. It's a shame to tell beginners that an anvil with no rebound is no good. It's simply not true. There's a reason you have never seen anyone showcase the supposed issue with low rebound anvils while actually forging; because it's not there. The issue is with hardness. A soft anvil won't last as long or as well as a hard one. But it doesn't affect how the anvil performs during actual work. And while we're at it; The only care you should have about ring, is to minimize it.
Interesting to hear you say that. I'm not a blacksmith by any means, but know a little about physics and metallurgy and as I was watching the video, was scratching my head and thinking ... ok, so if the anvil itself doesn't deform, and is heavy enough to not to move appreciably, what does it matter?
I think you are thinking about this the wrong way. It's not that you want rebound, it's that rebound is an indication of the things you want in an anvil; hardness and a face that isn't delaminated (among other things I'm sure, I'm no expert). I think the myth is that rebound is the thing you want, when all it really is is a test to check other things.
Rebound is important. When I strike a piece of hot iron if the anvil is dead you have only the impact of the hammer. However if the anvil has good rebound, any force that travels through metal is reflected back and you are working much more efficiently.
It should be noted that cast iron had some excellent properties under compression. Machine tools are generally manufactured from cast iron due to its energy dampening properties. According to the presenter, rebound is important and cast iron wouldn’t be the best material for this. An acid etch would reveal the material structure which would reveal whether it’s CI or steel.
Mr. Wadsworth, seeing the variation in anvils was certainly educational! I used to have a Peter Wright, that rang like a bell, and have had to use someone else's cast, dead thud/no rebound as a backup after mine got stolen. Never had to work harder than on that toe-stubber. Also, I have a hare-brained, hypothetical, "could it be done?" question: I have seen some fairly decent sized anvil shaped objects that are hardened on the face (Amazon had one that Old Hickory Forge reviewed), but are not the typical, Harbor Freight, cast iron, Anvil Shaped Object. On such an anvil, could you carburize the iron to get a better item? I was watching Clickspring make hardened files from mild steel, using the clay envelope method (fascinating video and well worth the watch) and it got me wondering... If you did something similar with a middling anvil shaped object (cover it with charcoal dough, then a clay layer, and put it in an ersatz oven) what would be the result? I'll probably never know, but the tinkerer/mad scientist wannabe in me is still curious. The reason I ask is you have more knowledge on what would indicate it couldn't be done easily or cost effectively.
I bought an Anvil years ago. Back then I was looking for an anvil but only checked for weight and price. So my goal was just to get as heavy an anvil for as little money I could. Turns out I bought a forged anvil which has a good ring and good rebound :D (Sadly it is shaped quite oddly. It is pretty much rectangular and does not feature a horn. It still has a hardie hole. Maybe called a "church window" anvil)
I've got one of those, too. Came from my wife's grandfather, who was a mining engineer. The RR track this was cut from was rather small track, like what would have been used in a mine. It's a nice light duty anvil, easy to carry around.
Question: is there anything stopping modern manufacturing operations from making sand casts of antique, out of production anvils and recasting these old patterns from modern tool steels? Or would that violate patents? It’s hard to imagine that a patent from company that has been out of business for over 100 years would be enforceable. I hope I don’t sound ignorant, I’m just asking.
I have my grandfathers Hay Budden 2 piece anvil and hardy tool that is still stuck in the hole. It was mounted on a stump in my youth but the stump rotted away and it was sitting on the ground when I retrieved it about 7 years ago
I have a small cast 40lb FISHER dated 1899 on the side and May 13, 1899 on the bottom The cast-in "FISHER" is mirrored-reversed, an error obviously caused during casting by someone not fully awake. Rings nicely except an area around the center of the 9x3" table. Came out of Kern county mining operations in California.
I have an old forged anvil. I'd like to have the top re-surfaced. There's a guy in Spokane, WA that has the giant milling machine that resurfaces the top. He even has a TH-cam vid on using it. You see piles of anvils in the background with tags on them. I've contacted him several times and he says he does not contract out work. I don't understand and I've reached a dead-end with him.
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I am 24 years old. I got a job in construction as labor when I turned 18. It was very hard for me to get out of the fast food work ethic that I had, but through watching your videos I learned to love the work and I am now working as a carpenter. My boss just gave me another considerable raise, is paying for me to get CDLs, and is going to put me into a local school for construction blueprint reading and building construction management. Thank you for these videos. You have taught me to invest in the work I do, and the work is starting to invest back into me.
Good for you young man, you should be proud of yourself
I go to Florida Tech and we have a construction management degree course track, since I’m studying Civil engineering I work through those courses with them also. We have students getting a 4 year degree at a school that cost 62k a year for that degree. You’re getting that same degree on a way less expensive experience. Legally all the courses have to be on the same level of quality or your degree is void. Great work
You are on an excellent path. Keep going, your future is bright.
Congratulations! Keep up the good work.
Dude, in a world going to shit your testimony is like a candle flame overcoming the darkness of the abyss. Good fucking for you my man, remember if a job ever begins to make you not care, not to take pride in your work, bounce before that happens. Your worth your weight in gold and don't ever forget that.
I just stumbled upon this video. I have no particular interest in either anvils or blacksmithing, but I still found this video both interesting and informational. Thanks for sharing.
Ditto! Totally random recommendation. But I enjoyed it! Learned a few things (that I will never use).
you took the words right out of my mouth.
@@darrylgibson3575 he sure did 👍🏻… very entertaining
The essential craftsman has that genuine,authentic,real deal charisma that not many have anymore. He just makes you want to listen.
when are you getting your anvil?
I work steel as part of fabrication I do. I could not find a good steel anvil so I talked to a foundry in Phoenix AZ and they cast a chrome molly steel anvil from a wooden mold I gave them. That anvil has been a great asset to my work.
I’m mildly interested in stuff like this but your delivery and information had me glued. I usually do 2-3 things at once (multitasking myself into an early grave) but this video had my stopped and motionless for the duration.
Good on you Mate. Cheers.
That's exactly what happened to me. I meant to listen to it while I did other things. - nope. Watched the whole thing & felt it was worthwhile.
@@lovesloudcars Every time I drive by an old rickety barn that’s falling, or has fallen, down I wonder if there’s an old anvil in there waiting to be rescued.
@@bahmdiggity9577 that's funny. I've had similar thoughts, though I tend to watch for old vehicles machines and engines.
Picked up a 59 Chev Apache pickup a couple weeks ago ( not that I need any more projects...)
I'm behind on posting videos let alone completing projects!!
Happy pounding my friend.
@@lovesloudcars I tell you what. My backyard is starting to look like Sanford and sons.
I also love loud cars.
Great moniker.😉
Thanks I have an old Kohlswa anvil. It has rough edges but it is flat and true. I installed it on a stump from my own property and it is now an heirloom for my family and I.
Am 61 yrs old and I learned something new today. Been around tools all my life, graduated from Nashville Auto Diesel College in `80, joined the USN in 88. Engineering can be a fun, rewarding field pending on what you are doing. I like to tinker with woodworking now, have pulled my fair share of wrenches. Growing up in rual WV nearly every farm I can remember had an anvil, some had forges. A do remember the ring they made when hit with a hammer, the rebound I am unsure of. Thanks for making this video, it was good to see you again.
I graduated from NADC which is now Lincoln Tech in 2019. Great school and awesome history.
I think I remember you, we may have worked in the same trucking company shop, I was the guy from Alabama, I ended up driving for them and later returned to alabama.
I have a relatively small fully cast steel anvil from an unknown manufacturer, a medium sized cast steel with a forge welded face Brookes England, and a large forged anvil from another unknown manufacturer.
And i was able to identify the way each was made, by all of the signs you've mentioned.
Each of them was a rescue from a different place and i am happy i can give them a home where they're useful and not just decorative.
The delaminated anvil you have can be repurposed for dropping on roadrunners.
Roadrunners are surprisingly hard to drop an anvil on.
Surely Scott has better anvil dropping skills than a coyote, though.
Only if it is acme brand😊
But the anvil always seems to land on a coyote.
Only in Arizona
Back in Junior High School (in the late '50s) we were offered "Metal Shop" as an elective. One thing I clearly remember is the massive anvils we had rang like church bells. It was a true joy (to me, at least) to hammer a piece of steel into shape on those anvils. I'd have never known to have checked, but I'll also bet those anvils had excellent rebound - they almost felt alive.
I send my blessings to someone who, like myself, remembers the wonderful American decade of the 1950s!
And Domestic Science, for the Girls!
@@alexhayden2303 Yes, It was called Future Homemakers of America, or something like that, wasn't it? I had forgotten all about that. I mourn the passing of the America that was. 😢
@@notmyworld44
And I, the England!
@@alexhayden2303 God bless you Alex!
Wow , loads of information . I still have my granfathers anvil that he used when repairing things on his river boat among other things, he was a very talented man along with his brothers. I will have to check it out and try to identify it thanks again.
What ever else you do, don't loose that anvil! That is something which represents your family history and your family needs to be aware of it's value, particularly the female members of your family as women tend to have a habit of getting rid of things from a man's workshop and not knowing the value.
@@markfryer9880 Trust me it's not going anywhere!
Thank you for sharing. During my high school years we have foundry as a credit class. Which gave me so much pleasure to work hammering, heating and shaping the steel to reach dimensions neededed to be adjusted and later tempered.
Technically that a forge, not a foundry. A Foundry is where you cast metal. If you're pouring molten metal into a mold, it's a Foundry, if you're beating on hot metal with a hammer, it's a Forge.
@@andrewalexander9492 we cast in black sand boxes too as part of curriculum
@@andrewalexander9492 we had big metal boxes (I don't recall its name )were air was injected grom bottom to the carbon fireplace we hold our steel rods and we hit with our heavy hammers to fibal shape.
I have my grandfathers anvil that he bought from a blacksmith going out of business in 1910…
It rings like a church bell ..?weighs about 50-60 lbs and helped repair hundreds cars from 1910 to 1990….worked on by cousins and uncles and my dad … I am last in line … it is at least 140 years old now …love it …
I love odd heirloom pieces like that. I have my great great grandfathers carpenter hammer hanging in my shop, it’s from the late 1800’s, early 1900’s. I cherish it more than any other tool
Simple way - church bell sound stands for Steel; high pitch pink is cast iron
I have a 1908 90# Hay-Budden “General Blacksmith’s” anvil that was my great great grandfather’s. My grandpa always had it in his workshop to prop the door open for a cooling breeze. Growing up I never really thought anything of it. Before he died in 2010 at 89 years old, he told me that when he was a child in Arkansas he remembered his grandfather sharpening plow blades on it. He said his grandfather died and the farm started to fail, then the Great Depression hit and they had a sale of the rest of the farm equipment. He said a neighbor bought the anvil. When my Grandpa grew up that same neighbor found him and gave him that anvil. He told him he bought it with intention to give to him later to remember his grandfather and that it should always stay in the family. I will be passing it down to my kids and tell them the same story.
Man, I love that Fisher setup. From the anvil to the stump. Awesome work station!!
You guys are awesome for offering everything at $9 a month! The biggest obstacle for me was the $297 entry price for the blacksmithing course (after finding an anvil or buying the tools necessary to make one and a forge of course) and it just seems to put it within my reach to get everything at a low monthly price. I was in a really bad car accident in 2009 that messed up my back and neck and I've been fighting the pain ever since. That pain has taken a lot away from me including steady work as I've made a living off of what I could build or serve someone and the last 3years have been the worst of my life as far as pain and work go. I just keep praying that I can get back to making things with my hands again and your course gives me something to aim for. Until then I'll keep looking for remote work from home employment opportunities. God bless from Florida the last bastion of freedom.
God Bless you, and the fact that you keep trying and don't give in , i will pray for you i hope that's ok .
20 years ago my little blacksmith shop (hobby) got me into knife making .I usually give them away or horse trade them, or sometimes sell one. I make them from used lawn mower blades, which are excellent spring steel and free. Still a hobby, but yesterday I got 200 dollars for two of them. If you want some free advice on the entire endeavor, reply here. Lew
@@lewiswereb8994 I'm interested in learning blacksmithing and other skills to pass on to younger generations.
We have an ancient blacksmith anvil with no horn that has a hardy hole as well as a slot at one end. We found it on the banks of the Nehalem river in 1980.We have used it for many years to shape steel & aluminum horse shoes. When we began to learn how to shoe & trim horses feet we could not afford an anvil & our mother suggested we ride our horse, Turk, to Nehalem and look around the muddy banks for an anvil that might work. Sure enough after a couple of hours searching we found one. The 1 we have is rectangular & weighs about 45#. Light enough to be portable enough to haul on a saddles horn which is how we brought it home. The anvil were sure is cast as it has many of the same markings you point out & is kind of soft with with only a little ring to it. It also has 4 mounting holes at the bottom that one could mount it to a work bench if desired. Nehalem was an old timber/ logging town. The town has at times severe floods & that`s why the anvil was left there many years ago. Unfortunately no makers marks that we can find. Very handy tool which we still use today even though we no longer shoe horses at 66!
How did your mom know an Anvil would be on the muddy banks?
What a cool story!
@@drd1924 Nehalem is a very old town & my family has worked on many of the old buildings ancient plumbing systems which only my father knew how to repair since he was raised & trained in Nutley NJ. There are & were many old structures related to logging & agriculture located along the Nehalem river since the river was used for transport before trains & vehicles. Many of those buildings were blacksmiths shops at one time. She figured since anvils are so heavy one might be there still & also because of the many floods along the river she also thought one of them might still be there perhaps washed down river.
@@frederickbooth7970 hard to believe an anvil would wash down a river because of their shape and weight. Not impossible I supose if it had no horn.
@@ronskancke1489 Were thinking it was abandoned during many of the big floods that happen along the uncontrolled river without any dams along it. Many times the whole town would be just about destroyed from the severe floods. Especially during the great 1998 spring flood that cutoff the area for > 2 weeks due to all the roads being washed away or landslide covered.
@@frederickbooth7970 Speaking of "trains," that's exactly where I found my anvil. As kid's we had to cut through the R.R. tracks on our dirt bikes to get to our dirt track we made. Grateful to be a bit mechanically inclined, I was into wrenching on my own bikes, motors, & fabricating different things out of metal. One day I was in need of an anvil to pound on to form a tool I thought up. (I watched MacGyver a lot as a kid) Blah,ha,ha!!! So, I seen a 3 foot piece of R.R. track scrap leftover they threw to the side after fixing part of the tracks & had an idea. I got my older brother to drive us back in his truck to help carry this scrap piece of track back home, pulled out the torches & grinders & got busy. Not only did I end up making the tool I designed & needed, (which worked pretty well) but I made it on an anvil I made myself out of a piece of R.R. track I still have & use today that works great! Just an idea to pass on & share.
My apologies if I repeated some of your tutorial in my reply. My hearing is shaky at best.. LOL.
Anvils like any early made tool had their good and bad aspects.
The dead spots were mostly due to poor forge welding of the "top" work plate onto the Anvil body. The older forged Anvils had no top plate thus had no dead spots. They were forged in three pieces, footbase, body and horn(s).
I was the last A-Rated Industrial Blacksmith in my area within the Copper and brass Industry in the 1980's. It was a great job but as with the loss of industry to foreign slave labor countries the Industrial Blacksmith went the way of the buggy whip...
I continued to forge in my home shop but due to health reasons closed up after 15 years.
Anyhow, thanks so much for bringing back those memories in my old worn mind.
I see some comments below. The trades are the future for any young person . The world needs you. I am 67. I still tinker in the shop and my standad of living has been elevated by my knowledge of the world around me. Thanks for letting me comment here.
Some of the same traits apply to forged vs cast crankshafts. Also, you have an incredible voice. I could listen to you describe paint drying.
I acquired an anvil years ago stamped early 1900s. I will have to do the ball bearing drop on it. You’ve fired up my inquisitiveness
My anvil is forged and has a beautiful ring all across the face. I never knew about the ball bearing drop to test them. Thanks
Great, informative video. Now, just need to figure out what to do with this information.
Best way I have found to learn how to be a blacksmith, is to learn the trade as an apprentice to a blacksmith. That is not saying that you cannot learn from online courses, as that works great for some people. And I love this guys video’s, as he is highly skilled. But he still cannot teach things that I learned through hands on training under an old school blacksmith and that’s been over 30 years ago. I think anyone would also be a fool to not listen to this man, as he has a wealth of knowledge to share.
Brilliant video and I'm sure this advice is going to save me some heartache as I'm looking at anvils at the moment. Thank you.
Hey Scott, when you gonna visit a casting anvil place?
No idea if there is a place close enough that's worth visiting just to shoot a video, but it would be an awesome one !
I miss these videos. Hopefully there's more like this.
I'm not planning on buying an anvil any time soon but if I do I now have to confidence and the knowledge to do so. Thanks!
My GGFather was the last blacksmith of a small Western Michigan town. I Bought a drop forged RIDGID Paddingheus 35 anvil two years ago for $800. Now sells for $1,000 if you can find it. Scratches and dings only make it more valuable. Great investment.
Just came across your Channel. I'm really glad to have. You are very informative. Highly knowledgeable, a great speaker and equally as great a teacher! I am a new privilege subscriber! Thank you very much!
Good information! I'm trying to encourage my husband to sell ours. It's been in the family for generations and has held down our basketball hoop in the wind for 25 years. Well, the basketball hoop stand twisted in the wind this spring and here the anvil sits in front of the garage. I appreciate your knowledge and I no longer shoe my horses, so not sure why we're keeping it.
You could put mouseholes in with a few cents of cores. It depends on if the company who made it wanted to be deceptive. I worked in a foundry for over a decade. We made everything from sewer lids to high tech transmission housings. We did 8 different kinds of grey iron and almost as many ductile irons. It was fun working there and I got emensely strong. I also had multiple surgeries to repair my body. Still, being able to jerk a 300lb manhole off of the floor and slam it on a table to be chipped and ground was invigorating!
That was great. Just bought an anvil today, used, from a retired blacksmith, would have been better if I had seen this video first but never mind too late now! So, I think my anvil will be forged (mouse holes), no obvious casting emblems or marks, might have to paint strip it to see if there’s any faint stamping marks on it. It’s in very good shape. Must go and do the ball bearing bounce and ping test now……
Didn't think I needed to know this but now I know. Great demonstration!
Touch it on the side with a grinder. Orange sparks = cast iron. Yellow sparks = steel.
Great to hear that someone still knows the spark test! Best to have a sample of known materials to learn what the spark stream looks like on your particular grinder. And someone selling an anvil may not take to having a grinder applied to their item....
I would like to see an addendum to this showing examples of what NOT to get besides the delamination.
I have no need of the information I just learned about identifying whether an anvil is forged or cast but was interested even so. Now that the video is over, though, I find myself asking the fundamental question that I don't think was answered. Why would one prefer a forged or a cast anvil over the alternative if the other criteria (rebound, ringing, etc) were comparable. Just curious.
Ann experienced blacksmith might have a lot to say about this video, not all positive.
Passing this information onto the younger folk is essential in, quality or workmanship and pride....and just questioning your tools for fit and feel or in this case visual and sound..
Great job Coach👍
Thank you for the video but what would be nice is if you explained why a forged or cast anvil is better and the pros/cons to each. Also the value difference between them.
One would think! 🤔
Hey good day, Know a bit about Anvils, however don’t claim to know it all. However cast Steel Anvils, are very good. However depending on who manufactured it. As well as forged ones. There’s a difference in quality in all of them. Some have a good reputation and so on. However it is good to test them individually yourself when purchasing one. And of course depending on the work to be done on it. You do not want cast-iron Anvils. For light small work they are just fine. However the forged and cast steel Anvils are the way to go generally speaking. Hope this helps you. Good luck and have a beautiful day. Jim
PS, forgot to mention one thing. Usually any anvil, is better than no anvil :-)
I took the video to let me know that cast anvils are better on the ears.
My welding instructor also did blacksmithing. I learned a bit when I learned to forge weld and I really enjoyed it.
As to protecting your hearing, I have worn ear plugs at work for my entire career and by hearing is very good for someone my age who has worked as a welder.
Just a quick question, if I buy a forged anvil, is it still against the law to pay for it with a forged check? 😜😜
Odd to hear so much about how it was made but nothing about why it matters. Very interesting!
Thank you.
I joined a blacksmith club for couple of years becauseI couldn't pass it by. Then after I learnt that my great grandfather was a blacksmith. I love it.
If you hold it up to the light and there's no watermark then it's clearly forged.
I will never have a use for an anvil in my life, but this was an interesting thing to know. I never would have otherwise thought that there were different ways of producing an anvil.
So informative! I really do appreciate the content you guys put out. Keep up the Good Work!
Scott, for those of us who aren't blacksmiths... which type of anvil is the preferred type? Forged or cast?
Same.
so great to watch your program again......I have been missing you or the algorithms have been leaving you out of my page, best wishes from Florida, Paul
You told us everything but why forged/cast matters in an anvil.
I believe he did point out that the rebound and condition is what matters. Cast vs forged are basically equal.
He also stated what to look for in the last few minutes of the video. I glad I learned that rebound is key.
I have seen anvils with the horn busted off - cheap casting.
@@paulsawczyc5019 it's funny you mentioned that, A friend just sent me a pic of a 306 pound Peter Wright anvil at a antique shop and right next to it was a smaller anvil missing the horn BTW they were asking $1400 for the Peter wright that was not in the best of condition.
@@jk3dad Prices will plummet to scrap value when the fad dies out - it happened with wood planes.
Same may say you have an anvil problem my friend. 😂🤣 Thanks once again for instilling upon us your wisdom and knowledge. Y’all are fantastic.
Really excellent information presented here. Thank you!
Thanks for the informative video. I have 50 years of welding experience, but none on hand forging.
I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. You commented that if it rings with a good rebound, it's an anvil... If it doesn't, it's an anvil-shaped piece of metal.
You're suggesting my Fischer anvil isn't an anvil. In most blacksmith circles ls, Fischer is a quality product.
Other than a repair... Don't many cast anvils, too, have a hardened steel face?
In your opinion, what are the top three or so anvil brands/manufacturers and why?
Thank you good sir, you’re a gentleman and a scholar. Been wondering what some good indicators are.
Extraordinary video. Exactly the same thing I was trying to prove when I was a young engineer and everyone was laughing at me
Buick and Oldsmobile 215 aluminum engines from 1961 to 1963 have cast steel crankshafts, which ring beautifully.
Very informative and interesting, thank you!
Very informative, watched the Legacy of a blacksmith again. Great tribute to master of his craft. Makes me think what my headstone would look like.
Can you make out the parting lines on the first anvil you showed? The mounting lugs appear to be offset from the center of the anvil. If I'm seeing that right it means the mold and pattern was a little bit more complex than the one they used to make the Swedish anvil. Nothing the old school molders and patternmakers couldn't handle, but interesting to me as a foundry hobbyist.
Hey good day, great informative video as always! You are helping everyone learn something special each video.! Great job!Thank you very much. As much as I know or, I think I know :-) there is always something to learn from somebody else. It is wonderful! Keep up the great work! Stay well and have a beautiful day. Jim
why would you prefer a forgery over the real deal
Beat me to it, here’s a like 👍
Was thinking this too. Congrats on being faster!
Had me at “forged.” Thumbs up!
I thought that's what this video was at first 😅
Ha
Every anvil starts from a casting. The rebound is only from the Rockwell hardness. High quality tool steel has been cast for decades.
Yes you're right and even the title of this video shows a basic misunderstanding, "Cast or forged" when "cast IRON" vs a STEEL anvil would be more appropriate for a title. Just because a steel anvil rings or rebounds when struck simply means it's steel not necessarily a forging and steel castings are not usually inferior to a forged item. There are cheap CAST IRON anvils and there are high quality CAST STEEL anvils but some folks just seem to use "CAST" to refer to cast IRON as if all castings are one of the several grades of iron! Then it's a common mistake to refer top quality steel castings as "forged" when they were in fact cast.
@@catman4644 I’m not versed in blacksmithing, but this video didn’t teach me much. The only thing I know about my anvil is it doesn’t deform or crack when I use it, and that’s really all I care about.
Did I miss hearing you describe what uses best fit "cast" or "forged" anvils ?
Back in the 70's the company i worked for moved to a new location and scrappd a lot of iron and steel scrap, I purchased for $13.00 an Anvil i later found out that was made at the Rat Hole Fordge in Sheffield England in the 1700's. ?? maybe it was the Mouse hole, (cant remember. I recently gifted it to a nephew that was playing with fordging and welding.
Hey Scott, this reminds me, didn't we talk about you doing a video about being able to hear when a tool is being used wrong?
i.e. work not flat on a belt sander platen?
Dull blades on various saws?
Perhaps cast, but Kolswa anvils are usually really great. Happy that you had one there
Sooo… which type is better? If neither is better, why would you need to know if it’s cast or forged?
And good luck on the new site!
Very good video this one, I am a carpenter but found this very interesting 👌👌
Excellent guide to checking out anvils.
I was stoked up thinking you meant a Forgery of an Anvil. well played.
Great Report .
Thank You .
3:14 - 3:24 ......
A Shackle is needed to Capture Both Sling Eyes . To Avoid "Tip Loading".
Another great video. You make an excellent presenter .
Great information. Thanks. Also you have a really good broadcast voice.
I would really appreciate your recommendation on a manufacturer of a new anvil in the 300 lbs range. Thank you so much. Ps I still keep thinking about your skill saw skills, lol, awesome!
I've got three Given/Bought forged anvils given to me by a guy here in Massachusetts. Coach is gone now but I'll bet there isn't anyone who had as many as he did. From a 1500lbs down to I guess 20 or 30lbs. He had at least 100and probably moren Luckily his sons knew the deal and no one burnt the family when they were sold off. He had an even more awe inspiring collection of tractor seats and grinding stones..
Is a hardened steel plate welded to the tops of some anvils? If the plate is not intimate contact with the base there will be a different ring. A Forging does not have to be hot to stamp it.
Well done video. Thank you. Must leavearly. Which is better. Cast or forged?
I'm getting real tired of the rebound myth. Rebound doesn't matter when you're hammering a hot, very plastic and ready to deform, piece of steel. You're not hammering on the anvil, you're hammering on the hot steel, and the steel will absorb almost all of the force by deforming, so the difference between an anvil with high rebound or no rebound is close to none. An anvil with 90% rebound vs 10% rebound doesn't matter when the potential force lost is a fraction of a fraction of what the steel is already absorbing. It's one of those old blacksmith myths that everyone just runs with because it sounds like it could be true. I have 10 anvils in my shop used for classes, two of which have no rebound, and there is do discernible difference in how they are to forge on besides their weight. It's a shame to tell beginners that an anvil with no rebound is no good. It's simply not true.
There's a reason you have never seen anyone showcase the supposed issue with low rebound anvils while actually forging; because it's not there.
The issue is with hardness. A soft anvil won't last as long or as well as a hard one. But it doesn't affect how the anvil performs during actual work.
And while we're at it; The only care you should have about ring, is to minimize it.
Interesting to hear you say that. I'm not a blacksmith by any means, but know a little about physics and metallurgy and as I was watching the video, was scratching my head and thinking ... ok, so if the anvil itself doesn't deform, and is heavy enough to not to move appreciably, what does it matter?
I think you are thinking about this the wrong way. It's not that you want rebound, it's that rebound is an indication of the things you want in an anvil; hardness and a face that isn't delaminated (among other things I'm sure, I'm no expert). I think the myth is that rebound is the thing you want, when all it really is is a test to check other things.
Rebound makes worlds of difference whenever you are doing colder work. It has been desired for centuries for a reason.
Rebound is important. When I strike a piece of hot iron if the anvil is dead you have only the impact of the hammer. However if the anvil has good rebound, any force that travels through metal is reflected back and you are working much more efficiently.
friend your work and very special you are one of the best in the world in your work congratulations friend.
What an excellent speaker !! I may join up . As to the preference of a forgery verse real query ?? He was honest about it and why . Problem solved .
Thank you, Mr. Wadsworth!
Have a GREAT day, Neighbor!
Is the "dead ringer" (3rd anvil) repairable? Cut off the top from the middle back and lay in weld material?
Thank you for this great information. Now I have a clue as to the quality of Harbor Freight's Chinese anvils.
It should be noted that cast iron had some excellent properties under compression. Machine tools are generally manufactured from cast iron due to its energy dampening properties. According to the presenter, rebound is important and cast iron wouldn’t be the best material for this. An acid etch would reveal the material structure which would reveal whether it’s CI or steel.
Simply drilling a small hole will reveal if it’s cast iron or steel
Mr. Wadsworth, seeing the variation in anvils was certainly educational! I used to have a Peter Wright, that rang like a bell, and have had to use someone else's cast, dead thud/no rebound as a backup after mine got stolen. Never had to work harder than on that toe-stubber.
Also, I have a hare-brained, hypothetical, "could it be done?" question: I have seen some fairly decent sized anvil shaped objects that are hardened on the face (Amazon had one that Old Hickory Forge reviewed), but are not the typical, Harbor Freight, cast iron, Anvil Shaped Object. On such an anvil, could you carburize the iron to get a better item? I was watching Clickspring make hardened files from mild steel, using the clay envelope method (fascinating video and well worth the watch) and it got me wondering... If you did something similar with a middling anvil shaped object (cover it with charcoal dough, then a clay layer, and put it in an ersatz oven) what would be the result? I'll probably never know, but the tinkerer/mad scientist wannabe in me is still curious. The reason I ask is you have more knowledge on what would indicate it couldn't be done easily or cost effectively.
@@oliviercoen446 many thanks!
I bought an Anvil years ago. Back then I was looking for an anvil but only checked for weight and price. So my goal was just to get as heavy an anvil for as little money I could. Turns out I bought a forged anvil which has a good ring and good rebound :D (Sadly it is shaped quite oddly. It is pretty much rectangular and does not feature a horn. It still has a hardie hole. Maybe called a "church window" anvil)
wow what a great video, great knowledge you passed along Scott.
Similar clues can be used to distinguish forged vs cast crankshafts.
The main one being price!
Excellent education for me. Thank you sir.
My Dad used a 12 in section Rail Road track crudely cut into a vaguely anvil shape.
I've got one of those, too. Came from my wife's grandfather, who was a mining engineer. The RR track this was cut from was rather small track, like what would have been used in a mine. It's a nice light duty anvil, easy to carry around.
My grandfather had one too. Anvils are hard to find, old Railtrack would be a good starter option?
Considering the "noise" a forged anvil radiates: Slap a big magnet on it.
It works wonders.
Keep up the good work
Wow, that 2012 anvil is now 90 years old! I'll have to check mine now - I've owned a small anvil for years.
Might wanna check your mathematics on this one...
@@Bobs-Wrigles5555 The user name says it all.
@@brucea550 👍
Question: is there anything stopping modern manufacturing operations from making sand casts of antique, out of production anvils and recasting these old patterns from modern tool steels? Or would that violate patents? It’s hard to imagine that a patent from company that has been out of business for over 100 years would be enforceable. I hope I don’t sound ignorant, I’m just asking.
I have my grandfathers Hay Budden 2 piece anvil and hardy tool that is still stuck in the hole.
It was mounted on a stump in my youth but the stump rotted away and it was sitting on the ground when I retrieved it about 7 years ago
I have a small cast 40lb FISHER dated 1899 on the side and May 13, 1899 on the bottom The cast-in "FISHER" is mirrored-reversed, an error obviously caused during casting by someone not fully awake. Rings nicely except an area around the center of the 9x3" table. Came out of Kern county mining operations in California.
Thank you! An amazing video and so much information. It's great. Thanks!
I love your blacksmith content!!!
nice job Jim
Great video. Great presentation. I learned a lot !!!
Great Information. Thanks!
I have an old forged anvil. I'd like to have the top re-surfaced. There's a guy in Spokane, WA that has the giant milling machine that resurfaces the top. He even has a TH-cam vid on using it. You see piles of anvils in the background with tags on them. I've contacted him several times and he says he does not contract out work. I don't understand and I've reached a dead-end with him.
Always informative, thank you.