Just on the back of an big old vise a customer gave me that was her husbands, dont have space for a big one. Hunt garage sales or cl for an old one. Or weld on a big thick plate of hardened steel on a shitty vise, should hold up for a bit. Ask a blacksmith
Of course you want to be reasonably sure the track you source the material from is no longer in use. Unless it's used by a train that goes through a residential area blowing the horn as much as possible at 3:00 AM, **** that guy and his load.
I've always told my son that a REAL man is judged by how many anvils he owns! The ultimate symbol of testosterone and overall manliness!! Hammer !! Fire !!! (My son asks when the guys from the institution are coming to take me back) I have 2. Used to use them for work. Very old, veeeery heavy!
Aside from a small vise based anvil, I also use a section of railroad track that I acquired years ago. It is "unimproved" but works well when I want to beat on something.
I've been looking into this myself. I was spoiled at Rettig Machine with all the power fabrication tools and the several LARGE anvils they had there. Now I just need something for a little tractor work. I'm in the process of making a mini-forge out of 5 gallon air tank. I need to pick up some more perlite to mix with my aluminum oxide and liquid glass to finish the lining.
Anyways, I've done some looking and this is what I ended up doing. I went to a local machine shop and asked if they had any pieces of thick scrap plate I could buy. Ended up buying a piece of 4" plate that was a drop from some flame cutting. It was about 18" long and 7ish" wide. Welded some 1/2" AR plate I had from a old tractor bucket blade to the top and a couple of cross pieces on the bottom so I could bolt it down. It doesn't have a horn exactly, but for what I need it for I don't really need one. From what I read, hardness is only one factor but you can do hardface welding on something if it's to soft. What's most important is mass weight behind your striking surface. Just an idea if you have a machine shop in your area. They usually have a yard with steel drops from work they've done and will often sell those leftover pieces. I'd imagine you could even get a piece of hard plate to weld on from them as well. I know my old shop in Cali had a bunch of slugs/drops and scrap pieces of AR plate from all the grain silos, tractor buckets and water turbines they made there.
Yeah, who would think collecting anvils would be a hobby.
Watched a video of a guy making a horseshoe, old school, and was thinking blacksmiths back in the day must of been as tough as their anvils. That real work.
With a 25% off coupon I grabbed a Harbor Freight anvil. Cast iron, not steel, but for around $50 it is something to beat on.
It has no ring to it, only a dead thud, but I hear you can weld a steel plate to it and then it's not bad.
I won't be shoeing any horses, but probably start by making some small tools for my wood burner.
So strange how all the old, so called necessary life skills of yesteryear are becoming hobbies/past times. Raising chickens is becoming popular here, along with blacksmithing.
Yeah, who would think collecting anvils would be a hobby.
Watched a video of a guy making a horseshoe, old school, and was thinking blacksmiths back in the day must of been as tough as their anvils. That real work.
With a 25% off coupon I grabbed a Harbor Freight anvil. Cast iron, not steel, but for around $50 it is something to beat on.
It has no ring to it, only a dead thud, but I hear you can weld a steel plate to it and then it's not bad.
I won't be shoeing any horses, but probably start by making some small tools for my wood burner.
So strange how all the old, so called necessary life skills of yesteryear are becoming hobbies/past times. Raising chickens is becoming popular here, along with blacksmithing.
Yeah, that's why I'm building a small forge. I can do heating with a torch and beating on steel for things I need at work. But for a fun little hobby at home to make things, I want a forge. Do I need the things I want to make or am I ever going to be able to sell them? Not really, but I'd like to have some fun trying to make things I never tried making before.
Maybe it's just a generational thing based on what we were exposed to as kids? Now we want to try those things we saw? Heck, if I can I wouldn't mind trying working glass if the forge will hit those temperatures. Nothing super big of course. I have considered building up a MAP gas working station for glass sculpting but one project at a time.
So why were there so many anvils in Looney Tune cartoons?
Where the writers from a past era where anvils were still popular, and they frequently saw them growing up?
Kind of interesting.
Sounds about right , heaviest small item laying around Next in line was probably a clothes iron. Don't see them much anymore either. Then cast iron frying pan. Rolling pin.
[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 07-12-2018).]
Well it is one thing that likey wouldn't get damaged in shipping 
