Can you forge weld on a faceplate to the harbor freight anvil? ruclips.net/video/sLzq8WShJXM/видео.html This is the latest video in this series... You don't want to miss it!
Gentleman is into his life of blacksmithing. I’ll learn. I find him to be a positive person. I always appreciate that. If I want spectacular verbiage, I’ll watch Deadwood, through the 3rd season. Beautiful frontier Shakespeare, not safe for family viewing. If you’ve come this far to share your incredible critique, I’ll hope the rest of your life is more satisfying.
The HF anvil you have in the garage for a weekend project is 1000x better than the 80 year old, stable aged, custom ground and hardened anvil you don't have.
@@orlandoolguin9249 if you look closely at the top you can see the dents from the ball bearing after he did the drop test. No reason to believe his hardness test was a lie.
It is because you value knowledge, even if it is not in your wheel house. Better than watching multi millionaire sports, dancing with fake stars or the trashcan kardashians
As a former Harbor Freight store employee, I can tell you that the reason for the atrocious condition of the packaging is due to the stores receiving a majority of their product loose packed on the delivery truck. In the three years I worked there, we had to unload every single anvil by hand because they never put them on pallets. Whoever loaded the trucks apparently had no common sense because they regularly had heavy items like the anvils on top of lighter or crushable items (this was even a problem with the pallets we received). We would never stand directly behind the trailer when opening the doors because of how often things would fall out. And not little things either! I'm talking hand trucks, jacks, large power tools, you name it, somebody probably got hit by one. There were at least two hospital visits in my time there from people being struck by falling items when opening up the truck on delivery day.
I work at harbor freight right now. Closing in on 3 years. and I can still promise These anvils still come loose in our trucks and they are just to heavy for the cheap cardboard they put them in. 9/10 times nothing is wrong with them at all the actual product is fine. Just the boxes come messed up cause they are stacked loose bounding around in the truck instead of being on the pallet. That’s for a lot of products though, most stuff that has beat boxes aren’t damaged at all they boxes just got a little roughed up from being loose in the back of the truck. If it is fucked. Every item has a 3 months return on it no matter what, make sure y’all use that.
@@xela2920 wow, just stopped working at harbor freights today. 11-3 shift. The pay was alright but I’m a part timer so I was only getting like $550-$650 every other week ($16.40 an hour) I’m only 19 so like I said the money is ok. Been working there since December of last year so it was almost a full year. Got a new job at an extermination place making $1500 a paycheck, I start on Monday. Don’t know why I’m sharing this but I am.
I used one to take up in a hot air balloon and drop it on a roadrunner. Unfortunately, when I dropped it, it hit a power line and bounced up and popped my balloon and then I crashed to the ground and the anvil landed on my head. I walked away but was 3 feet tall and looked like an accordion afterwards as I left the area. It wasn't a Harbor Freight anvil, it was made by Acme.
@@mushroomcloud1 We were thinking about building a giant slingshot (pulled back by a ship's windlass) to enter into the "Punkin' Chunkin'," but it looks like that doesn't happen anymore. I'd still like to build on for messing around on the farm, though.
I would like to see the stocking figures on those blue puck flashlights. The guys at the Chinese factory must be thinking WTF happened to our sales? since they stopped with the freebees
They have a credit card now and just about everyone is getting approved. I came home with this anvil today and I went in for a rake. I forgot the rake.
Not everyone who needs an anvil is a farrier or blacksmith. Occasionally, every gearhead or tinkerer needs to whack on something and has resorted to the concrete floor, flat rock,or if lucky, a piece of railroad track. Even the crappiest anvil is a step up. ASO's have their place!
My first anvil was a 55lb steel anvil from harbor freight. It was made in India. I used it for 10 years. A friend has it and it is still in use. It is now 25 years old. It's a great anvil.
I have a HF anvil as my starter, it fit my pocketbook and it will help me learn the technique needed to blacksmith. I don't knock it when I was watching forged in fire and one of the finalists was using one to make his weapon for the final challenge. I saw one who needed a larger quench tank and used an old satellite and even more with HF tools like grinders and drill presses. The bottom line is, use what you can afford until you can upgrade.
HF is a wonderful place. I absolutely love the store and have a ton of tools from there and I’ve had a good experience with almost all of them. I’m a plumber by trade and have absolutely no HF tools on my truck as they are not pro grade but for when I’m fucking about in my shop they are perfect for me. It’s not shit for pro use it’s shit for garage use and their stuff works perfect in that application.
Agreed I work in a body shop and I started out with all harbor freight tools and as they break I replace them with snap on....some harbor freigh tools I haven't had a single problem with and other was shit when I first used them like the cut off wheel looked good when I first hooked it up sounded good when I hit the trigger but when I left off the trigger it never stopped ever since when I hook it up it runs about half power
I do silversmithing (self-taught in a lot of ways) and while eventually I want to upgrade a fair amount of stuff, HF is good for getting started. Harbor Freight: 25% is DOA, 50% will let you decide if you want to upgrade, 25% will still be working when the executor of your will drops them in the "Free" box at your estate sale.
Definitely NOT a waste of time. I started out on a little Vulcan with a broken heel. Used a stump with a steel plate bolted on top for my hardy tools. This anvil would have been an improvement but HF hadn't been invented yet. I still use the tools I made with that setup even though I now use a 325 pound anvil I made myself. Take what you have and make what you need. Good vid, keep 'em coming.
Vulcans are a cast iron base with a welded steel face. They generally have 80% rebound, way higher than the HF one. The only reason the Vulcan would be anywhere close to HF anvil in regards to rebound, is if the entire steel face had been chipped off.
New Harbor Freight Anvil Forging Video... At ruclips.net/video/1Ynk7jGpWCc/видео.html. If you are new to the channel, thanks for stopping by! Consider subscribing and checking out our bi-monthly livestreams at ruclips.net/user/christcenteredironworkslive where we will be giving away a Holland Anvil Swage Block once a month all year during 2021!
@@gwsmith4872 Which also is a perfect description of 90% of the items carried by HF. I've refused to help people change tires on cars because they purchased their jack stands were from HF.
I appreciate the fact you did this video. My closest experience to smithing was when I worked at a spring factory as a heat treat and heat set employee backnin '76. I went to Harbor Freight for the first time 3 days ago to get a swivel vice,and saw the anvils. Im STILL going to buy one,since I dont plan on making a living with it.Just need a good heavy steel item to work on ,lets say,my lawn mower deck,to form a replacement skirt for the one rusted out..simple home repair and fabricating projects. I subscribed to your channel now,because I believe Ill get to appreciate using an anvil over looking around the property for a 4x4 or brick to bend a piece of metal to a 90°. Then,Ill go deeper into it and maybe one day,get a more precise anvil and learn more about smithing for home projects. Seems EVERYTHING I find I have an interest in,I jump in with both feet. It was good to find your channel.
I bought one of these cast iron 55 LB anvils almost 40 years ago when I first began to do my own horseshoeing and to this very day it is still as useful as the day I bought it. Over these many years I have used the anvil to cold forge keg shoes to the shape of horses' feet and to straighten out bent shoes for myself and friends. It is light enough to put in my horse trailer for those distant rides where a lost or bent shoe would otherwise mean a long trip for nothing and great disappointment. I have no idea how many shoes I have fitted over the years or how many repair jobs I've done for my own and friends' horses or how many, many thousands of dollars I have saved, all with the help of my 'cheap' anvil. One of these days I'm going to have to give up doing my own shoeing, but perhaps my anvil will serve another amateur horseshoer for another 40 years.
This is a fantastic anvil for beginners. Starting out, mishits are inevitable. This is an anvil that will dent, but is unlikely to crack (unless maybe you hit it really hard right on the heel next to the hardy hole) and it DEFINITELY won't crack or shatter your hammer. That's the most important: It's safer.
Kevin Pilkington actually I saw someone weld a hardened steel plate to the top of one. It worked great for that. I bought one after Christmas and am waiting to get a hardened plate to weld to the top of it. 👍
Hello Jonathan, we just came out with a forging video on the Harbor Freight anvil. You can check it out here: ruclips.net/video/1Ynk7jGpWCc/видео.html.
I used one for my first year of forging.. It was cheap, and easy to acquire. And perfect for the aspiring smith that may not be sure they want to go full send on blacksmithing!
As a former employee of the big store, I can absolutely say, at the store I was at, we absolutely hated when an anvil came in. They have no additional packaging to soften the blow of getting tossed around. That orange label you see on it is from the truck. They are not in a bit pallet or crate. A typical truck was 53 foot standard box truck, the first layer or two (from the doors) was on pallets. That’s usually tool boxes, the big generator, some store supplies, the rest of the truck, is floor to roof, wall to wall hand stacked by people much better at Tetris than I am. The orange label is a dead sign it came right off the truck. Everything in the truck gets beat up and thrown around. We were not gentle in the slightest as we had about 1.5 hours to unload after the pallets were off. About 1000 pieces. If you see an orange sticker on a beat up box, it’s a dead sign that’s exactly how it was packed on the truck. Very rarely but sometimes, they came in the gayloard that was on a pallet so they arnt too beat up. Never buy anything that couldn’t survive a good drop (calipers, micrometers, indicators, some light bulbs) as they probably have been tossed around already. I was only on the store side of the truck, I can’t imagine how the warehouse side is. Was not worth the 9.75 an hour I got paid to do it. If anyone wants to know anything else about how we ran the store between 2 and 5 years ago let me know.
I use to work at HF as a stocker, and idk if it was just the store I worked at, but it was one of the worst retail jobs I ever had, they keep changing employees and managers (I only worked there for a few months) and was poorly run, the warehouse was a disaster, wasn't organized and I'm surprised I didn't get tetanus. Might shop there for some small stuff, but their tools aren't worth crap.
@@essentialeccentricstudio2802 the only redemption for me is I am a really close to the store so if I blow a ratchet up or break a wrench I can walk and take it back. Mine didn’t really go through upper management or even management much, I was there for 6 months. But god damn did we go through stockers. I was one of them, and in my 6 months they probably went through 20-50 people. I quit counting. We had 3 of the 10 that wouldn’t quit after a week. The back was always a huge safety issue, people climbing shelves, riding pallet jacks, riding the forklift, it was a shitshow. But, we met our marks most of the time even short staffed so they kinda let us be. I got cross trained to do register as well, and if your in it to make some money and your even slightly a people person, register pays batter but you have to deal with the asshole management and even some asshole customers and Karrens.
@@Blakews221745Same, we had the exact same problems, not to mention some managers at the store I worked at were shady af, me and this guy were hired at the same time but he only lasted 2 weeks. The only thing I'll miss working there is having that employee discount.
I feel I’m the only one who liked his HF anvil. It had its quirks, but it served me well. I gifted mine awhile ago and now it serves a family with 3 boys and their father interested in the craft.
It would be perfect for me. I don't know anything about blacksmithing. But I might need to whack something with a hammer from time to time. What would be the point of paying big money for an expensive anvil for that?
got my HF55 back in the early 90s, on sale for $14.95, have used it almost daily ever since. I mostly do non-ferrous stuff and it has been hella better than a chunk of RR track
I’m a big believer in using the cheapest tools when starting out. Never, ever go into debt when starting out a new hobby of craft. Once you have the income to move up to better quality tools then do so. You will thank yourself later. Thanks for the great video! Jay
I suppose that makes sense if you're not sure how long you'll stick with it, but on the flip side if you know you'll be doing it for a good long time sometimes it's better to buy the best tools you can afford (emphasis on that as I agree going into debt to buy tools is no good) at the time. Sure it can hurt up front, but buying cheap tools can hurt more in the long run when it breaks or fails and you find yourself out not only the money for the cheaper tool, but also it's replacement and down time while finding the replacement or struggling to finagle a way to do the job without the proper tool.
Snapping off the mounting holes on these avils is NOT a negative. It's a built-in FEATURE that gives the novice blacksmith the opportunity to practice his cast-iron welding skills!
I have one of these anvils and use it regularly. I chose it because it was the best and the heaviest I could get for the money I had available at the time. Decent, old, hard steel anvils are going for stupidly high prices here in the UK at the moment because wealthy, trendy people like to use them as garden ornaments and let them go rusty in the rain. So for a beginner Smith like me, this was all I could afford. That being said, I have used it so far to forge several knives, a couple of pairs of tongs, bottle openers, barbecue forks and other stuff. It's got a few dings in the edges but the surface has held up well and it does the job!
Funny. I picked up a craftsman vice with a small anvil flat and horn on the back in a flea market. I think back in the day Craftsman knew people would beat on it, thus added it. It's been useful, and having the option has lead to people not beating on the vice part.
I welded a ½" AR500 plate to the top of my HFT anvil. I beveled the anvil edges first with an angle grinder. Then, heated the anvil up with a big roofers propane torch to 350F. Then welded the AR500 to anvil with 7018 rod, with multiple passed. I peened each pass to stress relief the cast iron and kept the anvil as hot as I could with roofer torch. Then I covered the anvil with old blankets to slow down the cool off process. Its been 4 yrs and the plate is still firmly attached w/o weld cracks.
I've made knives on mine and other forgings. Straightened out mower blades and tons of other stuff. It is exactly what I need in my shop. Anybody who doesn't like the anvil can go buy a $500+ anvil and feel better about themselves.
Yes, for the home shop and light duty, its a great gadget. I use a smaller cast iron version in model making... Never would need nor spend the $$ for a professional steel anvil of any size.
Cast iron is already brittle, improper balance of carbon would make it iffy and more brittle. However smacking hard steel on hard steel isn't a great idea anyway. Is better either hammer or anvil be softer than the other
Went to school to be an electrician and am part of a couple electrical FB pages. Guys, can be such petty aholes. I mean, if guy is starting out and has got HF screw drivers, though spent extra money, on least a Kline meter, no need to hate.
"Ductile iron" is different from gray cast iron. Gray cast iron (HF anvil) has graphite in planes, so it can shatter. Ductile iron is a cast iron which uses manganese in the casting process to force the graphite to nodularize instead of form planes. This allows the ductile cast object to be tougher and even get some usable heat treat. There are some really good farrier anvils and swage blocks that are ductile cast iron.
Cast Ductile iron is fine as long as they cast-welded a face plate to it. First discovered by Fisher after they had a fire and found ductile iron fused to steel plates. They "invented" the process of welding the plate on in the casting process. No hard plate, not a good anvil when cast. Swage blocks are just fine as cast (well after cleanup anyway) they do not take the same abuse an anvil gets. Though I am sure my students would give it a run for MY money LOL
@@wayneparris3439 yup. I still have my first HF. I welded a thick piece of mystery sheet steel to it and now it's my striker when I need it. As well it's nice to have when the family is over and the little ones want to try swinging a hammer. That way they don't miss hit and dent my big guy. Roy said it and I've heard others say it too, if one can make something nice on one of these they can do it on anything. Now I have a nice steel pig anvil and I really appreciate the learning I did on the ole HF. 🍻
As an auto mechanic, I can say that these little HF anvils do pretty good as a hard striking surface on which to perform automotive and mechanical duties. With that said, however, they are quite soft and a really terrible choice for accomplished and proficient blacksmiths. The only saving grace for these, in my opinion, is that as a novice blacksmith, you won't have to worry about destroying an expensive antique anvil as you progress in your knowledge of forging and metallurgy.
I’m using one of those right now...been banging on it for about six months now. Do I love it? No. Does it work to make knives, serving forks, hatchets, tools? Yes. If you don’t have a real anvil and you don’t have much money, but you have the urge to smash some hot steel, this is the anvil for you.
Yeah that's about how I feel regarding the 15 pound anvil they sell, I know I'm working slower on it than I would be on a better anvil, but it still gets the job done.
yuli gamein you can call it a “newbie” anvil or I don’t have the hundreds of dollars to spend on a steel anvil. I’ve watched videos of guys forging on just about anything they could bang on and produced some pretty professional looking stuff. Is it better to have a nice expensive anvil? Yes? If you don’t does that mean you’re a newbie? No. And does it mean you can’t forge great work? No. Use what you have and upgrade when or if you can.
Totally off topic, but I love the old cow barn. Growing up, it was my job to shovel manure out of the gutter every morning before school. One of my brothers had the same chore after school. Feeding hay and grain, watering, spreading straw bedding--the best time of my entire life. I miss all of it.
Years ago HF put the little anvils on sale for like $4. I bought a bunch and gave them to the dads that came with their kids for Halloween trick or treat.
I have no knowledge of what makes a good anvil. I guess I was lucky to always have access to very old good quality anvils in the past. Now I want an anvil for my projects and all I see is junk. This video will increase my anvil knowledge so I am enjoying the tips and information. Thanks for the help.
I guess this raises the question of what could possibly be worse than a Harbor Freight anvil? No anvil. I've been working on one for 2 years now and I love the fact that I can move metal with it. Granted, some of the metal that is moving IS the anvil but that goes without saying.
I have two different gauge of railroad tracks one peice is from mine cart rail and the other is standard train rail I'm just trying to get started My question is which rail would be better and how much do I need to dress the chosen rail I'm in the process of building my forge Any advice from all would be greatly appreciated
@@deathryder711 if the face is overly rounded like some that I've seen it'll act as a bottom filler, which is great for moving material, but you'll have a hard time straightening projects. Just make sure you have a good flat spot and keep part of it radiused. If you can set aside 20 or 30 bucks a week centaur forge has a 70lb anvil for around 300 bucks that's seriously a nice anvil and honestly worth getting. This goes for OP, too. When I first started I found I was spending a lot of money on anvil-ish metal that "got me by" but I find forging much more enjoyable and far easier on a real anvil.
Great video, thanks! As a machinist, and wanna be smith, I have never seen or heard of the hardness tester that you have. Just as an aside, the first machine shop that I worked at decided to close up, I was the first of the crew to find another job and say farewell. The company permitted us to buy any equipment or fixtures as everything was being liquidated. I bought the shop anvil! I talked the boss down to 10 bucks! It has to be easily near 100 lbs. I’ve used it a few times over the past years, I’ve built a small forge, but now as I get close to retirement age, I’d like to actually learn how to use it all.
My first "anvil" was just a 10 lb sledge strapped down to a stump. After that, I bought the 13lb harbor freight anvil, and that was a step up. Even though it was tiny and soft, It was something I could use to learn on, and it cost almost nothing. I used it to practice on for about 6 months while I saved up to but an NC round horn.
40yrs ago I set a 10lb sledge into a fresh tree stump, and it has been really useful over the years. 10yrs ago it worked loose, so I set it back in with epoxy. I may have to cut another tree down eventually.
I’ve forged several knives on a harbor freight anvil and yeah it’s not optimal but If it’s all you got and you really wanna get started forging it will work out fine to get started.
Anyone who disses this anvil misses the point of why most buy them, this anvil is not for the Smith doing production work, or heavy forging, it's good for light work and for those who can't commit to the large price tags of more reputable brands, still have my HF anvil, I've since upgraded, but still use mine for the occasional odd job
I am just now getting into blacksmithing and I bought this anvil. Still collecting all the tools to even start banging metal. I am as new as they get and have never done this before in my life. Sounds like this anvil will, at least, get me into the game. Can't wait to try it out.
Absolutely agree with your last statement. I’m only a once in a while blacksmith guy and for the price point it works great! Many successful forged knives have come from my HF anvil.
Well you can but your money is much better spent with a DROP or REM at a steel yard at about 100 pounds. HF is garbage and a waste of money. Now you know better. What you do is still up to you. Good luck.
I actually bought one of those Harbor Freight anvils specifically because I heard that they were soft. I don't forge yet but I do cold-form lots of metal and I don't have to worry about marring my work on the anvil. Some Harbor Freight tools are actually pretty decent.
There are a lot of new Smiths out there who have just Started. I know every time I watch one of your videos I learn something. Now I need to go look up Rockwell. Thank you for all you do
Literally found out about this channel about a minute and a half ago and this is the first video I see. I have one of these anvils and I’ve had it for I wanna say 6 years now. I like it. Buddy of mine broke the horn off his but mine has held up to what I’ve put it through so far.
I love the commenters dissing the thing, claiming anything less than a forged titanium ally steel is useless. One of my favorites is they guy saying how his HF anvil works great as a boat anchor. I'm sure he used his $15.000 rotary screw air compressor to air up his trailer tires before he went fishing - just like most gonna drop hundreds of dollars on an anvil to beat on some rusty ass truck parts or straighten out some part off a mower. Yep, talk it up, fellows...
I agree with pretty much everything you said! I've had one of these and used it for about 10 years. I've re-finished the face once, and the horn once, to re-shape it a bit and remove all that paint (that is a really weird-shaped horn!). The part I don't agree is the mounting spots on the feet, mine is bolted down hard and still in one piece. Maybe I got lucky; I will admit however that I don't do heavy blacksmithing with it so it probably doesn't suffer the same amount of abuse someone beating on a hunk of steel would give it. On the subject of anvils, yes, there are better anvils out there, but let's not forget that for the vast majority of the time mankind has been forging things, the 'anvil' was whatever surface was sturdy enough to take a beating. Nobody should ever be shamed because of the anvil they use! 👍
SculptyWorks Believe it or not the first “anvil” that I used was a huge boulder in the yard that just happened to be perfectly flat, smooth and level. It worked well enough for straightening leaf springs and light work but was definitely NOT portable.
Harbor freight: we need a solid chunk of iron to beat metal against Chinese factory owner to his staff: how do we make this simple product as disappointing as our more complex products.
@@sammolloy1 Had a "Boker," pattern knife made in India, it'd get dull just sitting in a breezy atmosphere. And had less "steel" in it than a bean can.
Great video! I see you attracted many uncouth individuals who seem to require close-up visual aids to comprehend hardness tests on CAST IRON. They can't comprehend how a stainless steel ball can dent cast iron-which-they need to avoid metallurgy in any form. I was thinking of getting this for my wife as a gift. She only works with precious metals and mentioned wanting to try larger pieces but the other anvil is small. I'm glad to see they've improved quality over time. Thank you for your review.
I've had mine for awhile now and forged quite a bit on it. If someone is breaking it in half or complaining about it it's most likely operator error :)
My first anvil was a bearing, from a rolling mill, found in a railyard, took me a couple hours, to carry the sixty odd pounds, a couple miles, home, to reside in the "coal room", my shop. It was hard as you expect a bearing to be, and is probably still working, somewhere in Chicago. I've got a "railtrack anvil" I made with a hacksaw and file, thirty five years ago, and I have a 1917 Fisher 150 lb anvil, I use on occasion, doesn't get better. I've looked at those, but never resorted, found the Fisher before spending on the blue one. Semper Fidelis
Interesting “Fair” review of a piece of equipment. All of the strengths and weaknesses of the anvil were pointed out along with suggestions for increasing its durability. I agree, not everyone can afford the primo tools when starting out. Thank you for sharing your review. I do have questions on hardness. How much hardness is desirable and at what point high and low should we be concerned? Thank you.
I just went and bought a medium hard thick steel plate that was fairly thick. So, it had mass (100 lbs) and didn't dent like the soft steel. It works perfect for ferrous metal, and it was $20. It DOESN'T have to be an anvil shape in order for it to be used as an anvil. Save your money.
my grandpa had a workshop JUST like yours with actually about 10 times as many tools but the setting in the basement was exactly the same i literally had flashbacks when watching this haha
I bought an anvil from Harbor Freight about 30 years ago and it was made of hard, ductile iron. I did a lot of pounding on it and the machined surface never showed any dents. The base doesn't have mounting holes like the anvil in the video.
soft anvil, solid sense of humor Roy...lol...great stuff! I started with an old piece of ship anchor and still shape some on it...its hard!...You're doin' a great service Roy! It's a great start especially if you lay a piede of steel on top and weld it to it...cut yer holes in the steel first. Many Blessings, Kev
Thank you. I have a small anvil to straighten door hinge pins, hasps, hinges, etc. It has worked for twenty plus years. It is not HF, but it still works fine.
So let's say I already bought this anvil. Would welding a hardened steel plate onto it help me? Are there any other suggestions that would let me improve this anvil to make it last me a while so I can learn blacksmithing?
I remember someone cutting one apart with a Water Jet on YT, and it had some pretty decent casting flaws that were filled with an epoxy resin and painted over.
I like how you pointed out some of the toxicity that can occur from the "elders" on forums. It occurs on all types whenever someone new comes along and I have seen it turn away many people from a hobby. Not everyone has a bottomless pocketbook to buy the "best" nor should a newbie start off with the top of the line.
this is the anvil I am currently working with it works till I can find a better one. love the anvil video reviews may help me make my mind up on what to upgrade to
I agree... it is not a terrible anvil to get started with. I've been using one for a couple of years for the random times I do any blacksmithing, and it has been fine. It is time to upgrade however. I did just now see the link below about forge welding a steel plate to the top. There is no way I could do that, but I could just weld to it. I might give that a shot. That'd be more of an experiment though. I am going to upgrade to a steel anvil, mainly, because I want a better horn.
You made a great point. I'm teaching myself leather crafting with the aid of videos and didn't begin with money or tools. I made everything I needed just to get started and steadily bought the correct tools as I sold my products. Just get started if you have the desire, regardless the quality of the tools.
Right!? I bought my last anvil 3 or 4 years ago for $700 brand spankin new. It was cheaper than a used anvil thanks to the history channel. I bought my first anvil used in the late 90's for a little over $100 iirc.
I used to teach blacksmithing classes from my mobile shop at different events and had several HF anvils for the students because they are portable and functional for basic things, *especially* after you've spent some time on it with a grinder. You can shape the horn and "tune them up" to be a functional unit if, as you say, keep your steel HOT. Also, to learn the properties of moving hot metal I recommend that people grab a cheap anvil and even a 2x4 and some modeling clay and practice hammering the clay to learn how hot steel moves when you hit it because hot steel and cold clay move pretty much the same way. If you lack all of the needed resources (money, space, support, wtc.) to aquire a 130lb (or more), "Peter Wright" anvil. My wife works at HF and I bought many from her. Don't be afraid to get one and modify it to your needs,especially if you're just starting out and need a simple anvil to practice your hammering skills (learn with BOTH hands!! Your shoulders, elbows and wrists will thank you) before deciding if you want to get serious about it, only need a basic flat spot for rudimentary work or what have you. Use chain around the waist of the anvil to anchor it down, no broken cast. The biggest thing is to not be one of "those" people who buy a $50, cast iron anvil and complain like crazy, expressing their "serious disappointment" when it doesn't perform like a $1,500, 180lb forged anvil with a tool steel top. You getcwhat you pay for, learn to work within its limits and expectations. If you want to work on nonferrous metals or of,, lightweight pieces, this anvil is fine for that. I've made hundreds of cloak rings, forged leaf keyrings,, small knife blades and the like on one of these anvils. Light pieces of hot steel will nor wear out this anvil. Start trying to shape 1" square stock and that's another story. The best advice is, hit the *STEEL,* not the anvil! Hot steel bends... It's not rocket surgery. (OH, and "epitome" is a best thing, not the worst. 😉).
Really a great thing your doing here. Being able to have a present day example of low cost it cheap anvils in the market is a real plus for those in the market. I know guys who have made hammers B&B forge Bob Bew on harbor freight anvils . Guys who make knives 1st degree forge Josh Brown. Guys who've made tooling Shamrock forge Jason Sullivan and if course you sir. It's very doable obviously. It's easier to get in hand and easier to replace if it breaks. Not everyone can drop coin on a good anvil. $500 to $5000+ is a bite in the wallet for alot of folks....me included.!! Took over a year of saying that lunch is x$ this is xx$ I'll say this much n eat less to buy my anvil. Dollars and pennies a day added up 🙏God bless you sir Crawford out ⚒️🧙♂️
Great info!! I'm just starting to look into doing some hobby blacksmithing or 'weekend' blacksmithing. This Anvil just might be the ticket to get me started! Thank you for this video!!
I bought an anvil from Harbor Freight 23 years ago. It is a cast steel anvil. I paid back then 99 dollars. Weights about 100 lbs. I used it occasionally. No ware at all. Never used hot iron on it. Always working on cold iron material. Pounding on it, as hard as I could. Very pleased. After I bought my anvil, I noticed, that this anvil was not available any more.
Can you forge weld on a faceplate to the harbor freight anvil? ruclips.net/video/sLzq8WShJXM/видео.html This is the latest video in this series... You don't want to miss it!
@Karl with a K What an odd criticism.
Haters
Gentleman is into his life of blacksmithing. I’ll learn. I find him to be a positive person. I always appreciate that. If I want spectacular verbiage, I’ll watch Deadwood, through the 3rd season. Beautiful frontier Shakespeare, not safe for family viewing. If you’ve come this far to share your incredible critique, I’ll hope the rest of your life is more satisfying.
THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING THIS JUNK SO PPL. WASTE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CASH ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
The HF anvil you have in the garage for a weekend project is 1000x better than the 80 year old, stable aged, custom ground and hardened anvil you don't have.
This guy is such a liar i see no srcrach marks or nothing
@@orlandoolguin9249 I'm whit yeah I did not see shit and if it was Scratch why no zoom to show it ?
@@johnfrnswth hell yeah bro
@@orlandoolguin9249 if you look closely at the top you can see the dents from the ball bearing after he did the drop test. No reason to believe his hardness test was a lie.
Sorry dude i see nothing ther
My grandpa used a 1.5 ft. long piece of railroad track as his anvil on his farm. It worked great for all our farm repairs.
I'm still using Dad's old piece of railroad track!
Well that’s what I used for years on the farm.
I was wondering about all these train derailments. I hope it was worth it.
P.S. Joking
Dad has the same.
Lock it down to a large stump and your gtg.
I'm watching a video about an anvil, and I'm not really sure why.
It is because you value knowledge, even if it is not in your wheel house. Better than watching multi millionaire sports, dancing with fake stars or the trashcan kardashians
Same, but the other guy is right, that other stuff is a dumpster fire full of shit
Merican .
Lol...you and me both!
I’m stoned 😇
As a former Harbor Freight store employee, I can tell you that the reason for the atrocious condition of the packaging is due to the stores receiving a majority of their product loose packed on the delivery truck. In the three years I worked there, we had to unload every single anvil by hand because they never put them on pallets. Whoever loaded the trucks apparently had no common sense because they regularly had heavy items like the anvils on top of lighter or crushable items (this was even a problem with the pallets we received). We would never stand directly behind the trailer when opening the doors because of how often things would fall out. And not little things either! I'm talking hand trucks, jacks, large power tools, you name it, somebody probably got hit by one. There were at least two hospital visits in my time there from people being struck by falling items when opening up the truck on delivery day.
that sounds like an OSHA violation lol
@@technoturnovers7072 come with me, and you'll be, in a world of osha violations! *singing*
I can gaurantee you it wasn't delivered by fedex, or at the very least, not the fedex building I was working at.
I work at harbor freight right now. Closing in on 3 years. and I can still promise These anvils still come loose in our trucks and they are just to heavy for the cheap cardboard they put them in. 9/10 times nothing is wrong with them at all the actual product is fine. Just the boxes come messed up cause they are stacked loose bounding around in the truck instead of being on the pallet. That’s for a lot of products though, most stuff that has beat boxes aren’t damaged at all they boxes just got a little roughed up from being loose in the back of the truck. If it is fucked. Every item has a 3 months return on it no matter what, make sure y’all use that.
@@xela2920 wow, just stopped working at harbor freights today. 11-3 shift. The pay was alright but I’m a part timer so I was only getting like $550-$650 every other week ($16.40 an hour) I’m only 19 so like I said the money is ok. Been working there since December of last year so it was almost a full year. Got a new job at an extermination place making $1500 a paycheck, I start on Monday. Don’t know why I’m sharing this but I am.
I used one to take up in a hot air balloon and drop it on a roadrunner.
Unfortunately, when I dropped it, it hit a power line and bounced up and popped my balloon and then I crashed to the ground and the anvil landed on my head.
I walked away but was 3 feet tall and looked like an accordion afterwards as I left the area.
It wasn't a Harbor Freight anvil, it was made by Acme.
Take it easy.
Beep beep.
BEST COMMENT!!!
@@yepiratesworkshop7997
I am trying a catapult next.
@@mushroomcloud1 We were thinking about building a giant slingshot (pulled back by a ship's windlass) to enter into the "Punkin' Chunkin'," but it looks like that doesn't happen anymore. I'd still like to build on for messing around on the farm, though.
Me walking into Harbor Freight
"I'm just getting a new flashlight"
Me walking out
"How did I end up with a $300 bill?"
That's like every tool store tho. And electronics store for me anyway.
I would like to see the stocking figures on those blue puck flashlights. The guys at the Chinese factory must be thinking WTF happened to our sales? since they stopped with the freebees
They have a credit card now and just about everyone is getting approved. I came home with this anvil today and I went in for a rake.
I forgot the rake.
I know that too well🤪
Not everyone who needs an anvil is a farrier or blacksmith. Occasionally, every gearhead or tinkerer needs to whack on something and has resorted to the concrete floor, flat rock,or if lucky, a piece of railroad track. Even the crappiest anvil is a step up. ASO's have their place!
This is the RUclips comments, better be careful you might offend the pros.
Yeah they don’t make concrete like they used to.
Id rather use a piece of railroad track. Just dropping that little bearing on that HF anvil looks like it dented the surface.
@@94sn95gt That is what I use. When I am not beating on it I sometimes just use it as a weight.
This is so true. I know some people who live in a cartoon, and all they need anvils for is to drop on other people's heads.
My first anvil was a 55lb steel anvil from harbor freight. It was made in India. I used it for 10 years. A friend has it and it is still in use. It is now 25 years old. It's a great anvil.
🥺👉🏽👈🏽 Do you think the anvil still thinks of you?
That was the Harbor Freight from 35 years agp. The Harbor Freight of today….well, not so reliable.
I have a HF anvil as my starter, it fit my pocketbook and it will help me learn the technique needed to blacksmith. I don't knock it when I was watching forged in fire and one of the finalists was using one to make his weapon for the final challenge. I saw one who needed a larger quench tank and used an old satellite and even more with HF tools like grinders and drill presses. The bottom line is, use what you can afford until you can upgrade.
Hey now, let's be fair, Ryuu (satellite guy) still uses that dish to this day last I heard.
HF is a wonderful place. I absolutely love the store and have a ton of tools from there and I’ve had a good experience with almost all of them. I’m a plumber by trade and have absolutely no HF tools on my truck as they are not pro grade but for when I’m fucking about in my shop they are perfect for me. It’s not shit for pro use it’s shit for garage use and their stuff works perfect in that application.
Agreed I work in a body shop and I started out with all harbor freight tools and as they break I replace them with snap on....some harbor freigh tools I haven't had a single problem with and other was shit when I first used them like the cut off wheel looked good when I first hooked it up sounded good when I hit the trigger but when I left off the trigger it never stopped ever since when I hook it up it runs about half power
Amen! Well stated. So true my friend, so true.
I do silversmithing (self-taught in a lot of ways) and while eventually I want to upgrade a fair amount of stuff, HF is good for getting started. Harbor Freight: 25% is DOA, 50% will let you decide if you want to upgrade, 25% will still be working when the executor of your will drops them in the "Free" box at your estate sale.
Yeah, my 4 lb. engineer's hammer and my jimmy bar are definitely going to outlast me.
Well silver is such a soft metal you could practically use an anvil made of plastic to hammer on..
I'm kidding lol
But not really.
Definitely NOT a waste of time. I started out on a little Vulcan with a broken heel. Used a stump with a steel plate bolted on top for my hardy tools. This anvil would have been an improvement but HF hadn't been invented yet. I still use the tools I made with that setup even though I now use a 325 pound anvil I made myself. Take what you have and make what you need. Good vid, keep 'em coming.
could you give more detail on how you made your own anvil? sounds really cool. Thanks
Vulcans are a cast iron base with a welded steel face. They generally have 80% rebound, way higher than the HF one. The only reason the Vulcan would be anywhere close to HF anvil in regards to rebound, is if the entire steel face had been chipped off.
I agree, people don't realize how far "make do with what you have" can take you.
I did the same. Startet with a 25kg ambolt-wannabe and Forged in fire. Good times :)
I love that.."Take what you have...make what you need."
A poetic way to put what Ive done for myself and all family members for the last 50 years.
New Harbor Freight Anvil Forging Video... At ruclips.net/video/1Ynk7jGpWCc/видео.html. If you are new to the channel, thanks for stopping by! Consider subscribing and checking out our bi-monthly livestreams at ruclips.net/user/christcenteredironworkslive where we will be giving away a Holland Anvil Swage Block once a month all year during 2021!
I never used an anvil yet i watched this video for some strange reason.
Pray you dont miss and hit a body part in life.
Couldn't you get a steel plate and mount it on top?
I dont see an issue with em. I dont believe any of the bodies floated back up, but ill certainly check. Ty
LOL!!!
Concrete blocks are cheaper -- trust me!
@@yepiratesworkshop7997 Ya but where's the Looney Tunes value in that?
WOW!!!!
They never float back up if you wrap the body in chicken wire first. Makes human spaghetti when it starts to bloat.
I clicked on this thinking "Its a giant chunk of iron, whats to mess up?" I have learned.
That thing was too big to be called a sword...
For my purposes, as long as it won't break when I hit it, its fine.
@@lol5776 R.I.P. Kentaro Miura.
Mine works perfect, just wrap a chain around base. And when you want to move to another fishing spot just pull it up by the attached chain
LOL
Hahaha I get it, it's so bad as an anvil it's only good for being a boat anchor! Pure genius....
@@gwsmith4872 Which also is a perfect description of 90% of the items carried by HF. I've refused to help people change tires on cars because they purchased their jack stands were from HF.
LMAO!!
Lol
I appreciate the fact you did this video.
My closest experience to smithing was when I worked at a spring factory as a heat treat and heat set employee backnin '76.
I went to Harbor Freight for the first time 3 days ago to get a swivel vice,and saw the anvils.
Im STILL going to buy one,since I dont plan on making a living with it.Just need a good heavy steel item to work on ,lets say,my lawn mower deck,to form a replacement skirt for the one rusted out..simple home repair and fabricating projects.
I subscribed to your channel now,because I believe Ill get to appreciate using an anvil over looking around the property for a 4x4 or brick to bend a piece of metal to a 90°.
Then,Ill go deeper into it and maybe one day,get a more precise anvil and learn more about smithing for home projects.
Seems EVERYTHING I find I have an interest in,I jump in with both feet.
It was good to find your channel.
I bought one of these cast iron 55 LB anvils almost 40 years ago when I first began to do my own horseshoeing and to this very day it is still as useful as the day I bought it. Over these many years I have used the anvil to cold forge keg shoes to the shape of horses' feet and to straighten out bent shoes for myself and friends. It is light enough to put in my horse trailer for those distant rides where a lost or bent shoe would otherwise mean a long trip for nothing and great disappointment. I have no idea how many shoes I have fitted over the years or how many repair jobs I've done for my own and friends' horses or how many, many thousands of dollars I have saved, all with the help of my 'cheap' anvil. One of these days I'm going to have to give up doing my own shoeing, but perhaps my anvil will serve another amateur horseshoer for another 40 years.
Why that was a Novel.
Nice
Dosen't the horse scream when you do that?
Wow I had no Idea Harbor Freight was selling 55lb China anvils 40 years ago.
This is a fantastic anvil for beginners. Starting out, mishits are inevitable. This is an anvil that will dent, but is unlikely to crack (unless maybe you hit it really hard right on the heel next to the hardy hole) and it DEFINITELY won't crack or shatter your hammer. That's the most important: It's safer.
They work perfect for hanging out near tunnels and dropping them on roadrunners.
freiermann7 all it needs is the acme hole...?lol
They also make good racing parachutes. You are guaranteed to be the 1st one on the ground.
Kevin Pilkington actually I saw someone weld a hardened steel plate to the top of one. It worked great for that. I bought one after Christmas and am waiting to get a hardened plate to weld to the top of it. 👍
Lol
You've got Harbor freight anvils mixed up with Acme brand anvils.
I was totally expecting to see some hammering on the anvil.
Aaaaaah, RIGHT ? I mean , he barely scratched the surface, lol, of testing this thing.
Hello Jonathan, we just came out with a forging video on the Harbor Freight anvil. You can check it out here: ruclips.net/video/1Ynk7jGpWCc/видео.html.
Someone always adds a spoiler.
I used one for my first year of forging.. It was cheap, and easy to acquire. And perfect for the aspiring smith that may not be sure they want to go full send on blacksmithing!
As a former employee of the big store, I can absolutely say, at the store I was at, we absolutely hated when an anvil came in. They have no additional packaging to soften the blow of getting tossed around. That orange label you see on it is from the truck. They are not in a bit pallet or crate. A typical truck was 53 foot standard box truck, the first layer or two (from the doors) was on pallets. That’s usually tool boxes, the big generator, some store supplies, the rest of the truck, is floor to roof, wall to wall hand stacked by people much better at Tetris than I am. The orange label is a dead sign it came right off the truck. Everything in the truck gets beat up and thrown around. We were not gentle in the slightest as we had about 1.5 hours to unload after the pallets were off. About 1000 pieces. If you see an orange sticker on a beat up box, it’s a dead sign that’s exactly how it was packed on the truck. Very rarely but sometimes, they came in the gayloard that was on a pallet so they arnt too beat up. Never buy anything that couldn’t survive a good drop (calipers, micrometers, indicators, some light bulbs) as they probably have been tossed around already. I was only on the store side of the truck, I can’t imagine how the warehouse side is. Was not worth the 9.75 an hour I got paid to do it. If anyone wants to know anything else about how we ran the store between 2 and 5 years ago let me know.
I work at FedEx Ground and I know *exactly* what you are talking about.
I use to work at HF as a stocker, and idk if it was just the store I worked at, but it was one of the worst retail jobs I ever had, they keep changing employees and managers (I only worked there for a few months) and was poorly run, the warehouse was a disaster, wasn't organized and I'm surprised I didn't get tetanus. Might shop there for some small stuff, but their tools aren't worth crap.
@@essentialeccentricstudio2802 the only redemption for me is I am a really close to the store so if I blow a ratchet up or break a wrench I can walk and take it back. Mine didn’t really go through upper management or even management much, I was there for 6 months. But god damn did we go through stockers. I was one of them, and in my 6 months they probably went through 20-50 people. I quit counting. We had 3 of the 10 that wouldn’t quit after a week. The back was always a huge safety issue, people climbing shelves, riding pallet jacks, riding the forklift, it was a shitshow. But, we met our marks most of the time even short staffed so they kinda let us be. I got cross trained to do register as well, and if your in it to make some money and your even slightly a people person, register pays batter but you have to deal with the asshole management and even some asshole customers and Karrens.
@@Blakews221745Same, we had the exact same problems, not to mention some managers at the store I worked at were shady af, me and this guy were hired at the same time but he only lasted 2 weeks. The only thing I'll miss working there is having that employee discount.
what kind of employee discount they give
I feel I’m the only one who liked his HF anvil. It had its quirks, but it served me well. I gifted mine awhile ago and now it serves a family with 3 boys and their father interested in the craft.
3 boys and their Dad. That anvil is going to go through hell.
@@markfryer9880 lol they are the real review
It would be perfect for me. I don't know anything about blacksmithing. But I might need to whack something with a hammer from time to time. What would be the point of paying big money for an expensive anvil for that?
got my HF55 back in the early 90s, on sale for $14.95, have used it almost daily ever since. I mostly do non-ferrous stuff and it has been hella better than a chunk of RR track
You cant start off with the very best or I couldnt anyways .I know things that I worked hard and saved for mean more to me than anything handed to me
I’m a big believer in using the cheapest tools when starting out.
Never, ever go into debt when starting out a new hobby of craft.
Once you have the income to move up to better quality tools then do so.
You will thank yourself later. Thanks for the great video! Jay
I suppose that makes sense if you're not sure how long you'll stick with it, but on the flip side if you know you'll be doing it for a good long time sometimes it's better to buy the best tools you can afford (emphasis on that as I agree going into debt to buy tools is no good) at the time. Sure it can hurt up front, but buying cheap tools can hurt more in the long run when it breaks or fails and you find yourself out not only the money for the cheaper tool, but also it's replacement and down time while finding the replacement or struggling to finagle a way to do the job without the proper tool.
Snapping off the mounting holes on these avils is NOT a negative. It's a built-in FEATURE that gives the novice blacksmith the opportunity to practice his cast-iron welding skills!
Lol love this comment
@NorthChev
It's better than having him wreck your expensive anvil. Let him destroy the cheap one instead until he knows what he is doing.
o SNAP good one
@Michayal Valder yes you can you need to preheat both pieces with a torch first than go to a mig or tig welder
@Michayal Valder LUL... What rock have you been hiding under? We've been able to weld cast iron for decades now. Cheers!
I have one of these anvils and use it regularly. I chose it because it was the best and the heaviest I could get for the money I had available at the time.
Decent, old, hard steel anvils are going for stupidly high prices here in the UK at the moment because wealthy, trendy people like to use them as garden ornaments and let them go rusty in the rain. So for a beginner Smith like me, this was all I could afford.
That being said, I have used it so far to forge several knives, a couple of pairs of tongs, bottle openers, barbecue forks and other stuff. It's got a few dings in the edges but the surface has held up well and it does the job!
Better than having someone trying to straighten stuff on your good vice. Trust me it happens at work.
Funny. I picked up a craftsman vice with a small anvil flat and horn on the back in a flea market. I think back in the day Craftsman knew people would beat on it, thus added it. It's been useful, and having the option has lead to people not beating on the vice part.
My old man never brought it up but I reckon he felt the same way every time I did it
You keep saying you're "wasting our time," but you're totally not. I appreciated every minute.
I welded a ½" AR500 plate to the top of my HFT anvil. I beveled the anvil edges first with an angle grinder. Then, heated the anvil up with a big roofers propane torch to 350F. Then welded the AR500 to anvil with 7018 rod, with multiple passed. I peened each pass to stress relief the cast iron and kept the anvil as hot as I could with roofer torch. Then I covered the anvil with old blankets to slow down the cool off process. Its been 4 yrs and the plate is still firmly attached w/o weld cracks.
Mine worked great when I hot glued it to the side of my car
Wayment
Yeah I watched your video a while ago. Pretty good. Just wish you’d driven around with it.
Did it help with traction!?!?
An extra deformation zone?
Its about 18 on the c scale. Hardened iron is brittle. Could have a harder anvil out or ductile iron with 1% cu as a perlite stabilizer.
I've made knives on mine and other forgings. Straightened out mower blades and tons of other stuff. It is exactly what I need in my shop. Anybody who doesn't like the anvil can go buy a $500+ anvil and feel better about themselves.
Yes, for the home shop and light duty, its a great gadget. I use a smaller cast iron version in model making... Never would need nor spend the $$ for a professional steel anvil of any size.
Any chance of hardening it ?
Cast iron is already brittle, improper balance of carbon would make it iffy and more brittle. However smacking hard steel on hard steel isn't a great idea anyway. Is better either hammer or anvil be softer than the other
Or skip this crappy ASO and get a,piece of railroad track.
Went to school to be an electrician and am part of a couple electrical FB pages. Guys, can be such petty aholes.
I mean, if guy is starting out and has got HF screw drivers, though spent extra money, on least a Kline meter, no need to hate.
"I'm doing a whole series on anvils this year."
Me: Clicks subscribe
"Ductile iron" is different from gray cast iron. Gray cast iron (HF anvil) has graphite in planes, so it can shatter. Ductile iron is a cast iron which uses manganese in the casting process to force the graphite to nodularize instead of form planes. This allows the ductile cast object to be tougher and even get some usable heat treat. There are some really good farrier anvils and swage blocks that are ductile cast iron.
David Tauriainen fort Vouse outfitters. Sells ductile iron. Stump and other anvils. And swage blocks same iron.
Good job. Well said, sir.
Cast Ductile iron is fine as long as they cast-welded a face plate to it. First discovered by Fisher after they had a fire and found ductile iron fused to steel plates. They "invented" the process of welding the plate on in the casting process. No hard plate, not a good anvil when cast. Swage blocks are just fine as cast (well after cleanup anyway) they do not take the same abuse an anvil gets. Though I am sure my students would give it a run for MY money LOL
@@wayneparris3439 yup. I still have my first HF. I welded a thick piece of mystery sheet steel to it and now it's my striker when I need it. As well it's nice to have when the family is over and the little ones want to try swinging a hammer. That way they don't miss hit and dent my big guy.
Roy said it and I've heard others say it too, if one can make something nice on one of these they can do it on anything. Now I have a nice steel pig anvil and I really appreciate the learning I did on the ole HF. 🍻
Bill Nye knows his shit.
My dad would say this is the food equivalent of “it’ll make a turd”. It’s not great. But it works
Just trying to pack a turd
That's hilarious. Gotta love the stuff Dad's say. Lol
As an auto mechanic, I can say that these little HF anvils do pretty good as a hard striking surface on which to perform automotive and mechanical duties. With that said, however, they are quite soft and a really terrible choice for accomplished and proficient blacksmiths. The only saving grace for these, in my opinion, is that as a novice blacksmith, you won't have to worry about destroying an expensive antique anvil as you progress in your knowledge of forging and metallurgy.
I’m using one of those right now...been banging on it for about six months now.
Do I love it? No. Does it work to make knives, serving forks, hatchets, tools? Yes. If you don’t have a real anvil and you don’t have much money, but you have the urge to smash some hot steel, this is the anvil for you.
Yeah that's about how I feel regarding the 15 pound anvil they sell, I know I'm working slower on it than I would be on a better anvil, but it still gets the job done.
Well said. Use what you got. Upgrade when you can. That's the way to do it.
So it's a newbie anvil
yuli gamein you can call it a “newbie” anvil or I don’t have the hundreds of dollars to spend on a steel anvil.
I’ve watched videos of guys forging on just about anything they could bang on and produced some pretty professional looking stuff. Is it better to have a nice expensive anvil? Yes? If you don’t does that mean you’re a newbie? No. And does it mean you can’t forge great work? No. Use what you have and upgrade when or if you can.
@@onehappydawg understood i didnt mean the people useing it might be bad..hell i am likely going to get one myself..becuse i am poor lol
Totally off topic, but I love the old cow barn. Growing up, it was my job to shovel manure out of the gutter every morning before school. One of my brothers had the same chore after school. Feeding hay and grain, watering, spreading straw bedding--the best time of my entire life. I miss all of it.
Dammit. I never knew I wanted an anvil, until now.
Dude! I have heard about you! I am Danny in Atlanta! Finally we meet!
Go pick one up at Harbor Freight. They are inexpensive.
I love my anvil. It's smaller than this thing. They're great
Years ago HF put the little anvils on sale for like $4. I bought a bunch and gave them to the dads that came with their kids for Halloween trick or treat.
@@danny-li6io Your battle will be LEGENDARY!
I have no knowledge of what makes a good anvil. I guess I was lucky to always have access to very old good quality anvils in the past.
Now I want an anvil for my projects and all I see is junk.
This video will increase my anvil knowledge so I am enjoying the tips and information.
Thanks for the help.
I guess this raises the question of what could possibly be worse than a Harbor Freight anvil?
No anvil.
I've been working on one for 2 years now and I love the fact that I can move metal with it. Granted, some of the metal that is moving IS the anvil but that goes without saying.
Preheat the surface and hardface it. Or bevel the edges and weld some plate over it.
i forge off a piece of rail track. this anvil is fine.
I have two different gauge of railroad tracks one peice is from mine cart rail and the other is standard train rail
I'm just trying to get started
My question is which rail would be better and how much do I need to dress the chosen rail
I'm in the process of building my forge
Any advice from all would be greatly appreciated
@@deathryder711 if the face is overly rounded like some that I've seen it'll act as a bottom filler, which is great for moving material, but you'll have a hard time straightening projects. Just make sure you have a good flat spot and keep part of it radiused. If you can set aside 20 or 30 bucks a week centaur forge has a 70lb anvil for around 300 bucks that's seriously a nice anvil and honestly worth getting. This goes for OP, too. When I first started I found I was spending a lot of money on anvil-ish metal that "got me by" but I find forging much more enjoyable and far easier on a real anvil.
@@53prime thank you
Great video, thanks! As a machinist, and wanna be smith, I have never seen or heard of the hardness tester that you have. Just as an aside, the first machine shop that I worked at decided to close up, I was the first of the crew to find another job and say farewell. The company permitted us to buy any equipment or fixtures as everything was being liquidated. I bought the shop anvil! I talked the boss down to 10 bucks! It has to be easily near 100 lbs. I’ve used it a few times over the past years, I’ve built a small forge, but now as I get close to retirement age, I’d like to actually learn how to use it all.
I have a little 20lb? .. HF anvil that i use for hobby work .. aluminum, brass, copper .. works great for what I use it for
I recently bought one of those for leather and jewelry work
Ditto. I’ve made a rebar knife with it.
I don't know why I got this suggested, but I gave it a shot! Must've been cartoon nostalgia.
My first "anvil" was just a 10 lb sledge strapped down to a stump. After that, I bought the 13lb harbor freight anvil, and that was a step up. Even though it was tiny and soft, It was something I could use to learn on, and it cost almost nothing. I used it to practice on for about 6 months while I saved up to but an NC round horn.
40yrs ago I set a 10lb sledge into a fresh tree stump, and it has been really useful over the years. 10yrs ago it worked loose, so I set it back in with epoxy. I may have to cut another tree down eventually.
This guy's got a tree trunk supporting his basement. He didn't bother to mill it or anything. Quite unique!
It's a large old dairy barn :-)
Yes many places have that.
You should see what’s supporting the rafters in my grandpas attic.
@@Lemurai right visit WV
My grandparents floor joists are literal logs with bark. House built in 1850s
I am 72 years old my name is Roy and I'm trying to get into this a little bit I really enjoy watching your videos
I built me a forge out of a 25 gallon butane bottle do not have an apple hope I win one from your videos
Not Apple anvil
I’ve forged several knives on a harbor freight anvil and yeah it’s not optimal but If it’s all you got and you really wanna get started forging it will work out fine to get started.
I'm thinking about getting one
Anyone who disses this anvil misses the point of why most buy them, this anvil is not for the Smith doing production work, or heavy forging, it's good for light work and for those who can't commit to the large price tags of more reputable brands, still have my HF anvil, I've since upgraded, but still use mine for the occasional odd job
If you can eve find a real anvil... Most people don't have a clue where to get one.
I am just now getting into blacksmithing and I bought this anvil. Still collecting all the tools to even start banging metal. I am as new as they get and have never done this before in my life. Sounds like this anvil will, at least, get me into the game. Can't wait to try it out.
My dad used to tell me I could tear up an anvil, HF would've made that so much easier
My dad used to say someone could break a bowling ball with a rubber mallet. Pretty much the same deal.
My dad would tell me that I could tear up an anvil with a tissue. I can’t tell you how many of his tools I wrecked as a kid.
@@Mikedeela Mine always said I could tear up an anvil with a ball of cotton. I used to trash stuff all the time as a kid.
My dad should be back from the store by now...
My uncle use to yell me you'd fuck up a anvil with a pound of butter id say ya give me some ammonium nitrate to go with it
Absolutely agree with your last statement. I’m only a once in a while blacksmith guy and for the price point it works great! Many successful forged knives have come from my HF anvil.
After reading through nearly a hundred comments and watching the whole video, I've decided to buy one of these..
Well you can but your money is much better spent with a DROP or REM at a steel yard at about 100 pounds. HF is garbage and a waste of money. Now you know better. What you do is still up to you. Good luck.
I actually bought one of those Harbor Freight anvils specifically because I heard that they were soft. I don't forge yet but I do cold-form lots of metal and I don't have to worry about marring my work on the anvil. Some Harbor Freight tools are actually pretty decent.
There are a lot of new Smiths out there who have just Started. I know every time I watch one of your videos I learn something. Now I need to go look up Rockwell. Thank you for all you do
Literally found out about this channel about a minute and a half ago and this is the first video I see. I have one of these anvils and I’ve had it for I wanna say 6 years now. I like it. Buddy of mine broke the horn off his but mine has held up to what I’ve put it through so far.
I love the commenters dissing the thing, claiming anything less than a forged titanium ally steel is useless. One of my favorites is they guy saying how his HF anvil works great as a boat anchor. I'm sure he used his $15.000 rotary screw air compressor to air up his trailer tires before he went fishing - just like most gonna drop hundreds of dollars on an anvil to beat on some rusty ass truck parts or straighten out some part off a mower. Yep, talk it up, fellows...
Right?
And ladies too- been welding my eyeballs out for 25 years
For light duty tinkering that is perfect.
Small projects, seems perfect.
Thank you for reviewing this.
For the hobbies I do, this is perfect.
I agree with pretty much everything you said! I've had one of these and used it for about 10 years. I've re-finished the face once, and the horn once, to re-shape it a bit and remove all that paint (that is a really weird-shaped horn!). The part I don't agree is the mounting spots on the feet, mine is bolted down hard and still in one piece. Maybe I got lucky; I will admit however that I don't do heavy blacksmithing with it so it probably doesn't suffer the same amount of abuse someone beating on a hunk of steel would give it.
On the subject of anvils, yes, there are better anvils out there, but let's not forget that for the vast majority of the time mankind has been forging things, the 'anvil' was whatever surface was sturdy enough to take a beating. Nobody should ever be shamed because of the anvil they use! 👍
SculptyWorks
Believe it or not the first “anvil” that I used was a huge boulder in the yard that just happened to be perfectly flat, smooth and level. It worked well enough for straightening leaf springs and light work but was definitely NOT portable.
@@WRMonger1 Hehe, I love it! ❤
I didn't know an anvil could suck but here we go, I'm interested
If it exists it can suck, something as simple as an oxyfuel striker can suck if poorly designed.
I got one for my father he used it to straighten and round up different things . It looks like new still . It's in the way that you use it
I also started with a Harbor Freight anvil. I'm now using it with my home made treadle hammer. Keep up the good work and God bless 🙏
I used a HF for a year and a half and after I picked up my mousehole, I just can't bear to use the HF anymore.
Hard to see how you could get an anvil wrong
Or why I'm watching a video about an anvil
But I'm intrigued
Harbor freight: we need a solid chunk of iron to beat metal against
Chinese factory owner to his staff: how do we make this simple product as disappointing as our more complex products.
Some of the HF anvils come from India.
I remember wrenches from India that a child could snap....because I did
@@sammolloy1 Had a "Boker," pattern knife made in India, it'd get dull just sitting in a breezy atmosphere. And had less "steel" in it than a bean can.
Great video! I see you attracted many uncouth individuals who seem to require close-up visual aids to comprehend hardness tests on CAST IRON. They can't comprehend how a stainless steel ball can dent cast iron-which-they need to avoid metallurgy in any form. I was thinking of getting this for my wife as a gift. She only works with precious metals and mentioned wanting to try larger pieces but the other anvil is small. I'm glad to see they've improved quality over time. Thank you for your review.
I've had mine for awhile now and forged quite a bit on it. If someone is breaking it in half or complaining about it it's most likely operator error :)
My first anvil was a bearing, from a rolling mill, found in a railyard, took me a couple hours, to carry the sixty odd pounds, a couple miles, home, to reside in the "coal room", my shop. It was hard as you expect a bearing to be, and is probably still working, somewhere in Chicago. I've got a "railtrack anvil" I made with a hacksaw and file, thirty five years ago, and I have a 1917 Fisher 150 lb anvil, I use on occasion, doesn't get better. I've looked at those, but never resorted, found the Fisher before spending on the blue one. Semper Fidelis
My first anvil was a 55lb harbor freight anvil too! It’s still going strong! I upgraded, but it still gets used.
Interesting “Fair” review of a piece of equipment. All of the strengths and weaknesses of the anvil were pointed out along with suggestions for increasing its durability. I agree, not everyone can afford the primo tools when starting out. Thank you for sharing your review. I do have questions on hardness. How much hardness is desirable and at what point high and low should we be concerned? Thank you.
Those anvils are like mopeds, and ...never mind..they're like mopeds.." Alot of fun til your friends see yah" ?
If it's just for dropping on heads I recommend ACME brand anvils.
I just went and bought a medium hard thick steel plate that was fairly thick. So, it had mass (100 lbs) and didn't dent like the soft steel. It works perfect for ferrous metal, and it was $20. It DOESN'T have to be an anvil shape in order for it to be used as an anvil. Save your money.
my grandpa had a workshop JUST like yours with actually about 10 times as many tools but the setting in the basement was exactly the same i literally had flashbacks when watching this haha
The Harbor Freight shop heater must really suck, too... 😂
I see you noticed too. LOL
Harbor Freight: that is where I go when I need a tool for one time use and don't care if it breaks in the process.
bet it's too loud to film and run the heater
@@ralphmcmahan2139 Run the heater first and warm up the place. Turn heater off and start filming.
@@ralphmcmahan2139 Run the heater and warm up the place. Turn it off and start filming.
I bought an anvil from Harbor Freight about 30 years ago and it was made of hard, ductile iron. I did a lot of pounding on it and the machined surface never showed any dents. The base doesn't have mounting holes like the anvil in the video.
Another great video Roy thanks for even testing the "bane of existence" anvil. Thanks for showing your old throwbacks 👍👍👍
5 mins in and he finally decides to take it out of the box, oooh, the supense
soft anvil, solid sense of humor Roy...lol...great stuff! I started with an old piece of ship anchor and still shape some on it...its hard!...You're doin' a great service Roy! It's a great start especially if you lay a piede of steel on top and weld it to it...cut yer holes in the steel first. Many Blessings, Kev
Thank you. I have a small anvil to straighten door hinge pins, hasps, hinges, etc. It has worked for twenty plus years.
It is not HF, but it still works fine.
hey I started with that exact anvil. I even made several Hammers on mine
So let's say I already bought this anvil. Would welding a hardened steel plate onto it help me? Are there any other suggestions that would let me improve this anvil to make it last me a while so I can learn blacksmithing?
@@dangoman01 you could try that I just left it as is I worked almost a year on it before i got my current anvil.
These rich people cutting down what resourceful people can work magic with.
I bought one of these and since I’m not a metal forger it works well for my needs. I also use it as a clamp for box glue ups. Glad I have it.
Roy's having WAY too much fun here.....lol! Good job Roy!
I had one and it took a helluva beating, it's a fantastic starter and especially for the price!
Former HT employee here. I hated dealing with that oil/grease/wax.
Cosmoline
I remember someone cutting one apart with a Water Jet on YT, and it had some pretty decent casting flaws that were filled with an epoxy resin and painted over.
seen a guy on FIF win 10k with one of those harbor freight,...
Like Roy said it's a good starter just to see if you want to pursue forging.
I like how you pointed out some of the toxicity that can occur from the "elders" on forums. It occurs on all types whenever someone new comes along and I have seen it turn away many people from a hobby. Not everyone has a bottomless pocketbook to buy the "best" nor should a newbie start off with the top of the line.
this is the anvil I am currently working with it works till I can find a better one. love the anvil video reviews may help me make my mind up on what to upgrade to
I agree... it is not a terrible anvil to get started with. I've been using one for a couple of years for the random times I do any blacksmithing, and it has been fine. It is time to upgrade however. I did just now see the link below about forge welding a steel plate to the top. There is no way I could do that, but I could just weld to it. I might give that a shot. That'd be more of an experiment though. I am going to upgrade to a steel anvil, mainly, because I want a better horn.
Spent my first 3 years smithing on one of those, cheap way to start since good ones are so high priced
You made a great point. I'm teaching myself leather crafting with the aid of videos and didn't begin with money or tools. I made everything I needed just to get started and steadily bought the correct tools as I sold my products. Just get started if you have the desire, regardless the quality of the tools.
Throws box on floor, cat shows up. Cat in box now.
I think this was a fair and honest review, thank you.
You're welcome 🙂
i have one of these due to the fact the History channel has made everyone with a 100lb anvil think it is worth 500 bucks or better.
Right!? I bought my last anvil 3 or 4 years ago for $700 brand spankin new. It was cheaper than a used anvil thanks to the history channel. I bought my first anvil used in the late 90's for a little over $100 iirc.
No kidding!!!!
For decades a high quality anvil in good to excellent shape was $2 per pound. About 20 years ago, my 250# Trenton cost $500.
I used to teach blacksmithing classes from my mobile shop at different events and had several HF anvils for the students because they are portable and functional for basic things, *especially* after you've spent some time on it with a grinder. You can shape the horn and "tune them up" to be a functional unit if, as you say, keep your steel HOT. Also, to learn the properties of moving hot metal I recommend that people grab a cheap anvil and even a 2x4 and some modeling clay and practice hammering the clay to learn how hot steel moves when you hit it because hot steel and cold clay move pretty much the same way.
If you lack all of the needed resources (money, space, support, wtc.) to aquire a 130lb (or more), "Peter Wright" anvil.
My wife works at HF and I bought many from her. Don't be afraid to get one and modify it to your needs,especially if you're just starting out and need a simple anvil to practice your hammering skills (learn with BOTH hands!! Your shoulders, elbows and wrists will thank you) before deciding if you want to get serious about it, only need a basic flat spot for rudimentary work or what have you.
Use chain around the waist of the anvil to anchor it down, no broken cast.
The biggest thing is to not be one of "those" people who buy a $50, cast iron anvil and complain like crazy, expressing their "serious disappointment" when it doesn't perform like a $1,500, 180lb forged anvil with a tool steel top. You getcwhat you pay for, learn to work within its limits and expectations.
If you want to work on nonferrous metals or of,, lightweight pieces, this anvil is fine for that. I've made hundreds of cloak rings, forged leaf keyrings,, small knife blades and the like on one of these anvils. Light pieces of hot steel will nor wear out this anvil. Start trying to shape 1" square stock and that's another story.
The best advice is, hit the *STEEL,* not the anvil! Hot steel bends... It's not rocket surgery.
(OH, and "epitome" is a best thing, not the worst. 😉).
Really a great thing your doing here. Being able to have a present day example of low cost it cheap anvils in the market is a real plus for those in the market.
I know guys who have made hammers B&B forge Bob Bew on harbor freight anvils . Guys who make knives 1st degree forge Josh Brown. Guys who've made tooling Shamrock forge Jason Sullivan and if course you sir.
It's very doable obviously. It's easier to get in hand and easier to replace if it breaks.
Not everyone can drop coin on a good anvil. $500 to $5000+ is a bite in the wallet for alot of folks....me included.!!
Took over a year of saying that lunch is x$ this is xx$ I'll say this much n eat less to buy my anvil. Dollars and pennies a day added up
🙏God bless you sir
Crawford out ⚒️🧙♂️
Great info!! I'm just starting to look into doing some hobby blacksmithing or 'weekend' blacksmithing. This Anvil just might be the ticket to get me started! Thank you for this video!!
This is oddly relevant. Last night, I found I needed an anvil. Any other time before, I'd never think I would.
I bought an anvil from Harbor Freight 23 years ago. It is a cast steel anvil. I paid back then 99 dollars. Weights about 100 lbs. I used it occasionally. No ware at all. Never used hot iron on it. Always working on cold iron material. Pounding on it, as hard as I could. Very pleased. After I bought my anvil, I noticed, that this anvil was not available any more.