The Armour Archive

I am in the market for an anvil and was looking at this one...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=42028

Has anyone used it before? Is it any good? The price is right but I have heard iffy things about Harbor Freight and thought I would check on it.

Fortunately I live in Milwaukee so I plan on taking a trip to Centaur Forge before I buy anything. Just to do some window shpooing don't you know.

Any feedback would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Magnus

The top is good for just a hard surface to work on. The horn is close to useless. It is flat and the surface paint chips off a kind of rough iron underneith.

They list for $50, don't buy it for that. They go on sale for $25 about every other week.




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Watt

If you need a low priced anvil, look for one used. If you need a heavy block of steel, look for a heavy block of steel. The only reasons I can think of to buy one from HF, is if you dont have access to any heavy scrap materials, or you want something in the shop that looks like an anvil for demos or something. While HF prices are often tempting, the stuff really is junk.

I hit the one in the store with a ball peen hammer and it left a good indent on the top. To soft for anything I need to do.

Check out the "Anvils" sections on the 21st Century Blacksmith page:

http://www.anvilfire.com/21centbs/

Be sure to take a look at the testing/rebound page. Cast iron has its uses for light duty and coppersmithing, but if you plan to get serious or do any heavy work, you might contemplate an alternative.

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Full time civil servant, part time blacksmith, and seasonal Viking ship captain.

Visit your National Parks: www.nps.gov

Go viking: www.wam.umd.edu/~eowyn/Longship/

Hit hot iron: www.anvilfire.com

I bought a cheap korean anvil many years ago, built a few pieces on it, and watched it get swaybacked very quickly.
My dad took it over to a metal shop he dealt with, and paid them to weld a tool steel plate onto the face, it served me well for many years, and at last report was earning a living in southern California
If you just need something to repair armor on it's not such a bad idea as a start

I bought a cheap korean anvil many years ago, built a few pieces on it, and watched it get swaybacked very quickly.
My dad took it over to a metal shop he dealt with, and paid them to weld a tool steel plate onto the face, it served me well for many years, and at last report was earning a living in southern California
If you just need something to repair armor on it's not such a bad idea as a start

I bought that very same one from harbor freight here in Portland on sale for around $25 and for the the light work I do it's great. but I have not tried any heavy armoring with it yet so you might want to listin to others who know their stuff.
Engenulf

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It would seem fitting for a Northern folk, deriving the greater and better part of their speech, laws and customs from a Northern root, that the North should be to them, if not a holy land, yet at least a place more to be regarded than any part of the worldbeside, that howsoever their knowledge widened of other men, the faith and deeds of their forefathers would never lack intrest for them, but would always be kept in remembrance.
- William Morris

Thanks for the feedback. I am definitely NOT going to buy one of these.

Cap'n Atli, thanks for the link. It was very informative and I am going to give the ideas put forth through some thought before I make a final decision.

Thanks,
Magnus

I actually like mine. It is a decent travel anvil for setting rivets, etc at events. A good onsite or emergency anvil. I do NO finishing or shaping on it, tho.

The only thing I've found the HF anvil good for is setting rivets and rough shaping. Mine is covered in different sized divits for setting rivets, and most of the edges are shaped and cut differently for rough bending and rolling. Other than that, it just takes up space and is hard to move when I'm cleaning. I dont have another anvil, but I've found my vice to be more helpfull for shaping than the HF anvil.

Just to be sure we are all talking about the same thing.
HF sells two types of anvils.
A cast iron one and a HT steel one.
Are both junk?

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Guy
(mka: David Valenta )