New England Ironworks

I now own an anvil!

I watched eBay, which frequently shows anvil listings but drives a high premium.  Here in New England, the average anvil up for auction runs about 125 lbs and the average price on an eBay auction is about $2.25-$2.50 per pound.  Very few offer shipping, so sometimes it also entails a 200+ mile drive each way to pick up the goods.That was a little steep in my book for getting started.  Craigslist offered the occasional better deal, but it's almost like there's a conspiracy of blacksmiths out there snatching up every anvil on Craigslist as soon as they are posted.  Either that or everybody and their brother have decided to take up blacksmithing in 2010 and they're in the market for an anvil.

Luckily, the old personal touch came through.  After several evenings chatting with fellow members of the Knights of Columbus about learning blacksmithing and looking for an anvil, one of my fellow knights found a friend whose 90-year-old father was clearing out his metalworking equipment.  One of the items he had around was a rather ancient-looking anvil.  A few phone discussions ensued; a meet was scheduled for me to check it out.

First of all, there's something cloak-and-dagger about meeting in a parking lot and striking a deal over merchandise out of somebody's car trunk.  I found myself staring at a rusty old hunk of metal, possessing the classic profile of an anvil.  Secondly, I've read a little bit about anvils, and know I'd like to spend as little as possible, but I'm no expert on knowing what is a fair price.  The asking price was $200... and after watching many slip through my fingers, I decided to take a chance.

I did manage to load it into my SUV's cargo area with his help, and once it arrived home I dared to lift it out of my vehicle and onto a cart.  A rap with a hammer yielded an adequate ring rather than a dead clunk, so I know I've got some decent steel on my hands and not just a boat anchor.  I would say easily that this was one of the heaviest things I've ever lifted, and that is after a career as a Network Engineer installing servers into computer racks, and a side career as a DJ; loading audio gear, racks of equipment, speakers and subwoofers.  I don't yet have a scientific weight for the anvil, and I have not been able to discern any stampings or markings of weight or brand.  Based on the effort required to move it 3 feet from vehicle to the ground, my initial ballpark figure is about 170lbs.

I will post more pictures of the anvil along during the cleaning and identification process of what will be my new workhorse.

Before I blow a whole lot of money on tools, I did some digging and located the website for the Artist Blacksmith's Association of North America (http://www.abana.org).  Based on some of the preliminary items there on how to get started in blacksmithing, I picked up a few books to read and keep around for reference.

The books I picked up to start with were:

I began with reading up on the tools of blacksmithing, the types of steel used, and the basic techniques involved.  Among other things, discussion of shop design, and different types of forges was very interesting.  After reading about the fundamentals, I though it made sense to look into getting some budget-priced basic tools.  I picked up a few hammers at Sears that will fit the bill, and started looking for an anvil.

You'd be amazed how tricky it is to find a workable anvil in New England without spending a modest fortune.  Just about every anvil over 100 pounds with anything is selling on ebay for $300+, and you have to spend gas money to go pick it up.  Craigslist offered a few alternatives, and I am reaching out to a few people to see if I can score a bargain.  I have a small propane/propylene hand torch mounted to a workbench that is my "forge" and I've dabbled in banging some steel on the anvil portion of my bench vise, but it's rather awkward.  I'm looking forward to having a proper anvil.

I plan on building a coal-fired forge made out of a brake drum, firebrick, and some cast iron pipe.  The torch is somewhat workable for heating up 1" of steel at a time, but any serious forging will require a larger heat source.  Harbor Freight has a wheeled cart for $39 which would make a decent base that I could wheel out of the garage to keep fumes at bay.

I will continue reading and will add blog posts along the way as I have a story to add.  Hopefully someday this blog will be a great story about how I became a blacksmith.

Throughout my life I have had a creative streak.  Growing up I was very artistic, sketching in pencil and pen & ink, painting with watercolors and acrylics, throwing pottery, writing poetry and short stories, and playing saxophone and piano.

I went on to study Architecture at the University of Miami, and after working in Computer Aided Drafting for some time I developed a fascination with computer networking.  I changed career paths, and went on to work as a network administrator and engineer from 1997-2010.  I still integrate my artistic calling with computers by volunteering for various non-profits doing graphic design and web development.