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If you’re a cottage tinkerer, a strong, heavy anvil is unmatched when you’re pounding metal into shape with a ball-peen hammer. Nothing else gives such solid support, whether you’re bending metal or straightening it out.
Full-size anvils are big and heavy, and necessary for true blacksmithing. For such work, 40 kg is a small anvil. But for cottage use, an anvil between 10 and 30 kg is plenty. Even a length of old train rail, a common anvil substitute, is a solid choice. Don’t bother with a tiny jeweller’s anvil. They’re only useful for the most delicate of jobs.
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Anvils were formerly made of wrought iron, with a hardened steel top surface to resist wear. Today, my favourite anvils are made of cast steel, which has excellent “rebound”—how much a hammer bounces back and, therefore, how efficient its blows are. Some hammersmiths like ductile iron, but there’s general agreement anvils made of crack-prone cast iron or mild steel are lower quality—and they just don’t deliver the same rebound.
A new 30 kg cast steel anvil can cost around $180. Used anvils tend to look very worn, but if the bargain you find at a country auction is free of visible cracks or breakage, it will probably be more than fine for banging away outside the woodshed.
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Every anvil needs to sit on something solid to raise it to working height, and the traditional option is a short log set upright on end, with the anvil strapped or bolted to the wood. Cut the log so the working surface of the anvil is level with your knuckles as you hold a hammer.
Pro Tip: Many old cottage workbenches have a short length of train rail in a corner or on a shelf. It’s a fine, budget-friendly anvil if you only need one for occasional use.
This article was originally published in the June/July 2025 issue of Cottage Life.
Photo Courtesy Vevor
anvil Drop-Forged 10kg Steel Anvil
The acme of tools, the anvil has infinite uses in your cottage workshop, from hammering metal to bolstering supports.
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