Last week I noticed how my anvil ring tells me more than I thought

I was out in my shop last Tuesday working on a set of gate hinges for a guy near Salem. Been doing this for about 12 years now. I was hammering away on some 1/2 inch mild steel and the ring from my anvil just sounded off. Higher pitched than usual. At first I figured it was just me not hitting it square. But then I stopped and checked my anvil. Turns out the stand had worked loose on one side over the past few months. Tightened it up and the ring went back to that nice low tone. Now I pay way more attention to that sound for catching problems early. Has anyone else here used the sound of their anvil to troubleshoot stuff like tool wear or a bad heat?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivia_barnes9711d ago

Three years ago I was forging a set of bottle openers and my 175 pound Fisher started singing high and thin. Ignored it for two days until a buddy pointed out the base plate had a hairline crack running almost all the way through. Caught it just in time before it snapped clean off. Now I listen for that pitch change like a hawk, especially when I'm working with thicker stock.

wadeyoung11d ago

175 pound anvil sounding like a canary in a coal mine and you ignored it for TWO DAYS? That's like ignoring your check engine light until the engine falls out on the highway.