My anvil went from a ringing bell to a dead thud after 6 months of use

I picked up a beat-up 150-pound anvil from a farm sale in Ohio last spring, and it used to ring so loud I had to wear double earplugs (my neighbor actually complained). After about 6 months of daily forging, that ring just vanished and turned into a solid thud - I'm guessing the face finally settled from all the hammering. Has anyone else had their anvil change sound over time like that, or did I just get lucky with a worn-in tool?

2 comments

2 Comments

rayc831d ago

Oh man, that's exactly what happened to mine. I think the face just finally settled into the body after enough hammering, deadening the ring. Seems like the scale and microcracks filled in over time, turning it into a solid thud. You aren't alone, lots of old anvils go quiet after they've been worked hard for a while.

mila_jones3916h ago

Tbh @rayc83 that 'settled into the body' idea doesn't really hold up for me. Anvils don't just settle, the face and body are two different pieces that were forge welded together, so that gap is there from day one. The ring dying down over time is more about the scale filling voids than the metal itself changing shape.