oaklawnblacksmith

This Friday and Saturday is having their annual farm days. One of my friends brought their 1600 pound anvil and the 45 pound anvil. I am not sure who was doing the blacksmithing for the event.

I just wanted to update everyone on the progress of the 25 pound anvils. The pattern should be finished in the next 2-3 weeks. I am hoping to have the batch finished by Christmas.

A look back at my first anvil that I had cast back 10 years ago this summer. It’s hard to believe I went from this to making large tool steel anvils. I made 15 of them with different styles of stumps.

It feels good to be back in the shop making my own projects again. This will be hanging up in my classroom. I will be teaching a new STEM class this fall and wanted to add something I made.

I am currently in the process of documenting all the anvils I have. We went through one table and it ended up being over 2 tons. Sitting in the grass around me in the picture is around 1 ton.

I made a good friend of mine a cross for his retirement. He finally found a place to put it over top his pizza oven fireplace.

I finally sent off the last swage block to the last state (North Dakota). Thank you all who have helped out in finding people who live in each state.

We just need 2 more states (North Dakota and South Dakota) to finish off getting a swage block in every state. If you live in one of these states, you can get 1 free 5 inch swage block.

Free swage block alert. I currently have shipped swage blocks to 46 out of the 50 states. All except Utah, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota. If you live in one of these states and do blacksmithing or metalworking, I can send the first person from each state one that messages me.

Probably one of the cooler things that someone has done with the 25 pound anvils. They decided to make it into a lamp for their table.

The new pattern is finally made for the 5” swage block.

I also stopped by the Memphis Metals Museum in Memphis Tennessee. They had some interesting exhibits on casting inside. Some highlights include the 500 pound Fisher anvil that was sitting outside, the foundry and the blacksmith shop.

I found out this morning that another company is making my swage blocks without my name on them. I only sell the swage blocks that have OLBS or my logo on. Please report them, or let me know if you see any posts like this. Thanks

Part 1 of 5: On June 26th, 2023, at 10:00 am, the first 1600 pound anvil was poured from H-13 tool steel. I feel honored to be able to make and design quality tools for people around the world. Oak Lawn tools have been sent to over twenty countries and 48 states over the past 10 years. Each tool steel anvil has a unique serial number on the bottom of the anvils, so I can identify the specific area/region to where it was shipped. Every tool produced by Oak Lawn Blacksmith is made either in Pennsylvania or Ohio.

Part 2: There are many different stages and numerous hours that go into creating an anvil out of tool steel. It typically takes eight to twelve months from placing the order to delivery. The first stage of production includes creating a computer 3-D model using Autodesk. Once the design is finished, a 3D plastic model is made and sent to a small foundry in Lancaster to cast in bronze. Once the design is approved, the file gets sent to a pattern shop, where they can use either a large 3-D printer, or make the pattern out of wood.

Part 3: After the pattern is made, it gets sent to the foundry where anvils are cast using a sand mold. The mold for the 1600 lb. anvil was approximately four foot wide by eight foot long by five foot high. The actual dimensions are as follows: 54 inches long, 22 inches tall, 10 3/8” wide face (16” with side shelf). The hardy hole is 2” and the pritchel hole is 1 inch in diameter.
The foundry that I use is a large scale company that does industrial castings for the tool and die industry as well as the automotive industry.

Part 4: I was fortunate to be able to go out to Ohio to see it poured and visit their facilities. It is amazing how much knowledge and science there is behind casting tool steel. I was surprised that they had a scientist on hand that took samples of each pour. When the first 1,600 pound anvil was poured, it weighted around 2,200 pounds including the gating. They poured the gating on side of the anvil where the OLBS is located. The gating that was attached to side of the anvil was about the diameter of a five gallon bucket.

Part 5: Two weeks after the anvil was cast, the sand mould was opened and the gating was cut off. From the foundry, it is sent to another nearby company in Ohio that specializes in heat treating. The heat treater mentioned that these anvils were close to the maximum size that could fit in their oven. They use a conventional endothermic hardening system to harden the anvils to 54-56 Rockwell. After hardening, the anvils are delivered back to Pennsylvania to a machinist for grinding. The anvil is first Blanchard ground on the top and bottom of the anvil, and then surface ground on the top face. After machining, the anvil was shipped to its new home and now resides in Iowa. The second anvil weights 1,611 pounds and was cast on September 21, 2023 and is now in Ephrata, Pennsylvania

New patterns means new foundry. The swage blocks are still going to be made in Pennsylvania, but a little further away.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I just got back a few 10 pound bronze salesman samples from the foundry today. I’m looking forward to cleaning them up and giving them out as Christmas presents.

Christmas is right around the corner. I still have in stock a few of the 25 pound anvils. These are made from H-13 tool steel and hardened to 51-54 Rockwell. They are $285 plus $25 shipping.

25 pound anvils are now back in stock. I currently have 8 left. They are $285 plus $25 shipping.

A new video of the 1600 pound anvil is up on YouTube. I originally placed the order on 10/10/22, and little less then a year later both of the anvils are finished. I have another exciting project coming up as well, but that won’t be until about a year from now until it is finished. Below is the link for the video. https://youtu.be/6B5do1cfm44?si=8T7O8alWZ-hEvdte

I just got back to Pennsylvania to visit family for Thanksgiving. The first thing I had to check out was the 1600 pound anvil pattern. It is a combination of wood and 3d printed plastic. The frame and patterns weigh around 500-600 pounds. The frame is 3 foot tall by 8 foot long. I still need to figure out a place to put it.

Sneak peek at the next batch of 25 and 45 pound anvils that I got from the surface grinder. I still need to put a clear coat on them and ship them out. I will be shipping out this batch early next week.

Now back in stock: 6 inch, 11 pound swage block. $95 plus $15 shipping. I currently have 8 available, and the next time I have some available is around late December.

I am almost finished with the design of the anvil. I think it needs to be a tad bit taller. Otherwise, I think that I got the other proportions correct. The dimensions are 65 inches long, 28 inches tall, 30 inch horn, 39 inch face. Based off a 600 pound Haybudden measurements, it is more squatted then the 125 pound I was originally using measurements on.

I am thinking about starting to make 20 pound Haybudden style anvils after I finish the 2,000 pound one. I am curious to see how many people would be interested in purchasing one? Price would be around $200-225. Anvils that are smaller have a larger percentage of shrink rate, and are a little bit trickier to cast. That is why it is a little bit more expensive per pound to make smaller anvils.

This is the Haybudden anvil I am modeling the 3d prints off of. It weights around 150 pounds.