Harbor Freight Doyle Anvil Review Part 2 Anvil stand build, forging, and honest review. Sorry guys. 

thanks for the comment

@@ImpulseIronWorks I'm glad you pointed out the plug welds. I'm still probably gonna buy one eventually, but at least I know what to look for.

Would that also explain why those spots are much softer?

Are they visible on your anvil?

I suppose that could explain why it dents so easily. The material is filling up the porosity voids, either way you end up with an uneven working surface after little use. Really enjoy your videos and have a greater appreciation for your content and others after seeing some of what goes into making these videos. 😅

It doesn't seem to explain why they are softer than the rest of the face.

Thank you, I definitely have a deeper appreciation for content creators after seeing a little of what goes into it.

Definitely shouldn’t have made it past QC

Returned this one and found a nearly perfect one in very pleased with, good luck! Thanks for the comment

Thank you, hope you enjoy future videos!

Definitely taking off far ahead of expectations

I appreciate that!

Thank you for the positive feedback, glad you like it!

Fist class welder! Wow! 🤔🤔🤔

thanks for the encouragement!

Glad you found a good one!

Thank you for the comment! Harbor freight took it back no problem and I found one that looks much better!

Thanks for the tip!

Bummer, thank you for sharing your find

Thanks for watching!

If mine only had one or two spots I would’ve felt the same

Not what I wanted to hear, thank you for sharing your find.

Thanks for comment glad you enjoyed it!!

Thanks for the comment!

did you end up getting one?

Thank you, if you find one without the plug welds I have no doubt you will be happy with it

Indeed, collecting all the parts for a power hammer build. Always looking for a larger anvil and may build one.

Thanks for the the advice! I refaced a 180lb mouse hole anvil about 2yrs ago It had a big sway through the middle. It was quite the job. Definitely don’t want to put the time or money into this anvil. Hopefully they will just swap it out and I have better luck with the next one.

Are those voids due to poor casting process?

3/4 works perfect in mine

Thank you for the comment! Hope you enjoy it, any idea why the rebar would do that?

No Sir, it was 1/2" and I felt very soft. This is my 1st anvil. Better than RR## lol

Glad you liked it! Definitely better than the cast iron one

I’ve definitely noticed a diminished appreciation among the general population for skilled crafts people since my youth spanning the 70’s through the 90’s. People not only have no appreciation for how the things around them are made, but it’s come to the point that most of the things they use and interact with everyday are pure garbage…., and they think it’s completely normal.

Sadly we live in a disposable society.

Thank you for the kind words and advice! What was your main trade?

Hope you enjoy it!

Thank you!

Definitely want to do that at some point!

That’s great news!

Glad you found a good one!

thank you

Looking forward to seeing what you find when you etch the face, honestly I hope you find it to be flawless. Good luck

etching the face is a really good idea to test for things like that. And is easily returned to "out of the box" condition if a problem surfaces. Solid idea sir

@@ImpulseIronWorks my neighbor also bought one of these, i'll be sure to check his too. making a tire hammer by the looks of it, i made my own hammer a couple years back, 100 pound pneumatically driven, feel free to see my video of it.

@@ragnarokbladeworks yeah, its something i started doing when buying old anvils to check for repairs.

Steel can and will work-harden to a certain degree, so it's possible those soft spots he found will improve with age, but they'll never be the same hardness as the rest of the surface.

Glad you think so!

Looking for a defect free one now. Returned mine, looked at the only one they had in a box and the display model….no luck

Glad you like it! Thanks for commenting

Glad to hear it

No soft spots on my Vevor, been using it for a 1 1/2 yrs Maybe I got lucky with one and unlucky with the other

correct

Yes and yes

Thanks!

Thanks for the encouragement and the comment. I hope you enjoy our future content!

It’s for flipping steaks on the grill

Thanks, I’ll have to try to make one. Again thank you for your time and knowledge.

Indeed

The splayed legs prevent tipping. My anvil weighs 300+ pounds and I don't evah want it toppled over because we were moving a piece of equipment and bumped it.

That more time and effort on a brand new anvil that’s it’s worth to me. This anvil should’ve never been sold in it current condition.

I think I just eye bales these but you can throw a level on the 1st cut to line them up

Im not familiar with that one Ill look it up!

thanks for the subscription! and yes a tire hammer

Thank you for the comment. I would like to find on in better condition. This particular one had 9 of those round spots. 6 easily visible the other 3 harder to pic up on the camera. If it only had 1 or 2 spots that were not in a high use are then it wouldn’t have been such a big deal. They spots dented deeply after one strike to see if they where hard. That was not the case with the rest of the face. I returned this one and looked at 2 more. The one in the box had 4 visible spots and the display model had 2.

Clay Spencer tire hammer

It’s the perfect size for that!

They appeared after I applied paint stripper and took a wire wheel to it. Hopefully you don’t find anything on yours.

Maybe wipe the face down with vinegar and let it sit for a bit? You might get a color shift in softer spots?

Perhaps after years of use, it with be hard faced at some point. I wouldn’t recommend welding a plate to the top as it will only be connected on the edges..does not work the same as the hardened plates that are forge welded on the cast and wrought iron anvils.

Let’s us know what you find!

Correct

Smaller than the pritchell, looks like they just filled in casting flaws. Glad your looks good! Hoping I can get on that isn’t like this, I like the anvil other than that.

@@ImpulseIronWorks Yeah Harbor Freights return/exchange policy is pretty liberal lol. I'm sure they're aware of the quality control "challenges" they endure and would be more than willing to get you sorted :)

It’s definitely possible!! He didn’t drill the area out or make cross sections, so theirs no way he can know for sure if they were plug welds. It’s a likely cause though.

@@ZYGTropicalsone thing he said was the metal is softer in the discolored plugs.

agreed

Baxter 1/2” x 18” from harbor freight

@@ImpulseIronWorks picking one up this week thanks that's awesome

Use the pull rope.

⭕️😂... it's a kick start 😂😂

You have to plug it in first

Correct

if you are considering blacksmithing in the future go with the doyle anvil, if not the rr track will probably work fine.

Stick with the railroad piece. It's hardened and isn't made by our enemy.

Ok thank you

@@-o-The-Duke-o-uh, try again. I have a friend/neighbor who gave me some railroad iron pieces. Made in China. He worked as a contractor replacing iron, ties, etc.

@@waylandLindale You got it wrong. The railroad was made in America by the Chinese. Very different.

thank you

Majestic forge

The forge is from Diamondback Ironworks

I made mine, came out way better than most I’ve seen for sale!! Didn’t cost much either!!! RU-vid has some great videos showing how to do it!

3/4 works very good in mine

These don’t come in blue!! He was talking about the cheaper, smaller harbor freight anvil that came in blue.

I have some blue stuff on the wall the was reflecting on the surface of the anvil

Glad you found some value in the video!

@@ImpulseIronWorks I think I posted this comment to the wrong video. I had to watch the whole video again to see what I was talking about five days ago. It beats the hell out of me 🤷🏻‍♂️. The same day, I was indeed trying to figure out where I left my miter saw. Anyway, I enjoyed your video at least twice.

Correct

As long as it doesn’t have soft spots all over the face like mine did, I would also recommend it. Just have to get lucky. Returned mine, inspected the 2 they had with no luck.

the point is people are expecting to buy something and be able to use it out of the box not spend time pissing around fixing new 💩 then again you don t have to be a rocket scientist to know there's a reason why they have such low prices on their products

@@BubuH-cq6km you want a perfect tool. 2 options. Buy it. Or build it. With enough money you can buy a anvil that is exactly perfect. It's going to run $1500 to $2000 usd. That is for a light, nice anvil. You spending 1/10 at China freight. It's going to be blemished. You can fix the blemish or go get a anvil. The paint removal is unnecessary. Polishing the smooth surface. I can see that. Smoothing the underside of the horn. I don't see a applicable use for it. The welding of the top plate is normal for the industry. It is a solid cast. In a sand. Blemishes and imperfections happen. It's not porous. It's a blemish. You intentionally hunted for a reason to return it. Congratulations you found it. Odds are when you put the wire wheel on the top you removed the flatness and broke the heat treat on the surface witch is very thin on the top. That makes it soft. 3 to 5 microns is the depth of the treatment. For God sakes do not grind on a anvil. If you are buying harbor freight junk. You are broke just like me. So I recommend if they exchange it you use it as is. It is perfectly serviceable out of the box with cosmaline removal.

@@BubuH-cq6km Looks like you can use it out of the box. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist…

hopefully you found time to watch the part 3 video

@ImpulseIronWorks yes. I watched it start to finish. I even commented on it. I use a old pice of train track. I have a section of pipe inside a section welded to a table. It's mounted in the upright center and can flip. So I've got a round section. Or I pull the hitch pin rotate for a flat table.

Yeah unfortunate, but very happy with my second one!

China..... Go look for something else.

Either USA, Germany, or Japan. j/k 🙃

Correct

@@ImpulseIronWorks is that sow block(the anvil portion) a single solid piece of round bar stock? For your power hammer?

@@jonballard4453 indeed