Homemade Anvil with a Hardy Hole - plus Hardy Tools 

When I made my carving gouges in a recent video I realised I needed a hardy hole to help with certain blacksmithing tasks. As my little anvil doesn't have a hardy hole and the fact a proper anvil is out of my reach, I put my mind to how I could get around it. This is what I came up with and I reckon it will do the job just fine! I called it a '$20 anvil' as the steel cost me $5 plus a small amount of mild steel (a couple of dollars), 4 coach bolts and welding wire. I reckon $20 would be about correct!

I wouldn't have guessed Australia until you showed a small tail that is the size of most entire snakes anywhere else, blew it off like this is everyday, and went on with your work. You guys are either the manliest men on the planet or just freaking insane. From the few Aussies I've gotten to know in Canada I'd have to say the jury's still out. Got video, got you a sub. Cheers.

Cool! Indeed you can get away with some cheap scrap material! Interesting workshop pet :)

"who does this belong too?" someone way bigger than i expected, less danger noodle more danger tree trunk.

Over three years after you made it, this video continues to be useful indeed. For me, it's good to know that my very pitiful little anvil, made of a railroad tie-plate, is a legitimate anvil after all! Also did not know about the soft steel being safer for an anvil surface. I started out by just using what's available to me; it happened to be just the right thing. Thanks!

Neil, 100 degrees, a hot forge, and a snake. Can’t get much better than that! Love the video’s, keep them coming. Would love to see an old fashion woodworkers tabletop bench made for joinery, double vices and dogs, etc….been thinking of building one myself.

4:46: This is a good sign. It means plenty of scrap wood challenges to come! Neil, you went up a point today in my esteem of you when I saw the Ozito name - really is the bummiest bum end of tools if ever a bum there was - being utilised by a true craftsman. And so I realised something that I always kind of knew: that there are those who must have the best of everything, and there are those who will always make the best out of anything.

My Uncle was the Farrier on Parker Ranch. Once I found the internet & RU-vid I've had a lot of time to do my reasearch . I work with metal my self...starting a small machine shop. This may come in handy when making stuff out of nothing. Aloha, Chief

Man, I've been binging your videos the last few days (and have been watching for a while) and I always think "gee, I just love the weather, the scenery, the accents, the excellent COVID response, living in australia would be such a treat. Then snake. And nope nope nope nope.

Great and simply, great pleasure to see your work always my friend! And that friend in your shop, wow, love it!

That python and temperature is both why we need more Australian makers on RU-vid, and why there aren’t

Great build, and glad to see you enjoying the local wildlife without feeling forced to kill it!

The snake is a Coastal Carpet Python....Morelia Spilota McDowelli. Some information for those of you not familiar with Australian wildlife; This is a subspecies of Morelia spilota and usually attains lengths of 2.7-3 m (9-10 feet) in length. Dorsally they are generally olive brown to tan in color with paler blotches and stripes. The pattern and colour are highly variable. Midbody scales in 40-60 rows. They have a single anal scale and their subcaudal scales are divided. Most of the head scales are small, beadlike and arranged irregularly. Habitat and range They are widespread in Australia in eastern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales. They may be encountered on the ground, draped across boughs of trees or coiled up in undergrowth. They are frequently found residing in the roofs of houses even in well settled suburban areas, rainforest, wet or dry eucalypt forest, heathland, pasture, agricultural and urban areas. They are active by day or night (nocturnal and diurnal) feeding mainly on "warm blooded" prey like possums, rats, flying foxes and birds, and occasionally poultry, domestic cats and small dogs. Attempts at eating cane toads are fatal. They lay up to ~35 eggs (so watch out, Neil. I think she has found a place to lay her eggs!). They sometimes exhibit unpredictable and aggressive behaviour, particularly when nesting. Bites are not venomous, however the bites can cause lacerations. Common in Queensland and the best pest control one can get for free. I am a snake catcher in Airlie Beach and I have relocated many large specimens up to about 3m without any problems. Love your work, Neil. Keep up the great videos. I love watching you work.

This is the most informative youtube video I've ever seen. Thank you so much.

Your nonchalance about that huge python roaming around your shop was classic.

I love your woodworking projects, and its really exciting to see you venture out into new areas. Thanks for the great content!

Is that a common thing to have a huge snake like that just hanging in your shop in Australia ? Sweet lord he's huge.

Awesome video! I’ve been wanting to make a custom anvil for a while. I work in a very large steel fab shop and have access to a ton “no pun intended” of crane/train rail. The one you made is super simple and very useful. Thanks for the vid !

Definitely enjoyed watching this video! Thank you for the inspiration!

As always a pleasure to watch.

So fantastic and love the extra tools!!! I have a chunk of mild waiting to become a striking anvil! I’m definitely gonna add a hardy hole and make some tool also!! Thanks Neil!!😊💚

Pretty handy having free pest control roaming around.

Awesome build loved it Amazing the tooling you've made over your time on here Keep it up and look forward to your next video.

Another remarkable metalworking job, i LOVE when you do those

🎶🎶 scrap steel challenge.. nice job Neil . what a gorgeous python 😍. mate of mine looked up from reading the other day and had a 5ft tiger snake at his feet

What do you mean, not one of your most exciting videos? This is GREAT. I have been trying to think my way around cobbling up an anvil of some sort, and I really like the utility of this one. I'll get started on building that welder, then the forge, then the hammers then then then.... ;) And I think she's a lovely snake too, no need to worry, she's probably keeping your shop free of mice. Source - I live in Arkansas, USA. Lots of snakes and spider friends!

Awesome as always Neil. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Nice idea for striking handle with a hardy hole . I'm from the US and in my blacksmith shop I had a 7-ft black snake for shot pet they definitely help keep the mice population in check

Seeing snakes like this just out and about reminds me WHY I live in Minnesota, where 8 months out of the year, the air hurts my face!

That's one big danger noodle

Never knew it was called that or what it was for but now I do and yours will work just fine,good video.

Mr Pask ! I really enjoy your videos from day 1 and I'm a huge fan of your simple but effective style... Jeeez it seems Australia beats hands down every other place on this planet for the "I live here but some wild creatures are ok" thing. Thank you so much for entertaining us and sharing your whereabouts with the rest of us !

Just another day in australia. Everything goes as usual.

6months I spent in oz with my brother in Brisbane. He lives in a rural part on open fields... browns, taipans, and spiders the size of a football.... nope not for me that, chill went down my spine thinking back when I saw that big bugger! Apart from that loved the video, I have never seen one of these before but love the versatile nature of it.

Absolutely love this. The epitome of the DIY/Maker ethic!

You’re awesome bud! I loved seeing useable stuff made from things you’d have laying around.

Seeing that snake makes me smile knowing that I won't see one in England.. 🇬🇧

Jeez, it's crazy that snakes can lift their entire bodies like that

I have a similar piece of railroad scrap that I knew would be useful one day. You have inspired me. Thanks.

So much to learn here!! Thank you for sharing.

That's not a snake... THIS IS A SNAKE!

I think you should call your new pet Monty.

Nicely done, ingenious actually. Thank you for showing us your considerable skill. Very impressive...

4/10/2019 USA Pask, you're a living library of doing. Thank you for being here.

Venomous snake = Danger Noodle. Non-venomous snake = nope rope.

If only you could teach the snake to use a sledgehammer. Another use of the hot cut hardy tool that I learned from Torbjorn Ahman is to split kindling. You might not need kindling to light your forge, but when I saw him do it I thought it'd be a great way to make dowel blanks.

Really enjoyed this video. Thank you for posting 👍

Everything Pask does is good. I'm so impressed!

I'd be worried about that big arse Python eating the dogo

Why do I always feel like "where's my face shield" even when I'm just watching a video of someone using an arc welder?

Outstanding work you did there, well done.

One of my favorite videos of yours. Great idea.

Why i could never live in Australia... Insurance company: Did your shop burn down because of neglecting your forge? Me: Nope... there was a snake, it had to go.

Is that snake a pet? If its not I couldn't take my eyes off it once I first saw it. Good video once again.

I know this video is several years old but it was very helpful. You are an excellent welder! I just started welding and it is definitely challenging. Thank you for sharing.

Always a great show. Love his videos.

Nice video, Some of your livestock lack a leg or two

I thought you were going build a snake wrangling hook with that bending jig!

I'm a total newbie to the forgeing world. I'm making a forge like yours and I just wanted to thank you for sharing. Pretty cool ideas your giving me.

This was really helpful, specifically for someone who has been fantasizing about blacksmithing. Thanks 😊

Just a tip - when putting down the angle grinder, turn it the other way (upside down). That's actually the proper way. Took me a while to get used to it, but it's much safer. You don't risk breaking the disk, or having the grinder run around the shop

I wonder why that video is about making an Anvil and not panicking about that huge snake! Is that your pet :-? A lot of respect for the great work that you do!

Very cool fun to watch!!!

definitely one of the coolest maker channels on the tube. keep doin what you do Neil!

Because that happens every day, 8' python just chilling in the rafters of my shop. NOPE!!! House for sale tonight. HA!

OK fine anvil and quick thinking BUT what about that snake ??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was great. Always good to see ideas on how to use things that are available. Using a track link is a great idea.

I really appreciate th practical applications tht can be utilized in making 'Adapters' (such as yor 'Bending-Fork') !

Wait a minute forget the anvil.. You have giant anaconda roaming around in your shop, and you are like lets play a guessing game??? If we saw that here in the US we'd either jump 6ft in the air or 18ft side ways, and that's only the manly men.

First...too bad it wasn't in your wood working tools, cause then you could have had "Snakes On A Plane."😂 ...And second...ever thought of making your own Anvil? You've got the skills...

Very exciting video, thank you for the knowledge and the future projects Ideas. :)

BEAUTIFUL weld job!

Nice idea for a striking anvil and it turned out really well. 😊 On a different note, I like snakes, but carrying on working with one that size hanging around........ are you crazy?!?!?! Please tell me that you knew it wasn't poisonous? ....... actually, please tell me it wasn't poisonous full stop, whether you knew it or not to start with?

That’s a handy Hardy hole. Seriously though is that a common thing to have pythons just hanging about?

That's perfect, man... I like the way that came out.

Really nice looking work, giving me some ideas for another anvil project

There's nothing about your videos that I dislike (even the python), except for the temperature on the thermometer. I've no idea how you tolerate and work in that heat.

Be careful! I had a "BOA CONSTRICTOR CONSTRICTOR" from the Amazon and she ate my dog pinscher. When my son was born, I donated it to a biologist friend who returned it to the natural habitat.

Beautiful job

Awesome build

Does the python pay rent? Or why are You so comfortable with him hanging around? ;)

Nope, just nope. I would burn the shop down.

Good work. Thank you. It was helpful.

I learned much about anvils and hardy holes & tools. Thank you.

Public Service Announcement: This video was found footage of a man who mysteriously disappeared from his workshop and possibly the victim of a hungry anaconda. If you any information about the man's whereabouts, please contact the appropriate authorities. Have a nice day.

I really dig this. A lot of the joy that I get from making things is the problem solving as well. It's not just that i'm gonna make the thing, it's HOW i'm gonna make the thing. Good job man.

Well done! Thank you for sharing.

Great video, awesome guest!

There has been a large anvil in my family since long before I was born. I'm 67 now and finally know what the square hole is for. Now to make some tools to fit in there. I learned something today. 👍

Awesomely useful!!!! Thank you

Really like your ingenuity. Keep up the good work 👍🐍

Dude that was great thanks for sharing

Very cool! And helpful as always -- Thanks!

Great job! Thanks for the great idea!

Nothing wrong with it, I’ve never been bored with any of your videos. Carry on!

Thanks for the tips nice job

Awesome practical anvil!

Great project. A bit beyond my skill set. loved the casual snake watching.

Love your work both wood and iron! Keep it up 🙂

Thank you for making this video! Finding a piece of railway track to use is extremely difficult for me even though I live in a railway town. After a talk with my areas CN office they destroyed my dream of getting a small section of track, but these joiners can be found tossed away beside the tracks (I'm assuming from maintenance, as most are rusty or have surface damage). When spring comes I'll walk the tracks until I find one then turn it into one of these anvils! Thank you yet again!