Make Your Own English Wheel Anvils from Cheap Casters

[goodfellow]

I made these for an e-wheel project. They are made from 3" sintered metal casters that were purchased from Northern Tool for $5.00. They make excellent anvils. I'm not a big fan of "flat spotting" the radius because I believe a full radius provides better tracking and crown development (to each his own). A flat can certainly be machined very quickly --

There were made in an afternoon -- formed with a template and the final finishing was done with a file and emory cloth because the sintered metal flakes easily with a standard carbide cutter and low speed. My lathe doesn't have super high speed so i had to compromise.

The biggest factor in making these anvils is machining a sound mandrel on which to mount the casters for turning.

The first pic shows the machining process for the mandrel (just some scrap aluminum rod).