Watch the video below. Look what he does with perfectly good anvils!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IhQ4dE_RGnQ

I looked farther into the crazy topic an it looks like he's not the only one launching anvils

Seems to be popular in a few places. I've seen some on TV.

Anvil blowing has been around for a long time.  I have no idea when it started, but Gregson, the blacksmith at Sutter's Fort in 1946, used to blow an anvil every Fourth of July.  We had one of his anvils at the Fort (it was about 250#) that had been donated to the Fort by his family.

All kinds of stories circulate about anvil shooting. Not sure which one is correct. One of the more popular "origins" is that it started in the deep south after Civil War troops tried to blow up the opposing side's anvils so they couldn't repair anything, but only failed as the anvils were tougher than the powder!

ABANA and a lot of their smaller affiliate clubs and associations had some kind of falling out about it some years ago, after ABANA advised against it, according to one of the older gentleman in my association.

I would give it a try, but only with a poor example of an anvil. Never with a good, usable one. To me, the cheap cast iron Harbor Freight anvils would be perfect, as they aren't worth spit to a real blacksmith, unless they need a doorstop for their shop.

Just my opinion.

ABANA, the national organization came out against this activity, because of too many close calls.   I have worked with a guy that spent 4 months in a burn unit, when the powder went off prematurely.   One well organized anvil shoot went like this.  In a grassy meadow, had a rope around the area.  The crowd was assembled, and the team went out to set and light the fuse.   When they were running away, a curious 3 year old started running out to see what they did.    Luckily he was corraled in time.   With the price of a good anvil, and the general change in society which includes not watching the kids, and liability insurance for any event, its an activity whose time has passed on by.   The Civil War re-enactors  I know,  believe the anvil was shot as a warning, which could be heard for a mile or two.   Besides, I had enough of loud booms while in the Army. 

Quote from: keykeeper on June 20, 2013, 03:04:40 PM
All kinds of stories circulate about anvil shooting. Not sure which one is correct. One of the more popular "origins" is that it started in the deep south after Civil War troops tried to blow up the opposing side's anvils so they couldn't repair anything, but only failed as the anvils were tougher than the powder!

Very doubtful  origin.  Not many  anvils are damaged this way unless they fall on some hard surface.  Gregson did this every Fourth of July, according to the stories about him,  and none of his anvils were damaged.  As a working smith, he wouldn't have done something that would endanger his livelihood,  do you think?  (And he had no particular connection with the deep South.)   Plus, troops would be more likely to just take the anvils away, just like they did with cannons, traveling forges, and small arms.

People like to find "practical" reasons for things, like the "practical" reason for the nibs on old hand saws.  The reason for blowing anvils, seems to me, is that guys like to blow things up, make big noises -- it's fun. 

I couldn't believe how high they went but that said I paid too much for my Hay Budden.