Sluicebox

Thank you all for checking out my anvil and your great comments. I appreciate it.

Thank you JHCC

Sad that Grandpa passed this year. I did inherit the anvil. Very sad I didn't have more time to share with him. Strange I remember that anvil as a kid being quite large, turns out it weighs in at 160 lbs. I guess to a kid that's pretty big. I miss you Grandpa. Pretty bummed out we lost DSW too, he offered some great advice above. BIGGUNDOCTOR, I took your advice as well, thank you.

Just a little more on this. My Brother brought it out to me from Montana. He had it in the back of his truck for two weeks while he was working a hitch in Seattle. I was terrified someone would snag it for scrap. I tried to tell him that people with the fever can smell an anvil as they drive by, He thought I was crazy. I'm just very happy to have it home. I pulled my Peter Wright out and this will be going in the shop instead, on a nice hardwood block. My neighbors are going to love the ring lol, glad I'm out in the country. Did you notice that well seasoned coffee cup? Coffee and Grand kids are the meaning of life. You let them munch on some coffee beans and s'mores then send them home to their unwitting parents. lol Thanks for looking.

My Grandfather passed earlier this year and I inherited His Anvil. I'm Blessed beyond words. I'm pretty sure it belonged to His Father as well. Great Grandpa had a shop but mostly did mechanics. Grandpa was a real Montana Cowboy, you'd be hard pressed to meet a better Man. One of my earliest memories was of Him having me straighten these huge nails on that as a kid. He did His own Hot Shoe for His horses which I loved to watch. I'm leery about dressing the edges. I don't intend to do any heavy work with it, I'm not a smith. I'd use it on the farm for repairs and such. I built a brake drum forge years ago. This is my prized possession now. I'm very honored to have it and hope one of my Grand kids will appreciate it when I'm gone. The ring and rebound are amazing, I can't wait to get it hot and shine it up. Is it odd that this doesn't have an oval depression in the base? I'd love to know any history on it if someone could run the numbers please. Serial # 15237. Thank you Sorry it's so pic heavy.

Here's one of the Ser # 15237 I'll start a thread on it, don't want to steal your thunder. Thanks for looking.

That's a very nice Anvil. Amazing thing is I just inherited one that has Serial # 15237, our Anvils are Kin! I'd love to see your base as mine does not have an oval depression in it. Same stamp on side though. Mine is stamped 160 so I'm guessing that month they ran medium sized anvils? Your post made a great day even better, thank you. I'll post up pics soon.

I just inherited one like this with the same style base, does not have an oval depression like I've seen on others.

You are all right about us new guys being quick, hostile experts. I am sorry that I demonstrated that fact the other day. I will try harder in the future to learn more before I offer advice. I will try not to argue with someone who is real world experienced in this art. You all know BS when you see it as you have learned the difference. That is a sincere compliment. Best....

Just curious if the new top plate would just be perimeter welded then and would it also require heat treating after it was attached? Thanks for the input.

I'm real sure that one will pass any test you give it. I had no idea that it was in such great shape. That's a getter and a keeper for sure. Nice anvil.

I never tried to use it as I was afraid I would only make it worse. I have too much respect for it to ignore that it has issues needing addressed before use. I'm no expert nor did I ever claim to be one. I screwed up when I bought mine and was only trying to save someone else from the same mistake. Though it is only a tool one would think that at an average of $4-5 per pound now days one should look for quality. Given the choice of hammering on a delaminated anvil or a flat rock, I would use the anvil. I was pretty bummed out shelling out a significant amount of cash for an anvil with serious issues. If you would like to swing the hammer harder to accomplish the same task than have at her, enjoy lack of rebound. If you want to shell out $500 for a 100 lb anvil with a delamed top plate and use it for two weeks and have the top finish coming off, by all means enjoy yourself. I look for anvils that will provide me years of service and will also be something that I can proudly pass on to my heirs. Not at all trying to be rude here with you, but I have seen many anvil lately that are in need of serious repairs. These are being sold to newbies like myself who don't know any better and buy the first thing that comes along. I will continue to read the old posts in this forum and maybe next time I offer advice I will know what I'm talking about. Good day

I know it doesn't look too bad but that's where that ball bearing or light hammer tap test comes in. This thing has two dead spots in it that comprise over 60% of the face plate. Broke my heart. I will repair it someday but for now I like to look at it as a reminder to do my homework and really check things out first before paying for them. The guy that sold it to me said that it was "cherry and worked awesome". Nearly 400 mile round trip and I brought it home not knowing any better. I really hope you do better and get an awesome one. Please post an update as I would love to hear and see how you did. I have a dedicated place in my heart for Old Peter Wright Anvils. You can tell in the above pics that it has been crushed by a heavy hammer. Your anvil can have dings and such on the body but the top plate HAS to have good action and give a lively rebound. Look hard for cracks in the plate, also where the horn attaches to the body as well as the tail. A Peter Wright should ring when struck if it's not bolted down or muffled with chain. Try to do a sounding (ring) on it with the owners permission. Make sure that there are no tools in the Hardy hole or Pritchel hole. If you can't find a ball bearing then take a small ball ping hammer with you. Lightly tap the tail and the horn, should ring. Then gently hold hammer about 6" above top plate and let the hammer swing on it's own to strike the top of the anvil. A good or great Peter Wright will give you 80% rebound. Try this all over the face plate, you should hear a high pitched ring or ping that is good. A thunk or hollow sound is bad. Hope this helps you, some may disagree with my test but that test right there would have saved me some serious coin when I couldn't afford to waste it. 4th and 5th photos above are of a very decent Peter Wright for contrast.

Wish that I'd known that when I got my first PW. It was my first anvil actually. Delam baby. I'll post this pic for you. If it looks anything like this one, walk away. Good luck on the hunt.

Bath fan with light and heater, those used to run about a hundred bucks. I hope you can put a timer on it, My Wife would leave it on all day long on accident.