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Show me your anvil


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That was my plan. I had a 12" x 12" x 96" piece of white oak I wanted the timber frame company next door to cut the end off of and then cut that into 2-6 x 12 x 24 pieces for another project. They cut the entire 96" piece in half :(. I'm wanting to put 2 pieces together and band them with 3 hand made bands after I glue and bolt them together. 

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The new Kohlswa. The kids call her Miss Sweden. Can you see her beauty spot?

I was fortunate enough to be involved with the demolition of the timber wharf in Melbourne, Victoria where I was able to secure a 150 year old piece of the under structure for an anvil stump. It looks like "yellow box" or Eucalyptus melliodora . At 1100 kg/m3 to 1300kg/m3 (it don't float) it's any wonder it seems heavier than the anvil.

IMG_4283 Cropped small.jpgIMG_4242 small.jpgIMG_4305 small.jpgSouth Wharf.jpg

 

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The swedish anvils we see in the states tend to have edge issues unless you round them way back.  GREAT anvils though.

I really really like your stump.  It deserves a band around the top!  Out here in the desert stumps are few and far between and only cottonwood grows large down in the bosque along the river.  So I have several stumps made from old mining timbers---creosoted about 100 years  back; probably good for a 100 more.  My other anvil stumps are constructed from discarded oak floorboards from a scrapped horse trailer floor.  Some are VERY rough indeed but standing them upright and bolting them together with utility pole/guardrail hardware and they work a treat.

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I actually posted this as a reminder to keep your eyes open. As you can see it doesn't get used, it's in storage so the children don't have to cut my other anvil in half  when I cark it. This was an eBay find, I was the only bidder and probably went for half price or even less. Here's the single picture in the ad.New Anvil small.jpg

Sorry to here of your lack of mighty timbers Thomas but it sounds like you have it covered. I could have had a piece riddled with ship borer but thought better of it. Silly me. It would have looked a treat all polished up and covered in 3/8" worm holes.

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Been awhile lads, but here's my new gf.  Between the stump inlay, caulk, chain & turnbuckle, I liken to not have got to the base for S/N but a backsaw did the trick.  A lad on another forum thinks she might be a hardware co variety of HB.  What says yáll?

 

Shes my living room anvil.  Only 78 pound, but with the post oak stump brings her up to about 135.  Light enough to slide about, but heavy enuf to make wall hooks, etc.  Guests don't trip over the lass but onec't.  

WBB&Co.jpg

W.B.B. & Co.jpg

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2 hours ago, ecforge said:

My 448lb Hay Budden. It is a beautiful anvil. Face is spotless clean, but markings around waist show that it has had done lots of work. Very nice tool....

That is a sweet looking HB.

What size is the hardy hole?  I love the mounting system also.. Nicely thought out..

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On ‎7‎/‎24‎/‎2016 at 7:46 PM, ThomasPowers said:

what does the bottom look like?

Thomas, I just don't know.  Between inlay & caulk, the stump won't budge with a timber & 8# sledge.  I'm like you, stumps are hard to come by, so I don't really want to take a saw to it.

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  I love my little S.I.S.co. When A.I.A. was published, it was considered "rare", but seems like a lot have surfaced lately. As hundreds of posts on this site say, rare doesn't mean quality.  You  have both. Edges are brittle, just a heads up. Enjoy. 

                    N.N.F.                                              Beautiful, Manchester, Michigan. USA 

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38 minutes ago, Lionel h said:

The stamp is barely legible I might try to get you a better pict of it . It's been a long time since I looked at it so I couldn't really describe it accurately . What are you looking for in particular ?

Just curious about the vintage.

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My anvil up to this point has been a ~250lb Vulcan. Shown mounted on the block.

 

Just picked up this Wilkinson's  (Queens Dudley) (sitting atop the Vulcan), it has a bit of wear from heavy use (dip towards the heel when using a straight-edge reference on the plate) but is otherwise in great shape. ~225lb

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4 hours ago, Frosty said:

That is a beautiful Wilkinson, that's not enough slope to notice unless you really look. It certainly won't get in the way of work. Nice score.

Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks Frosty, I thought the same. I wondered if I might be better off with a small dip if straightening a blade, where bounce-back might be an issue on the *perfectly* flat surface of the Vulcan?

I honestly didn't expect to find any anvils around here anymore, but I know a couple pickers that make it a point to call me first if they see anything remotely blacksmithing related. I bought this with intentions to hold it for a friend, unfortunately for him he cannot afford the cash right now, and I'm too much in love with it after holding it a couple days to let it go now, haha! 

I scooped it up for $400CDN. Much better deal than the $600 I paid for the Vulcan. As it turned out I later bought another Vulcan (identical save a few welding globs from an uneducated welder that used it as a welding block) for a friend at $350. 

I've started to realize that while there aren't many going up for sale, there's still a few around. Sadly, many will slowly rust away as lawn ornaments or as dust collectors in someone's rotting barn that they also don't use, just because they own it an you don't.  I grieve.

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1 hour ago, LeDrew said:

I wondered if I might be better off with a small dip if straightening a blade, where bounce-back might be an issue on the *perfectly* flat surface of the Vulcan?

My Mousehole has an 1/8" dip over most of its surface; the only truly flat part is the 2-3" just inboard of the cutting saddle. As much as I sometimes wish for a flatter top, that one flat spot is really all I need, and the dip does come in very handy at times.

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Just picked up my latest anvil , a little pocket sized  Peter Wright  0-3-26 {110 lbs} post 1910. good rebound , but I have no history of the anvil , the chap i got it off was given it 10 years ago used it once as an anvil then used it as a step in his shed for the next 9 and a half years, so where and when it was sold new and places it worked are lost forever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Peter Wright 110 lbs (1).jpg

Peter Wright 110 lbs (2).jpg

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