oldplowtruck

Thanks Frosty, those are good tips all. I have not figured out exactly where it is rebounding but I will take a closer look based on your descriptions. Looking forward to squishing some hot metal on it. Rick

Mark, that is really good info. What I thought was a tilted four is probably an A as you say. I need one of those magic movie computers where they say 'enhance' and suddenly you can read the brand of the crook's eyeglasses.I am building a little firebrick forge right now, so I can heat some metal. And pound away. Don't have any bearings handy to try the bounce test just yet. Took a 2 day class at our Lake Champlain Maritime Museum last summer (they have an excellent shop and teaching area all donated by this one guy), and we completed one knife made from a steel blank and started playing with another, the second being from a railroad spike. So I think I will mess with that one first. Attached pic of serial number area.. Thanks, Rick

NJAnvilMan, Dan C, Thomas, George, RustyAnchor (Mark). Frank, FatFudd, Vaughn Your responses are more than I could wish for, you are all so generous with your time and kind words. I am encouraged now to go forth with fire and iron, and make lots of mistakes.. And I think I will go visit my tool dealer again, he had a few bins of hammers, tongs, etc. Rick

I like the idea that good honest use will improve the condition as nj said. The seller has a pretty slick double horned french anvil for sale -check VT craigslist. But I didn't have $625 to part with! You can see some of the other anvils in his post. Thanks again everyone, I like you guys already. Rick

Don't go putting ideas into my head.

Forgot to add, I will resist the urge to grind on it but is a wire brush cup on a drill ok? Also does anyone think the chisel marks could be a by product of softening of the top at some point due to overheating?

Guys, thanks for the replies. And the encouragement. I paid about three hundred for it. I know this is over what a seasoned smith would pay for this but as I said I had been looking for so long when I found this guy I felt like I needed to get one. I also bought a vise (not a post vise) and a peavey from him, so the price is not exact as I haggled a bit on al the items. The weight as stamped is 141, I think he had it marked at 139 or something and he went on about how I picked the 'cadillac of anvils' although I would get a caddy with a few less dings in it. Really I don't care a whit about the appearance as long as it is not a dud. Attached a pic from the bottom. Thanks again, for the feedback, Rick

Don't worry about hurting my feelings.. Cubicle dwelling techno-dweeb looking for more back-to basics skills, piecing together a forge to do some blades, small hardware, etc. I just bought this Anvil, my first, after searching for a couple of years and finding nothing-nothing I could afford anyway. The guy I bought it from is not a smith but a tool collector, had a ton of old tools and about a dozen anvils. He said it was Hay-Budden, but now that I look for the marks, I don't see them. It has 141 pretty clearly stamped on one side, and 097 up by the heel. Serial number may be 4365 or 4355, or maybe something else entirely. My main concern is the what I guess are chisel marks and 1. if they will affect my work and 2, if it means the top has lost its hardness. He said I could grind them off with flap disk. The top is sagged in the middle about 1/8 inch when looking at with framing square going from end to end. From side to side it is very flat. I am not real concerned about the edge chips at this point. It has a nice bounce and a nice clear ring, except for the ring when tapping way back on the heel sounds sort of distorted, but it is not strapped down at this point. I hope that does not indicate a crack somewhere. The white stuff is flour as someone suggested to help reading the numbers. Anyway, I am open to any opinions good or bad, feel free to tell me I got ripped off if that is what you think. The guy seemed to be on the up and up. I was originally thinking to get a slightly smaller anvil with a perfect top but it sounded dead. Thanks, Rick