Anvils, Swage Blocks, and Mandrels

My wanted add came thru again..Only the second time ever but it sounds promising..The seller collects anvils and tools..Sounds like a sincere straigh forward kind of guy..he has a 240 fisher for sale that he said is in great shape and a larger anvil of unknown make..He said that it is roughly twice the size of a 200# anvil so hes guessing between 350-400 pounds..Very "Blocky" looking.Kinda short heel and horn.No markings on any kind, and he seems to know what hes talking about..He said if i was interested in it he could have it loaded for me but he has no scale big enough to weigh it..Im curious as to what it is :confused: ..Possibly an early mousehole?? It does have a ha…

I think it may be an Arm and Hammer anvil.Has a great face and good clean edges with only minor marks..It looks like the first letter on the top is an "A" and the last two letters of the top left word are "ER"..Between the two lines has pecker marks so if there was anything there you cant see it..The bottom as you can see says "Wrought Iron"..Below that 100 with no marks and it does weigh 100# which also leads me to believe its an American made Arm & Hammer...Am I wrong? If so please correct me...Thanks...

I recently found an anvil today and I am going to pick her up Friday, owner said it was made in 1870, weights 152lbs and it is a england made anvil, still has the little tool on the top of it, What you guys think? i know she looks rough but I hope to bring this beauty back to life and give her a new purpose, anyone fimiliar with the england made anvils? Thanks and Godbless,Charlie

I'm following the basic rules to get started: Something to heat up the iron -Washtub charcoal forge (to be built) Something to hold the hot Iron -TBD Something to hit the iron with -Cross Pein 2lb Something to hit the iron on -TBD (see below) I was toying with the idea of picking up a 6" square by 12" long piece of metal as a starter anvil (122lbs) and setting it in a stump or cement. I'm looking at the following from this company (located in Canada) http://www.metalsupermarkets.com Hot Rolled Carbon Steel square Grade: ASTM - A36 / CSA G40.21 44W (I don't know what this means?) Is this a suitable grade steel? What grade would be best? I'm not ruling out a …

Hi I recently bought an old anvil but I am unsure of the brand. I tried searching the net for any imformation about it but I did not have much luck. So I thought that y'all might be able to help.well here go's.on the waist under the heel it is marked with a symbal that looks like either a "V" or an inverted triangle.right next to that mark is the weight which says "71" I weighed it on my scale and that is the correct weight.The mark and the weight are raised and not stamped I have been told that means that it was cast.there is also 1 hole in each foot for mounting it.other than this I do not know much about it the man that I bought it from said that it came from a sch…

I have these two drops that weigh about 120lbs a piece and I was looking for suggestions on either welding or some other way of fastening them together to make another surface for an anvil. I was also wondering if you guys thought I should (temper?) the surface that ends up being the top. I'm really not sure how hard they are only that they really heavy for being as small as they are. Pictures attached. Again open to suggestions and ideas. Russell

Anyone used one or have any comments on these anvils? I may have a line on one at a decent price but would like some feedback on them first..Thanks This particular one is a 70 pound big face...

Howdy folks, I'm new to the forum and new to Blacksmithing. First off let me say Thanks for the knowledge I have gained just from being a lurker. I have a 222lb Arm and Hammer and was wondering if anyone could tell me something about it, age, construction, what it's worth and...is it any good? I just started swinging a hammer a few days ago and haven't had the anvil much longer. I also have a Fulton that weighs 75lb and that's about all I know, again any info would be appreciated. some photos numbers look like 34153 The Fulton

I just wanted to let everyone know the 2008 AFC at Tannehill was GREAT!!! It was the best money I have ever spent on any classes anywhere. I took some blacksmithin classes and learned alot from the teachers. Got myself a bunch of good forging steel, a bunch of old hasps and files, some 5160 steel "I believe thats what it is", a very old thick fire pot, and a hammer made by some guy named Bill Pinera? I was told he has passed away but he was very well known in the blacksmithin community, and also 500lbs of coal!!! I cant wait to try out these things I learned, but I gotta find myself a anvil. Now I have read a ton about them and looked at every picture on here about Trent…

Here are some pics of my forge and anvil 127# Haybudden and hand pump type rivet forge

A friend told me about an anvil that he saw lying under some rubbish in the back of a shop in town. We tried to get to where we could identify it and assess it's condition without looking too interested. The weight was clearly marked - 1-3-9 (205 # if my math is right) but the maker was not clear. You can clearly make out HILL as part of the name, but not even a portion of any other letters. Beneath that , was irming which I assume would be Birmingham England. Any ideas what this might be ? I'd like to have an Idea what it is before making an offer. Thanks, Patrick

I just purchased my first anvil and would like to know if anyone can help me pinpoint when it was made and any good or bad points about it.It is a trenton anvil stamped 119 usa on one side,and on the front left side of the foot a T letter and then the right side of the front foot A2639,it's not in bad shape,just a few small chips along each side of the face,I read that the old smiths used to round off the sides of the face 1/2"to 3/8' to prevent chips accuring along the face,is this a good recommendation,let me know,any info will be helpful.

I recently was given an anvil. It was sitting in a buddy of mine's barn. It is an old 150lb ferriers anvil that one of the previous owner fill the hallow with lead so no it probably weighs about 200-250lbs. It is about 2-3 feet from hoen to the other end. It is not with out its problems though. The typical area you would work in has been worked som much that their is a baseball size divet that is about 1/4 of an inch deep. At the base of the horn is where one of the previous owner did all his host cuts and ther are some lines there also. Now I was wondering if it is worth my time to try to grind the anvil flat or weld on a new face? Would it just be better to leave …

Has anyone heard of this kind of anvil? Is it a quality type, or more cheap/generic? I've been looking around for kind of a while and now found someone one Ebay with several anvils for sale in Mass. Life has been pretty busy but I might finally be able to set up a makeshift shop until I'm done with my "shed." Thanks all for the help.

Wich anvil is the most sought after for collecting and or using ? Peter Wright , Fisher , Haybudden others ? And why ?

My Old English Anvil Collection, Minus The Hay Budden...

anyone ever been to this Anvil shoot ...looks like fun National Anvil Shooting Contest

Hi all. I have a opportunity to buy a peddinghaus #12 anvil. Are they still a good anvil and worth the price and would they hold up to say a Nimab or Refflinghaus. thx Jason Crawford.

Well tonight I picked up my newest anvil. Think it could of been 160lb, but it's 80lb because the bottom is not there, instead it's a wood base. What would be it's value? It's still real nice. 27" long 4" wide 1" hardie Excellent rebound used it tonight for a little bit. Pictures attached. I'm thinking it's worth $80-$120 because of the base missing. I paid $40, I nearly hurt myself when I found this anvil, trying to find my phone to call him. What should I do to make the anvil more usable? Because of it not having a bottom/base. You can see in the pictures where the anvil turns into wood. It has a diamond on it, and it looks like it says Columbian across the d…

Does anyone have any experience with these ? I'm still using the old family Hay Budden (about 180#)but when I get set up in the new building, I want to pick up a new and bigger anvil. I'd hate to be the one that does in my Great Grandaddy's anvil. It's a hard decision. I am looking at the Nimba, and the Rat-hole also but I'm leaning towards the Ozark pattern anvil. If you guys were going to throw down a couple grand for a new anvil , what would it be and why ? Thanks, Patrick

I am fairly new here and have some questions. I have my anvil and froge setup and need some ideas on a tool tray. I have included pics of my forge and my anvil. Any help is appreciated. matt

I just finally got around to building the base for the 135 pound M&H Mousehole that I purchased back in April. Sorry for not attaching a picture sooner, but after this weekend, I'm fired up about anvils again. Anyway, this weekend I passed a yard sale, and since the wife wasn't with me, (she doesn't like yard sales), I decided to stop. The guy there seemed to be selling mostly old tools - 40's 50's era. I asked him where all this stuff came from and he told me his father in law was a machinist and that he recently died and he and his wife were selling his estate. Everything was for sale including the house. I rummaged through dusty old boxes and picked up …

Hi I would like to share this picture from an Antracit member. U know u have too start practice early to become a god blacksmith. (1pic of 4pic). Is it this early they talk about, 20 months, ?

Hi all.I bought myself a nice Anvil today:D.Im puzzled by the makers name on it..it has the letters 'K L' in raised form and the number 40 which must be the weight in kgs.Has anyone heard of this make/Any info would be great...Ill post a picture of it in the anvils gallery soon.

Hey Everyone, So, here's a picture of my "new" 1909 Fisher & Norris 200 lbs anvil. I found it yesterday at an antique mall. The guy wanted $279, and I talked him down to $200. I figure that a buck a pound at an antique mall is pretty good. It seems to be in over all good condition. However, you can see that the horn is pretty scarred up, and the edges of the face have some chips missing. I'm wondering if I can have it resurfaced somehow, as opposed to just grinding it down and loosing more material. Where would I go for that, and what process would I ask for? Best, -L