clinton

No problem, you did a great job putting that new face plate on there I would hate to see you mess it up.

That "peculiar swage looking plate of sorts" is a stake plate possibly Pexto, they are used to hold sheet metal forming stakes and are worth some money to the right person. They can be worth a lot more with the stakes.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pexto-Stake-Plate-XLNT-Blacksmith-Anvil-Tools-/230893862418?_trksid=e11014.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%252BDDSIC%26otn%3D8%26pmod%3D251192985682%26po%3D%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D4025547555605492618&_qi=RTM1240451

Looks kind of weird - pointy horn and the hardie and pritchel are way out of place

I would guess that it was a home made job. I would not want to pay much for it myself

Go ahead and fry it

Oh sorry you probably don't want to hear that either (But it is funny)

I am totally brain dead with electrical issues and usually get my brother to fry it instead

Chad- I did not bid on the vice I was just watching it and drooling- a very nice piece

http://www.zianet.com/ebear/metal/heattreat3.html

Ok I got help read this

I would try using it before going through the trouble of heat treating. It will take quite some time to get it hot enough to do anything with a rosebud. You will need to get to a non-magnetic heat. Dropping it the tub of water may be dangerous and not very effective, it needs to cool rapidly and dropping in the tub will produce a steam blanket around the anvil that will slow the rate of cooling and you will end up annealing (make it softer) or you may crack the face plate.

Do a google search on "Heat tratment of steel" there is a very good source from the Machinery Handbook 1924 edition (I would copy & paste but it won't let me do that anymore for some reason)

There was a # 5 on ebay 7 inch jaws, looked to be in real nice condition. Had a "buy it now" of $465 it did not sell. It was missing the leg also but that is no bid deal as it just screws on

Here is the coolest vice I have seen this one sold for over $800.00

It looks like you did a good job on the fix, it may be springy in the middle but forging near the edges should be good.

I picked up an anvil that someone added a top plate to about a month ago. They did not cut out the hardie hole or pritchel so I plan on doing so myself. Got the anvil and a set of torches for $125 and I would have paid $100 for the torches so the price was right.

I would try to use it as-is before attempting any heat treating

oops double post my bad

It is difficult to keep the top cap flat and true when bending on edge (The hard way) I have had this problem also. Some bending wrenches can help tweak it back. Make two "wrenches" that fit snug on the rail cap and twist them in opposite directions to tweak it flat again.

I am planning to make a set of those drawing dies, now that I have a shaper it will be a good project to learn how to run that machine

Those are great little sanders, I sanded down the side of my house with one and it is still going strong. It is a variable speed sander, I have Ship Lap siding in a pattern called "Teardrop" that has about a 2 1/2 inch profile with a rounded nose at the bottom edge. The siding is redwood (house built in 1943). I had to scrape and sand to bare wood to get a good coat of paint.  There is a wide range of belt grit available also

I will put in my 2 cents worth, having known Brian and seeing him demonstrate dozens of times over the past 10 years or so I fully understand what he is showing here.

Dan P. I have not seen any reference made by Brian claiming this hammer "the best hammer known to mankind" Nor do I recall him claiming to have "Invented the wheel" He is showing how the rounding hammer can be used at different angles to move the metal. And yes for many people here in the states using the edge of your hammer and the edge of your anvil is news. I see many beginning smiths who have no formal training just put the hot metal on the face of the anvil and wail away expecting it to somehow magically end up forged into something they intended. We have no formal training here, there are no apprentice programs. Brian teaches a very simple method, he and his brother Ed have been using their home made anvil to show how metal moves when it is put between the "DIES" Forging is done by putting the metal between the dies, and yes the hand hammer is a die and the rounding hammer has many different dies

George- I am planing on doing a small panel that will be a better way to show the forged elements. This will keep them in one place, thanks for you input, all comments will help me out

Sounds like you have some guys interested, you should have no problem selling it

Ok kind of a mixed response, I will try to address each with merit and respect for those opinions.

George- it was not my intent to make this a stand alone piece, it is just a sample of the forged element that I can show to potential customers. I thought this may be a good way to keep them together so they are not scattered about my shop. The forge welded bundle is easy to set up and this was a good way for me to get some practice at it without the risk of messing up a project that had many hours invested.

Mailmaker& Metalmangeler- yes you guys get it and thanks for the input

Phil- When I fit up for this bundle the ends were forged down to 1/2 inch square so the entire piece together is 1 inch square. I used a piece of 1 inch x 1/4 inch flat bar for the collar. I cut the collar at 4 1/2 inches long and when closed around the bundle the ends met up nice. Apply a little of the Mountain Man Flux and stick it all together.

Rich- This was an experiment to see how the metal moves and I needed to do some light forging on this hammer to get the new bearings run in, this seemed more productive than just drawing out a bunch of tapers or something, thanks for the positive input.

Colleen- I was just trying to give credit to the person that I learned this technique from, and thank you for the positive input as well, I ran out of time to do the fine tuning I had to go tend to the BBQ

I have been working on some sample pieces, forged elements under the power hammer. The material is 3/4 round, I separate a small amount and forge it into various shapes. Then flatten and use a 1/2 inch fuller to spread the material lateraly (to the sides).

I took 4 of theses elements and did a "Brazeal style" forge welded bundle. I also upset it to get a base so it will stand up for display. I plan to do a little tweaking to make it flow better (it looks like the pieces are just stuck in there now).

I may start on a small panel using this type of forging so people can see how it will look when assembled in a frame.

Stand it on edge and torch cut then grind some forging dies. Build a tripod and you have a "Brazeal style anvil"

Did you Weigh the anvil? The weight of an anvil, condition and location are what determine the value.It is nearly impossible to tell how much an anvil weighs by looking at pictures. I have seen anvils advertised as "Large"  or "It takes 3 or 4 men to lift" and it ends up being much smaller than what I would consider a "Large" anvil. So an accurate weight is needed to value it. A bathroom scale will work.

I know that in CA a hit and run driver is an uninsured driver and you can collect from your own insurance co that way. Of course they do not want to pay it, and when this happened to me they told me that I needed to have the license plate number (two months later I saw the guy and was able to get the plate #) Kind of hard to get a plate # after busting the windshield with your head. (Now I wear my seat belt too old for those hits anymore)
Looks like minor damage it can be fixed

The serial # puts in at 1922-23 according to Anvils in America.
Most of the Arm & Hammer anvils that I have seen have the weight stamped under the logo, there is another thread going that looks like the weight is stamped on the front foot, but that is a 1948-49 anvil

What you have is one of the last anvils that they made. Serial # 51799- & up would have been made 1948-49. According to Anvils in America. The 300 may be the weight of the anvil, although I have seen weight stamped on the side on Arm & Hammers.
Your anvil was arc welded at the waist to join the base to the upper portion

At $1.66/ LB ? RUN don't walk. That anvil would sell for an easy $4.00/ LB here in CA. I would not mention a lower price until I was there in person, and would probably just ask if the price was firm, sometimes a low ball offer will upset the seller and they will not want to sell it to you at all.

Like TP said "Arm & Hammer" top quality anvil and that is a nice size fairly large, two guys can still pick it up when it needs to be moved, big enough that it will not bounce around while in "Normal use"