VaughnT

Looks like it will work, but I think you're limiting your design by needing it to fit between the wheels on the dolly. I'd flip it around, as has been suggested, and then come up with a way that you can still use it as a dolly to move your anvil. Of course, that all depends on your needing to have that dolly function as a dolly again. You can buy a brand-new dolly at Lowe's for under $50, and used ones are available for a lot less than that! I'd just buy a second one because adding all that stuff to the original is going to make it very impractical for its original purpose. Having said all that, I'm seriously thinking about stealing your idea!

Very nice. Is that a regular horse-shoe in the center? Looks like it will certainly hold a rifle!

It does look like something was ground off the one side, but that doesn't imply anything. It's definitely cast, and no common anvil makers would have cast it and then left that parting line on the face. If the anvil rings like a church bell and bounces a hammer back at you, you've got a decent anvil. Could be cast tool steel and not cast iron. Does the face dent at all when you tap it with a hammer? If not, definitely lucky and you should use it happily.

I either buy lag bolts, cutting the heads off so I can forge the ends into a hook..... Or, I buy the blanks from online retailers. Very easy way around having to cut and file threads into a blank!

Wow, is that a nice anvil, or what!?!? Looks like it's brand new, and it's a perfect weight for the shop. If you mount it to a heavy stand so that there's no wobble when you strike on it, you'll have a setup that performs like a much heavier anvil. Place some silicone caulk between the stump and the anvil when assembling and you'll kill the majority of the bell-like ring.

Very neat idea and a good execution. I wouldn't have thought of it. Like Thomas mentioned, it will want to rotate in the pritchel but it's an easy fix to get it working in the hardy hole. All you have to do is spread the bars a bit so that they sit tight in the opposite corners of the square hole. Fits AND prevents spinning. I use this all the time on hardy tools because it's easier and faster to weld on a loop of 1/4" round stock than it is to find 1-1/8" stock for my hardy.... or draw thick material down to size.

Very inspiring. I've got some old sheet metal and might have to give that stuff a try. Love the idea of using the nut as a rivet set.

Sounds reasonable, Dale, except for the fact that the round coke pots are generally thicker than the rectangular ones and would last longer in an industrial setting where heavy forging was going on. Of course, we're talking about the actual pots themselves and not the shape of the whole forge. I'm trying to figure out what benefit there is to using a round (actually hemispherical) fire pot with coke when both styles do the same basic job of focusing the fuel above the air source. Both hemispherical and inverted/truncated pyramid type pots would seem to burn through at the same given rate because they're made of the same material, roughly, so why use/advertise one shape for one fuel and another shape for another fuel?

I'd wait and build up some experience before worrying about welding anything up. Great anvil, and you'll love the fact that it doesn't ring like a bell. Don't know the age, but I don't doubt that it could be pre-1900. Imagine the stories it could tell!!

If the anvil is unused and still has all or some of the original label, that makes it more than just an anvil to beat stuff on. To get it for $400, I would think that a good price for a collector.

I honestly hate to ask a question that I'm sure has to be asked and answered a dozen times somewhere here on this board, but my searches haven't turned up anything. So, for curiosity's sake..... Why are coke firepots round and coal firepots rectangular? Why the need to differentiate between the two? If coke burns hotter and requires a thicker pot in order for the pot to last as long as a thinner coal pot, okay. But is that really a concern? Or, has it simply become a tradition? All of the commercially-available coke firepots are advertised as being greater in wall thickness than their coal-burning cousins, but the prices are relatively similar. What happens if you use coal in a coke firepot? Would this be similar to dividing by zero? The end of the world as we know it? Much crying and gnashing of teeth? How many times can you work "gnashing" into a sentence on a blacksmithing forum!!! B) Curiosity's got me and I'm going to put something together just as soon as life settles down a bit. Thanks.

Not having to weld it together is probably the best reason for a brick forge. Other than that, they are heavier, take longer to build, and are harder to modify as you change over the years. Having said that, I'd still love to have one. I'd make it far larger than I thought I might want, with a table that's at least 48" long, though I don't think I'd use a brick chimney.

Less that $2/lb for a good sized anvil? I'd consider that a fair price. Figure in shipping or gas prices though if it's a bit of a ways away. Overall, the anvil looks in great condition with nice edges and just a bit of sway to the face. I'd certainly buy it and not think twice about the deal. Lighter anvils like that are tops, in my book, because they can do all of the work of a heavier anvil but are easier to move out of the way when not needed.

Private Entrance, my earlier post was very rude, and I apologize for that. No excuses. I shot a video showing the difference magnets made on my Wilkinson anvil and there was no comparison between chain-wrapped and magnet-only. Placing the magnets on the side of the anvil didn't make a difference, but when I moved them to the ends of the anvil (horn and heel) everything quieted up really nice. This thread makes me wonder how much difference there is in resonance if the anvil is seriously secured to the stump before one wraps a chain around it or applies magnets. In my case, the anvil was simply sitting on top of the stump, and it's a relatively light anvil. When I bedded it in the caulk, the anvil wasn't securely bolted down and the ring was killed. It's not Fisher-quiet, but it's mighty close. Does that seem reasonable?

Critique? Okay. The tapers are smooth and relatively free of hammer marks. The corners of your square appear sharp. The curl is a bit off because it looks like it collapsed on itself. This gives it more of an egg shape rather than a circle. Not bad, but not "artsy" either. Looks a bit wrong, but certainly a functional finial. Overall, I'd give it a very high rating. For your first attempts, getting that quality really says a lot about your potential. Smooth tapers, sharp corners and a lack of hammer marks..... that's excellent work.

Very nice work. I keep meaning to build a slack belt attachment for mine... and a table.... and .... well, you get the point. A 2x72 belt grinder is, hands down, the best tool in the shop. I have no idea how I did without mine for so many years!

"I've found that putting a U shaped bolt in the pritchel hole quiets it immensely. " Placing something in the pritchel is called a "mute". Very old technique to quiet the anvil, and if you make a serious curly que, the mute absorbs the vibrations. It'll quiet an anvil very well. Chains around the waist simple don't work. 10'? Really? What if you need to bend a leg that extends down past where the chain is? Or, you can bed it in some silicone and not impede your work surfaces. Took me a very long time before I listened to the guys that went before me. Thought I had all the answers, but I was wrong, as usual. Use the silicone first. If you don't like it, you've done no harm and magnets, chains, bolts and bits are still there waiting for you to employ them.

Great news! Use a bit of silicone caulk between the anvil and stump to kill the ring.... makes for a happy smith! Can't wait to see some of the work that comes off of her.

The ring of the anvil is a direct result of the horn and heel vibrating. They're thin so they shake at a different rate and this can be quickly and easily nullified by placing a light magnet for and aft. If the magnet is in the way of a needed movement, take it off for a second. Wrapping a chain around the waist doesn't accomplish much. It's meant to act like a shock-absorber, soaking up the vibrations, but it doesn't. What really really really works is to bed the anvil in silicone caulk. I don't have the science down pat, but if you lay down a bed of silicone before you set the anvil on the stump, the joint formed does an awesome job of taking the ring out of an anvil! Here's a video I shot before I caulked my anvil. The chained didn't do diddly, but the magnets kill the ring. As quiet as it is, it's even more so since I put the silicone between the two. No magnets. No chains. No bolts/brackets holding it down. And no ring. Amazing thing. http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i115/VaughnT/Smithing/MVI_0344.mp4

Hardy holes are not all they're cracked up to be and you can do 99% of all the smithing that's ever been done without a hardy hole. A good post vise, stoutly mounted will hold your hardy tools just as well and give you more flexibility. An anvil like you have was used for about thousands of years before the hardy hole anvil was invented. Vikings used to make pattern-welded swords and gorgeous armor on anvils not appreciably different than what you have. It's not the song, it's the singer! Take your time and learn the basics. Taper, round, square, bend, upset, twist..... none of that requires a hardy hole, but you'd be hard pressed to find a project that doesn't require those skills.

The Yesteryear bending jig is a very neat idea and has some features that you should incorporate into your design. For the square holes, I'd do them first. After they've been drifted to final shape, you can drill the other holes and not worry about them getting deformed. Do you do a lot of work on small stock? Is there really a need for a .125" hole? Love Frosty's idea of stacking the smaller holes together to conserve space. This would open up more area for a yesteryear-like bending jig......

It's amazing what you can fit in under the guise of "public health and safety"!

You're on the path, MW! I silenced my anvil by setting it in a bed of silicone caulk. Shut it right up! No need for chains or magnets. You'll find that the ring is caused by the thinner horn and heel vibrating. If you place a light magnet on the ends, the ring dies. But, the magnets collect scale and soon look like a dead muskrat. The caulk did a far better job of silencing than the magnets and there's no maintenance. No magnets. No chains. No ring! Here's a video I shot showing the effect of magnets. Mighty quiet, but not nearly as much as a simple bed of silicone. http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i115/VaughnT/Smithing/MVI_0344.mp4

Keep an eye on CL and ebay. Even with the cost of shipping, you can get an older anvil from two states over for as cheap or cheaper than some new anvils. If you're keen on spending mula on a new anvil, Rhino anvils get a good rep.

I wouldn't do a thing to those edges for at least one year. Work on the anvil and learn how to work the iron with what you have. Then, once you have some experience and an idea on the kinds of things you like to do, you can grind/weld/whatever the edges to suit your particular needs. A smooth radius is nice for turning corners without dinging up the inside of the bend, and you could grind the chipped section in such a way as to create a swage for spoon making or the like. All depends on what you decide you like to do. Great purchase, all around. That anvil will last you a very long time.