the iron dwarf

that is exactly my aims with this, yes it has a 45 degree step on the other side but I dont know about the windows until I get it here and that will be some time so first step is get more info here, found some austrian anvils on anvilfire and it matches the A one for measurements here http://www.anvilfire.com/anvils/ferd_anvil_004.php. I have no idea of age though it seems old even for an anvil

have come across this beat up old anvil and am thinking of a little bit of restoration and improving on the botched repair but first am looking for some info on it if any here can help it is about 18" long and 10" tall and weighs about 120 to 150 lbs so I have been told. it looks like it broke in half and has been patched up badly. can anyone help with identifying it at all

thank you Gene

I do see a lot of the buyers at events, also some are local and when we have a course running at the workshop that I share with a blacksmith people who have been using them for 2 days want to buy them ( and the solid fuel forges I make ). we have another 2 courses soon, a beginners forgework ( 15 - 16th jan )and a beginners armouring ( 12 - 13th feb ).

sorry about the delay, sold the only one I had recently and had to make more picture quality is not good, was a new phone I was trying out. here are 2 of the skeleton agricultural anvils I make the main part of it is the wear part of a certain type of plough, the flat slab on top is an 8" length of fork lift tine. oveall length is about 24 and 21 inches, height about 11" top is 8" by 4" and 2" thick. though they only weigh about 30lbs on a solid base they are quite usable. as soon as people see them they normally sell at 50 UK pounds though with the ammount of work and materials I am going to have to increase the price. and if you are wondering about the odd thing on nthe back it is a socket for stake tools I make out of things like 4" hardened ball bearings http://uk.ebid.net/perl/main.cgi?words=52487&mo=search&type=user

I am away now for an event near coventry, when I get back I will get some pix of the underside of heel and horn.

at the end nearest the horn it is greatest, maybe 1/4" higher in the middle than the sides and as you towards the heel it slowly levels out until it is nearly flat by the hardy, will check it tommorow. it does not look as if it has been ground down. looking at it now after looking at the other pix in the anvilitis thread the heel looks long and maybe added on to include a pritchel ( dont know if this is likley but will examine it more closely soon and in just under a month at an event where it will be in use I should be able to get a few opinions about it ).

under the horn and heel it looks even rougher. this anvil as it is suits my needs. at a few reenactment events, mostly private training weekends I take a solid fuel forge along and help a few newbies have a go at a little forgework as a little taster, often there are other with me who are a lot more experieced than me who also help with anything more advanced. it is by appearance not a modern anvil made in the last few years though I understand it is not that old due to the pritchel. it is also small and light enough to go in my van with everything else I have to take but big enough to use. any idea of date it was likley to be made? is there a reason for the top being convex rather than flat, it does not look like wear to me. most of the marks on the top and horn are not as bad as they look in the pix and im hoping that after a little use it will look better thank you all for the help and information I hope that I have also added a little to the info as to what is out there and I will report back if I find out more.

I recently bought this anvil and someone I see here has helped with some info about it ( many thanks ) but I thought I would post the details here too in case I can find out a bit more. it has only 2 marks on it as far as I can see, both like an upside down T, one of them has the upright going to a point. it is probably made in england, is quite old and is very roughly made. the flat part on top is infact convex across the width and the edges are rough rather than straight and square. I did not want to grind them square just yet but will try it as it is at first. it is 21 1/2" long, 9 1/2" tall and the top is 3 3/4" wide weight is 99.4 lbs 45.1 kg handling holes etc two holes in the front, one near the base and the other half way up one half way up the rear, all of those about 3/4 square and the larger one in the base with quite a taper. top is not delaminating or detempered as far as I can tell. apart from the hole in the base the base is reasonably flat though I have not put a straight edge across it but the top of the anvil is definatly convex, mostly at the front ( I would say about 3/16 higher in the middle than the edges at the front end and just about flat near the hardy. have some more pix to post soon. the casting has a very rough surface ( worn smoother with age but still uneven ), like it was moulded in clay using your hands only. the hardy hole is not square to the centerline of the anvil but is twisted at least 5 degrees anticlockwise IIRC. the pritchel is 1/2" diameter I like it and will use it, in fact it will probably be in use this weekend as I have some small items to make that I dont need the quarter ton monsters in the workshop for ( that are much to high for me as the owner of them is over 6' tall )

I have made a few anvils which use the tine from a fork lift and people seem to like them. I start with the wear part of a 'mole plough' that I get when worn out at the local scrap yard, this is torpedo shaped and has holes and a slot or two and can be 18" to 24" long ( and is very hard ) in the large central slot I weld in the front leg made from 1" square steel about 8" long and another in the rear slot is there is one, these legs are then welded down to a heavy bit of plate. next a bit of fork lift tine IIRC it is EN45 spring steel about 8" long is welded on top of the slot with a big fillet. then I make a socket from box section and other bits to take some stake tools I make. it has a horn, a flat area, some pegs go in the holes in the side to make a bending tool and though it is light and can be picked up with one hand it is usefull. next time I have made one I will post a few pix