SirGunn

I've yet to build my first forge (the last piece in the puzzle) and I was wondering if gas is cheaper to run than charcoal? I'm already leaning toward going propane but I was wondering if anyone could give me some numbers about the price of gas/hour or something else. Maybe how long the average tank lasts and how much it costs for a refill. An even better quote would be how much a forge costs to run per month of casual use. Thanks in advance!

A few pics of an anvil that was found on the old family farm. I have no idea what sort of anvil it is. It's about 70 lbs, solid steel judging by the way she sings. Pic info below, hope it isn't too confusing. All of the pics of the side are of the SAME SIDE; the only side with any discernible markings. First pic shows the 0 and the stars which I take close ups of in pics 2 and 3. In pic 2 the numbers "1 2" are shown clearly. Date of manufacture perhaps? Other pics show hardie holes and overall shape of the anvil. There is another square hole on the bottom, maybe for mounting. Hope you guys can figure this out, as this is my first ever anvil and I would love to know more about it PICS ARE HUGE - you are warned... Might be easier to view as thumbnails.

My father apparently has had an anvil for years, and never bothered to tell me until after I bought one of my own. It is solid steel as far as I can tell. When I told him to hit it with a hammer to test the ring, I forgot to mention to do so lightly. My ears are still ringing. Anyway... The face could use a little cleaning up, but the sides and legs are so pitted with rust there are very few markings that are still discernible. There is a very obvious "1 2" on the side (date of manufacturing?), and to the left there are two star shapes about the size of a nickle and about an inch and a half apart, sort of like an asterick (I believe they are 8 pointed). The last mark is a large "0" to the left of the stars. The anvil looks very old. Is this anvil identifiable? It appears to be about 70 lbs, give or take. If any more info is needed let me know, however I can't post pics right now. Sorry.