jimw

would it be bad manners to state that you spelled manners wrong?

I once forged an iron apple. Was i bobbing for apples?

thankfully, I can give thanks for all the thanks. Oh by the way, thanks!

said the wise man, methinks it is an elephant

DANBRASSAW---thank you for your input. I see you are from Cooperstown NY.

my name is short for jim whalen

If the facelift is competant, and the anvil rebounds well, the buyer may not necessarily be a sucker. It all depends on two things, the quality of the amvil, and the depth of the buyer's pockets.

looks like a hay bud to me
Hi folks
I picked up this anvil over the weekend and am curious whether we can figure out origins and whatnot just for the fun of solving a mystery. I've done as much research as I think I can on the internet and my best guess is -maybe- an Arm and Hammer, and that's based soley on the rough finish under the heel. I don't think I found some piece of history or anything, but I think I got a good deal on what should prove to be a serviceable anvil.

Here's what I know for sure:

It's heavy: the seller said 400#.

It rings like a church bell on the face, heel and horn. The body makes almost no noise in comparison.


The only identifiable markings are on the left front foot (if you're about to put your eye out with the horn, that is) and it appears to be a 5-digit number. Most of it has been obliterated by years of punching and chiseling. Maybe someone can explain why someone would go to the foot of an anvil when they needed a place to set a punch... The rest of the body, face and horn had been treated the same way- punch and chisel marks all over. And there is also a number 6 or 9 just under the horn (this would depend on whether it was punched in top down or rightside up).

The face is somewhat swaybacked. I worked on it with my grinder and it became evident very quickly that this anvil had been abused and repaired several times. You can see the welding on the face in the blog photos (below).

The hardy is 1.45" and the pritchel is 5/8. The heel from the hardy back is the only part of the anvil that was spared from the mad chiseler.

The feet do not have ledges (whereas my Peter Wright does- and the logo on that anvil is easy to read, so that was a no-brainer).

There is no indentation/depression under the anvil, though there is a lip about 1/2" wide by maybe 1/8" (I didn't measure it). The bottom of the base has a square hole and has rusted some, giving a ropey, wrought-iron look.

I can take as many pics as you like and they can be huge if need be. For now here's a link to my blog with a few pics that can be enlarged anvil posting


Thanks in advance!

nice anvils, not abused, sell for 3-6 dollars a pound these days. I saw a 600 pound peter wright, two weeks ago, sell for 5700 dollars, which did not include shipping........so in effect, the buyer paid over ten dollars a pound on ebay for that anvil. Even "mutts" of anvils are selling for 2 dollars a pound and UP.

judging by the shape and profile, it looks like a large peter wright with an added on infinity symbol..........just my opinion!

looking at the picture, it says Hay Budden Solid Wrought on the side................could it be, yes it could, you got a hay budden, as you should

Hi Everyone,
Like the OP and a few others in this thread, we have managed to get hold of a Champion #1 Spring hammer, but unfortunately, the spring that is fitted(looks like a leaf spring off a light truck) is totally wrong and doesn't allow the hammer to work as it was originally designed. Basically, there is no gentle start up, it hammers hard and is difficult to moderate the force from gentle to hard.
We have a spring maker who will make us an original design spring set but we have no specs. I have done a bit of searching on the net without any luck, and I'm hoping one of you folks who own one of these beasts come help us out with some specs on the spring setup as far as spring dimensions go. Our association is slowly getting a work area setup with all the bits and pieces to start teaching blacksmithing. The spring hammer will be invaluable to us and we would like to get it working properly. Any help in the way of measurements or close up photo's etc would really be appreciated by all of us down under.

Regards,
Rob Kenning
Secretary
Artist Blacksmiths Association South Australia.
Here's a shot of the hammer as purchased...

I can help you. Your springs, not original equipment, are way too long. That makes your hammer hit way too hard. The rest distance between your trip hammer dies, with the hammer TURNED OFF, should be two fingerwidths, Because your spring is way too long, try setting the rest distance between top and bottom hammer dies at three or four fingerwidths. YOu might just gain much more control, and not have to have new springs made. Worth a try? HECK YEA!