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Fatfudd

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Everything posted by Fatfudd

  1. I won an auction last weekend and purchased a somewhat unique fly press. It isn't terribly large, sort of in the #3 size, but has some characteristics that I have never seen before. The press is in remarkably good condition for its age and the very poor condition in which it was housed. It was made by Brownell Machinery Co. -from Providence RI. Since there is really no info about the company except for a couple of news articles on the vintage machinery website I can't find anything else. First; it has a very different type of screw pattern, it has a bidirectional screw which permits the top and bottom of the screw to double the thrust of the ram. Look at my pictures to see what I mean. The top of the ram is 2" and the bottom is 1 1/2" This little press can really put some umph in a squeeze. Second; the ram to base height is approx. 7 1/2" and the base to guide is 6" which is really large for such a small press. I'm hoping that someone may have run across this type of press and could help add some info about this type of press and this manufacturer.
  2. I just updated my original thread on the easy leg vise fix.
  3. I originally posted this thread about 6 years ago to try and help folks who were having trouble finding complete/workable leg vises. I have probably repaired at least 10 more vises for folks with "junk" vises due to ruined or lost screws and boxes on their vises. I have 2 in my shop i have just finished. Along with replacing the screws and boxes I have remade the springs and the attachment brackets. Here are pics of the 200lb leg vise I first posted. These are new pics I just shot. You'll notice several things if you look real close. First. the "box" is pulled out so you can see how I ground it to fit in the back hole on the vise. The house jack I cut up had a 2" screw. The pipe in the picture covering the screw is just a piece of 2 3/8 drill stem I cut to protect the threads, its actually floating and not attached. I don't worry about grit and grime getting into or on the threads i was trying to protect the thread from getting ruined by something getting pounded into them, I clean the threads when I remember, which isn't very often. I can quite literally stand on the handle to tighten the vise and I don't worry a bit about it being over tightened because that original jack could support 20 +tons. Look closely at the way I cutoff the cast iron portion of the jack to make the "box". Honestly, the use of a house jack screw makes a much more formidable vise than the way they were originally constructed. Any questions Holler!
  4. That's a fine anvil nothing wrong with iit for a starter. I used a big old piece of rail road rail until I saved enough money for an anvil in similar condition the one you bought. i wouldn't worry about the paint or the patina, its just a tool. I'd probably clean it up with a wire brush on an angle grinder.
  5. I suppose you want to get rid of the Trenton because it has been milled, however the rebound you describe is pretty darn good. I have a friend that had a nice truck that someone scratched when opening a car door next to it, my friend was so upset he sold the truck. I'm not sure that made sense or that you wanting to get rid of the Trenton makes sense. You could use that anvil for many years, probably the rest of your life with no problems. I would suggest you just quit over thinking your anvil's problem and start using it. You have to ask yourself are you so good of a blacksmith that you can only use a perfect anvil? There are hundred, perhaps thousands of folks on this website that are using much less than perfect anvils and are making a good living.
  6. It was for a blacker power hammer. Do a search and you'll see a bunch of examples.
  7. It MAY be a crack. A&H were known to be made from junk metal that was forged together to make the base. I have several that show the bases were rather poorly made especially my 433 lb shop anvil that has a similar split but was probably used in a rail yard and I've used for many years with no problem. If you are worried it wouldn't be hard to grind the split and have it deep welded to a point below the face which could be cooled with wet rags while welding. Its a nice anvil!
  8. Good question, why don't you try it and let us know.
  9. Nice little south German pattern anvil. There are/were a number of German anvil makers but given that its cast steel I would suggest that it might be a Kolshwa from Sweden. They are still in business and you can google their website to see the various styles they offer.
  10. Its an early Trenton anvil that weighs approximately 111 lbs. The value of the anvil is highly dependent on your location. If you are in South Africa, Poland.or New Zealand it price would be in the local monetary unit. Without knowing your location its anybody's guess. Since almost every country in the world is represented on IFI you'll need to be a little clearer on where you are at..
  11. Hay Budden made after 1908, with the whole top half being tool steel. Nice!
  12. MC I'm afraid they were made by Arm and Hammer a Competitor to Trenton. To be clear Arm and Hammer anvils were made by Columbus anvil and forging Co. and Trenton anvils were made by Columbus Forge and Iron Co.
  13. Congrats- its an early Hay Budden. Nice score!
  14. The 26 was put on by Hay Budden and indicates the tool steel batch number. That is the give away for identifying a post 1908 anvil.
  15. Its a Hay budden made after 1908 and the upper half is tool steel. It should weigh in the 400lb range.
  16. I would assume that 1939 is the manufacturing date, German makers made anvils right up to the end of the war and then restarted production afterwards. Pedinghaus and Reffinghaus are examples that are are still being produced. Your best bet for finding out who manufactured your anvil would be to contact Josh Greenwood or you could look up anvils4sale, they import quality European blacksmithing tools.
  17. ChrisPTF is spot on. If it has an "A' in the serial number then there should be a number stamped on the back of side of the heal.
  18. I'm kinda surprised that Blackfrog hasn't weighed in so i will. The underside of the base is an early Trenton style before they went to the caplet style which Trenton and Arm and Hammer both used. Hay Budden had a inch rim around the edge to provide even support and to prevent tipping but it was a very shallow build up and subject to being lost over time. Early Trentons had a similar edge but it went much deeper and couldn't be lost. Its a Trenton and a nice one at that. I have had several of the early Trentons with an identical base. I hope that satisfies your curiosity?
  19. It Looks like a 1st variation of the Hay Budden anvils. The 2"s under the horn are the giveaway as to the maker. As to weight you are correct at about 300 lbs based on dimensions. Its probably made pre-1908 but the only way to know for sure is to see if there is a serial number on the front foot.
  20. Its a cutler's anvil and there are many different variations. A fellow on ebay had a very similar one for sale for several months. The anvil fire gallery has one that has a few more slots for tooling. If you look on youtube for Alfred Craven Sheffield knife maker (Blade forger) you can see a cutlers' anvil in action. if you do a google search for iforgeiron cutlers anvil you'll find more like this-
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