Fatfudd

I've seen a few Milne anvils, they are very well made and high quality. Very noisey too. i believe I read somewhere long ago that they are northern European made but I really don't know. It looks like a very nice anvil. I have several loud anvils and have quieted them down with a chain around the waist and big round magnet under the tail from harbor freight. Depending on your stand that can also make it quieter. When mine are resting on steel they seem quieter then on wood or plastic.

I use silver welders pencils, there are a number of different makers but here is one- Nissen® Welder's pencil in silver color is used to draw illuminating marks that helps welder during cutting and welding for easy operation. Pencil offers durable marks that will not melt/fade while using, sold as 3/Pack. Color: SilverMarks will illuminate when cutting or weldingMarks don't burn off or rub off like soapstoneDurable marks will not melt for the touch, or fadePencils will not break like soapstoneCan be sharpened with an ordinary pencil sharpener

Occasionally I try to help the folks on ebay who think they are going to get rich selling an anvil. Sometimes it actually does help but more often its like the guy who has an anvil on there now. He says it weighs 500 to 600 lbs and is 29" long. He has it at auction for $2100 and bargain priced "buy it now"at $3000. When I explained that the dimensions don't fit an anvil that heavy he sent me a note back saying he has only been wrong one time and its a good deal at that price.

VaughnT- In the evening I have been out sitting on it(with a beer in hand) and thinking I have to bring this anvil back, its just way to cool to let it turn into a yard art sculpture. It kind of calls to me. If I can't get it fixed the first try I don't intend to stop. I guess money may be the object that holds me up but I think I'll go ahead and invest in the old girl, she's worth it!

I'm pretty sure there will be rust under the plate but I'll let you know. In the pics I posted you can see the water remains within the cracks after a rain. I have a few projects to finish before I can start on the anvil. When you were repairing the Fishers did you get down to the base cast iron? I was wondering what you used for the welding rod?

I sort of think it was defective from the factory because of the overall condition of the face and horn being nearly perfect.It couldn't have been used much. Maybe I'll be able to tell more when I take the broken face off? I believe I can secure the welding rods to do the repair for around $200. If that doesn't work then it'll get painted black and used as an advertising emblem for my business.

Thanks Josh You are basically expressing the same feeling about repairing it that Robb Gunter did, ie, makes a nice piece of yard art. The date on it is 1919. How successful was your club repairing the fishers? If I can get the materials cheap enough I'll give it a shot.

I was basically given a 350 lb Fisher anvil a couple of days ago. Before you get all excited about what a great deal it is, you have to understand this sad anvil's problems. Overall, it looks beautiful . On closer inspection you will see where someone tried to weld a big chunk of the face plate that had been broken off That is kinda sad for sure but on even closer inspection there are a number of other problems. The face plate has de-laminated in the area between the chalk marks. In addition the heel has a crack running to about midway down the hardy hole.. Its obvious this anvil wasn't used much because there is next to no marks on the face, the edges, or the horn. Its possible that the face plate wasn't securely attached at the factory. Its probable that when put to some heavy use the face simply cracked and broke. The other interesting thing about this anvil is that the face plate is pretty thin as compared to my 400 lb Fisher. The face is about 7/16 " on the broken anvil and its over 3/4" thick on my 400 lber. I have debated what to do about this anvil and I have had a good discussion with Robb Gunter. He wasn't terribly enthusiastic about repairing it but at the same time said it maybe possible. So Robb doesn't want to take it on but maybe I will. At the worst it'll make a nice yard art sculpture which was my initial thought. I'll post my progress on this project but it'll probably take at least 6 months working on it part time. Here is the initial game plan- 1. Remove de-laminated face plate and clean up the cast iron right up to the portion of plate still holding. 2. Grind out the crack in the heel and drill the ends of the cracks. 3 Drill 3/8" holes and thread them about 1" apart across all of the cast base that is to be repaired. 4. Insert threaded mild steel(?) rod in all the holes leaving around 1/4" sticking out above the cast base. These will serve to further anchor the finished face plate. This is an old trick used to repair cast iron parts that were to be put to extreme use. The question that still remains is whether to heat the anvil or not. The rod That Robb Gunter uses for cast iron repairs is Certanium 889 which is advertised as not needing a preheat. Once that's resolved I'll proceed as follows. 5. Fill the ground out the heel crack with Certanium 889 in short beads, peening with a needle scaler after each short bead. 6. Lay an initial covering over cast iron base and the threaded rods. 7 Finish with stoody 1105 or equal rod, Hopefully it is all holding together at this point??? I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts about wasting some time and a whole lot of money in this effort. Someone really liked this anvil because they went to a lot of trouble to put small levelers on the underside of the feet.

I don't think the pictures got attached?

Pictures?

Du7ch- Keeping checking our website before you drive all the way up, I'm not sure who will be doing the demo. If you are working with Thomas, you are in good hands!

rburrus- The next SWABA meeting is at the Bernilillo County 4-H center 1510 Menaul NW 87107 on Feb 7 and it starts at 9am. You don't have to be a member to attend in fact everyone is welcome.. Just come on down! Usually have about 30 to 50 folks.

This is something I have never seen before( of course I haven't seen lots of things). This just got listed on ebay for a live auction that starts on the 16th. They call it a cone bridge anvil. take a look.

Whoa now! I'm at the same location and you really don't need to crank up the pressure at this elevation! I run my two main forges between 3 and 6lbs of pressure when doing forge work. If I want to forge weld (which I rarely do) I will crank the pressure up. Swedefiddle is correct tho about moving the nozzle of the gas jet in and out to get the right burn but the flare must also be move in and out. rburris44 you and I had corresponded when you were looking for an anvil and I gave you Fred Moore's number. (He said you got a nice anvil) . PM me and we can get together and I'll show you how to fix your burner, or you can come to my house and I'll you you some of mine and you can use that info to fix yours. Sometimes its just plain easier to ask for help.

If you can't keep it running with a flare outside of the forge you need to be aware that you have to move the flare up and down on the tube to find the spot where it will keep running. If you run the flare too far in either direction the flame will die.

Even tho you don't have the time to join SWABA some of us would still be happy to help you get your whole setup working. Let me know if you'd like our help. Making a flare and using it to adjust the flame outside of the forge will make your life a lot easier. If you can't make a flare I probably have an extra that I could give you.

Its $1500- 300lbs

I have seen and have had a number of anvils that had a pretty soft faces after the top few millimeters were removed. I had posted a thread here on IFI asking if others had seen anything similar but the thread sort of just ended. The anvils still had a pretty good rebound but were easily marked with a missed hammer strike. My assumption is that the hardening process resulted in variable depth of hardness. Its possible that your anvil was soft from the beginning since you mentioned it had a pretty badly marked face. I have also seen a lot of variability in the faces of PW anvils. Rather than worry about the anvil's face just go ahead and use it, even with a pretty soft face will still last you years.

I saw that anvil on SLC C-list and wondered about it also. Heck of a horn with no cutting table. The seller says he has lots of info about this anvil but you have to call him to get that info. Have you called him?

arftist - You are quite welcome. Since putting in this thread I have repaired a few more vises without screws/screwboxes. One thing that is very evident is the strength of the "new" house jack screw. I have actually stood on the arm of my 200 lb vise to tighten it on a piece that I'm working on. I think the original jack I cut up to make this screw/screw box was rated as being able to lift 18 tons. The metal piece being held in the vise doesn't move at all no matter what I hit it with.

If you haven't already you should join SWABA (http://www.swaba-abana-chapter.org/) Lots of us run gas forges and would be willing to show you our setups and help you with yours. Send me a PM and we could get together.

I've made 3 different sizes of heavy duty bending forks made out of similar material which I use a lot. You have to watch out for how you heat treat them, if you quench them too fast(in water) they fracture easily. I also have made several rivet headers also used quite a bit. Most of my fullers are made from mild steel and seem to hold up fairly well. I made one small cone by upsetting a piece of axle and then shaping it which is occasionally used too.

Josh Thanks for posting the pictures! That is really unique, it looks from your pictures that the block either has a lot of sway built into it or its been worn down, can you tell which? The angle you'd have to work the metal if you were drawing something out would be kind of awkward. A very cool find!!

Actually that isn't an oilfield anvil, it is a bridge anvil. It is a large industrial anvil and is usually made out of solid steel rather than cast iron. They have a very clear ring when struck. I have seen quite a few and they were made for heavy equipment work such as rail yards or ship building. Trenton made a number of them marketed under their Indian Chief name. Most weigh 750lbs or more. There are several near my home and I have been tempted to purchase one but really don't have the space. The oil field anvil is much shorter and is made out of cast iron but are usually pretty beat up when you find them. If you watch this video there are a couple of them in Fred Moore's collection -

It would be interesting to try and determine the circumference of the 4 shapes that could be made on that anvil. That might help answer the question of what it was used for. Since its obviously very rare I could believe it was used for welding tires that some ingenious character invented. That it didn't catch on may be as Vaughn T said most smiths could use their existing anvil just fine and had no need to purchase another specialized tool.