monomoit

Quite fortunate this past week to pick up yet ANOTHER anvil, this one a bit different, however, than my past two Hay Buddens: This great old miniature anvil came out of a local estate that I was liquidating. It measures 4-3/4" long, stands 2-1/2" high, and weighs in at a whopping 1lb, 9-1/2oz. It has good age to it - I would guess that it dates to the late 19th century. What I like best is how it's a faithful representation of its larger brethren, right down to the wonderful "patination". Still not my smallest anvil, but a happy and welcome addition to the collection!

Thank you, Vaughn!

Woody, the soap is kinda force of habit, I guess. I clean a lot of small parts that end up being rinsed in the kitchen sink (when the Missus isn't home!), so soap and a scrub brush are standard fare. I used my smaller electric power washer to rinse the anvil, which still left a thin film of oxide on the surface. I have no doubt that my larger 3000 psi gasoline powered unit would have blasted it perfectly clean...

Newbie, great job! The stand is a thing of beauty...

Phil!! Oh my goodness! Have a lured you over to the "Dark Side"?!? :D In all seriousness, you owe it to yourself to try this out. There ARE certain things that simply can't be cleaned as well any other way - like the crescent wrench I illustrated on one of the previous pages. Recesses, moving parts, hard-to-reach areas, they all get cleaned - effortlessly. I truly prefer electrolysis from a cosmetic standpoint as well. We've all had experiences with a wire wheel leaving a "blotchy", non-uniform finish that doesn't look "right". As can be seen in the photos above, the electrolytic process produces a nice, consistent, "patinated" surface that looks... well... original. Finally, there's the labor component - electrolysis couldn't be easier. After the initial effort to put together a setup, parts simply clean themselves. All that's necessary after the fact is a quick wash-down with soap and water and then a final coating of oil. Voila! You're done.

Fat, interesting that you should mention this... looking at the photo again, the second integer DOES look like a "4" (the cross at the bottom, which IS visible, means that it can only be a "1" or a "4"). In light of your observations, I'm gonna go with: #147229 - 1907

Thomas, I do have to say, the texture left on the top surface really IS pretty neat - and uniform! I guess before I do anything, I'll have to see how it works. Hmmmm... a dedicated "texturing" anvil - we all need one of those...

OK guys, I'm back!! My apologies, but work had me tied up for the past four weeks, seven days a week, dawn-til-dusk... Well, in any event, here are the results! In our last episode, the anvil was sitting in the electrolysis tank as shown below: (the rust visible on the anvil's top surface is that which has precipitated out of solution, and is simply resting there) Here is the anvil, pulled from the tank: It's now ready to be rinsed (and given some light scrubbing with a brush and dish soap), to remove the sooty black oxide present on its surface. I used my pressure washer and a scrub brush - it took all of five minutes. Here are the "before" and "after" shots: And finally, dried off but not yet oiled: This view of the underside shows the original state prior to electrolysis (because of the bubble of air trapped underneath): I then applied a coat of boiled linseed oil to prevent any further rusting: The serial number, 117229 (dating to 1906), can now be made out fairly clearly: As can the "4" present near the heel: The only bad news is the heavy pitting to the top surface: Recommendations on how to properly address (re-dress?!?) this pitting would be GREATLY appreciated. As can be seen above, is fairly substantial. And finally, the before-n-after photos of the anvil in the back of my truck, showing where it began, and how it ended!

Quick update: been so busy with work that I haven't had a chance to pull the Hay Budden from the tank yet to do the final cleanup and rinsing. Here's a photo, though, showing the condition of the anvil after about 2-1/2 days: It's done. The rust once present on the surface is completely gone, and a fine film of black oxide remains in its place. This is easily removed with soap, water and a scrub brush (or a pressure washer). Oiling the surface immediately after rinsing is imperative, so that rust doesn't once again begin to form. If I get a break at lunch today, I'll try to pull it and show everyone the results.

Vaughn, the way I have things wired up, the battery supplies whatever current it required to run the "engine". The charger, which is an automatic type, outputs current sufficient to maintain the battery's voltage. RIght now, after 24+ hours, the charger is putting out a constant three amps. This is a fairly heavy draw, but it's hooked up to a BIG item! As far as the tub goes, be aware that the dimensional limitations for an anvil would be about 11" in height, 29"-30" in length, and a base that is no more than 10" in width (perpendicular to the longitudinal axis). Probably a max of 200 lbs...

Came home for lunch and took a couple of quick photos of the cleaning in process: The light wan't the best, but you can get a fairly good idea of what's going on. After about 16 hours cooking in the tank, the heavy rust scale present on the surface just sloughs off, exposing the clean metal beneath. The rusty sediment is also clearly visible, resting at the bottom. Because of the size of the piece, I will probably leave it in for another day or two before removing to check it's progress (it will likely be done by then). The good news is that you can't "over-clean" an item; when the rust is completely removed, it's done - sitting in the tank for a longer period has no effect.

Thomas, in reply to your (rhetorical) questions: a) I like all of my tools crisp, clean and in good working order (anvils included), and this one obviously NEEDED cleaning! 2) Electrolysis loosens and removes rust scale, leaving the "healthy", un-rusted metal beneath unaffected. In addition to saving labor, and doing a better job of cleaning, it yields (in my opinion) superior cosmetic results as well. thirdly) I don't have enough other hobbies

Stewart, I hope that your question will be best answered by the "finished product" in a day or so...

Despite my best intentions (and great desire) to play with my new anvil today, I didn't get much done. I did manage, however, to wrestle it out of the truck and into the back yard, and to take a few "before" photos of the markings: I also found the designation "2 - 2", by the hole underneath the horn: I never thought to look here on my other anvil, so I don't know if it's similarly marked. Can anyone tell me what this means? Also grabbed a quick shot (in the dark) of the serial number: All that I can definitively make out so far is "7229". It appears that there may be other leading numbers, but until the anvil's cleaned, it's hard to say. One of the great advantages of electrolysis is it's ability to "uncover" impressed markings, so it should be a lot of fun to compare before-and-after results.