Reading Creek Forger

I don't think provenance was what he was thinking about since he has no designs on selling it. More of a curiosity to him and a surface he uses to work on heavy metal parts at waist height. The Pearl Harbor question only makes it historically interesting and likely won't change his mind on keeping it. I may have to have him lift it up with an engine hoist to look for more manufacturer, weight or identification info, Thanks

No pics right now but maybe I can get him to e-mail me some. This may take some time but thanks for the help

Some time ago my brother-in-law was given a large anvil. I would estimate its weight at 250 plus pounds. It is marked with a raised X near the waist on one side. The former owner told him it came from Pearl Harbor but had no other information on it. There seems to be a light green coat of paint near the original surface but it has been painted since then so I have no idea what it looked like originally. Lots of what appear to be chisel test marks on the sides and surface appears to be in good shape. I can't find any other marks indicating weight or manufacturer info but it currently sits in a heavy iron base with angle iron supports that hide the lowest surfaces of the anvil. Any ideas who the manufacturer of this anvil might be and does the Pearl Harbor story make much sense. One of the local smiths suggested that the London style of this anvil make it unlikely that it was ever a ship's anvil. My brother-in-law is more of a car guy and a fan of WWII stuff but not a blacksmith. I don't have access to the Postman book now so this is my best shot in the near future to help him ID it. He gave me a Henry Wright anvil when he got this one so my payback it to help him ID it.

Thanks Glen for reinforcing the idea of not grinding the chrome off. Grinding seems like an obvious hazard but not one I considered initially. Got some sample pieces home, next step is to have the chrome taken off with a lathe.

Yes Mike it is and thanks for the donation. Not the only donation you have made it I remember correctly. The square edge hardy tool is the only one I have for my anvil so far so I am hopeful to utilize your donation again next fall, maybe a bottom cutter is in the future. Others have used it as well, quite the design. Thanks again

Thanks to all of you, Get rid of the chrome seems to be the consensus so I will start there.

I have wondering about making a draw knife from an old leaf spring so your railroad spike idea caught my eye. Might the leaf spring be a good choice as a source of steel. I have heard they make good knives but I wonder about a draw knife that would be used on heavier material than a typical knife.

I was recently offered discarded hydraulic ram shafts for use in blacksmithing. They range up to 3 inches in diameter and the length is described as long as you want up to several feet. Is this steel suitable for making hammers or other tools or maybe a small cone mandrel to use in a hardy hole. The metal is free so I will likely take it even if its too soft for a hammer then find a use for it later. I have been told it is chrome on the outside but softer in the center. Is this likely to be high carbon steel or mild?

Finished my new square hardy tool today and it turned out pretty good, I put a radius on one edge and left the other three straight so I could continue to use it in the event the straight one I am using chips off. I also applied Kasenit powder ( I think that's the correct spelling) to harden the surface of the top and sides of the tool. I used it this this afternoon and it worked well without any problems.

I have the same problem with my anvil, very poor condition for the edges and no consistent radius at the edges of the face. I believe this is a skill that is commonly taught but I had never seen before, hopefully it will help you or offer another option. Last week at class an instructor and I worked on making a hardy tool for my anvil that will hopefully have squared edges. Some previous smith made the jig which allowed me to fashion a hardy tool to fit the 3/4 inch hole in my anvil. They started with a piece of square tubing about 4 inches square with a plate welded on either end (and inner support pieces welded inside the tubing to support the plates) and the plate had a 3/4 inch square hold cut in it ( a different size hole in the plate on the other side so it could be used for different size hardy holes). I heated a piece of square 1 1/4 inch mild steel rod about 6 inches long and forged one end to a taper that would fit in the 3/4 inch hole about an inch deep. I then heated the stock and we drove the square steel rod into the 3/4 inch hole of the plate resulting in a 3/4/ inch leg for my new hardy tool and also a larger than parent stock (approximately 3 inch square so far), flat square of steel that should provide me with a square edged hardy tool. Not finished yet but I should have it done this weekend. I chamfered the square edges of the leg portion so it would go in the anvil hardy hole easier and cleaned the inside edges of the hardy hole with a small file so there were no rough edges to hang up on the new hardy tools. Tandem striking with heavy sledge hammers misshaped the sides of the new tool somewhat but I think I can forge them back to square prior to finishing it. My plan is to heat the leg again and then drive it through the hardy hole of my anvil to make it a perfect fit then square the top properly. Great project for a newbie and adds to my appreciation for the skills needed to make tools.

I like it! Great innovation and adaptation.

Thanks John, I took it to class yesterday to have the instructors check it over. Put it on a solid oak round and what do you know, good sound throughout with good rebound too. I guess the wood base I had it on wasn't as solid as I thought. Seems like the anvil is ready to go when I am.

I tested the rebound again with a light ball pien and it bounced nearly to the the position it had started at then continued to bouce 3-4 more times with deminished rebound. I checked the face with a straight edge and it is remarkably straight and flat except the edges I talked about earlier. The tone is still bad and there is a noticeable change in tone from the heal to center above the foot and then to the step. Very poor sound over in the middle oveer the foot. There is no serial number but there is additional writing stamped on it near the weight and name ENGLAND Warranted or Warranty. I guess if I can work around the damaged edges then it is time to get to hammering. Still trying to post pics.

HI Frosty, thanks for responding. I tried to answer but it didn't post so I am trying again. Seems like I am worse with computers than I am at blacksmithing. As far as the face, it seems flat on all planes but I don't see a line of delineation between the face and the base. I will try to post pics later if I can figure out how. I sanded the top face with a light grit belt sander but did little more than polish it. I have not tried a file on the face except for the edges and I was able to soften the angle of some of the chip edges. Based on what you said it seems like I used too big of a hammer to tap the face so my assessment may be off. I will try again later. From what i have learned, Henry Wright anvils were made in England from the 1880s to about 1910 and may have been a competing family member of Peter Wright (or trying to ride on his name). I will look for a serial number to try to pinpoint the age. PW made some statements denying any connection with Henry Wright products. Based on the apparent age I assumed the anvil was a cast anvil (meaning no welded top plate?) but I don't know how to tell for sure. Thanks again.

I have a 108 lb Henry Wright (not Peter Wright) Anvil. It was used hard and marred significantly. The horn near the step was mishappen forming large lumps on either side at about 10 and 2. Most of the long edges of the face are also malformed with small pieces either chipped off or beaten out of shape. I was able to file off the lumps on the horn so that it is almost correct now. The corners of the step next to the horn are also bent down and missing but there is a small amount of step still intact. Not much I can do about those or the edges of the face short of welding or adding a tool steal top plate which may be in the future. My actual question concerns the sound when I strike the face with a hammer (2-3 lb cross pin) The anvil yields what seems to be normal rebound but I get a dead sound when striking the face above the foot of the anvil. The heal has a good ring to it and the horn/step areas are better sounding than the face. I have hit the anvil only a few times as a test and do not intentionally strike any anvil with a hammer in the course of use. Any ideas what might have happened or what might be the cause? The face is relatively flat and no visible cracks. It does not appear to have had a top plate added when it was originally built or in the interim as a repair attempt. Any theories?