fordmustangbrad

ThomasPowers, I was wondering about that. I thought it was from repitition of beating patterns from an item the blacksmith made multiples of. You say it is where the faceplate pieces were met. Were the forge welds softer metal or what?

Today I was browsing craigs-list and stumbled on a just posted anvil ad. "Antique Anvil, $125" was what the ad said. I instantly called the guy and since I was the first caller, he promised it to me. I hopped in the car and arrived less than an hour later and the anvil was just as pretty as his picture. The guy did not have change so he let me have it for $120. I threw it in the front seat and hauled it home. This is my 7th colonial style anvil that I have added to my collection. This is my only one with a step on the horn. The rest have conical horns. Too bad there are no legible markings. I believe it weighs 140-150 lbs. Thanks for reading! The image of the anvil beside the barn is the C.L. ad picture.

As it turns out, I could not bare to look at the foul looking Vulcan this morning, so I took it out to the grinder and welder and fixed it as good as you can with a mig welder. Surprisingly, it now has good rebound and sound solid along the top (compared to the rattle from yesterday). I decided I will sell it as a display anvil. I am pleased with the way it looks, too bad you can't judge a book by it's cover!

Yesterday I went to buy a Vulcan 120# anvil and when I got there, I saw tiny hairlines all over the side. I tapped the top with my ball peen and it was dead and rattled in some spots. I offered the man $70.00, probably too much, and explained to him that it was basically useless to me. I bought it because I feel like I can flip it as a display anvil. My question is, how do I tell how old this Vulcan is? It has a 12 cast in the side, as well as two "78" 's. I hate I drove an hour to get that thing and it was busted up like it is, but hey, we win some, and lose some.

Today I was able to pick up a pair of English anvils for $100 each if I bought both. One is a John Brooks and appears to be from the 1830s-1850s and weighs about 124lbs, and the other is a Wilkinson's and weighs 86lbs. Any ideas for the age of either anvil will be appreciated! Thanks for looking!

I bought this 1916 Fisher 100# (actually weighs 97#) from a man yesterday, had it delivered for $100. Not the best deal for a cast iron anvil with a broken heel but I could not turn it down. I am not going to show the before picture of the anvil in the mud uncovered behind the man's shop because it would take away from the present condition. Love the "thud" and rebound. Enjoy the pictures. The image from above is a picture of the 100# beside the fisher 120# I already owned, to show what I need to rebuild. Bradley

The other Side is just smooth, no marks. Same anatomy as front.

HORNLESS COLONIAL BEATING BLOCK: I was selling a beer keg to a fellow today and he saw my anvil collection. He mentioned having one and I offered a trade. He wanted to even swap so I did not argue! I am no expert, but it looks like a Mousehole. There is literally a large punch hole under the hundredweight marks. 1.0.1 translates to 113#, but the anvil only checks out to 109# on a scale. I paid $20 for the keg, so I am happy about the trade.. I don't think I am going to fix the horn. I like it the way it is. Any ideas on manufacturer, please weigh in!

1878???? That is much older than I hoped. Incredible! I love old anvils. Thank you guys for the great information.

It is certainly a "5" so 50#? Great, what a handy size. It produces a quite dull tone while striking, so it is easy on the ears. I like it.

My grandfather called me up today to show me what he had found for me. He has heard me speak of my fascination with metal, fabricating, and using anvils and primative tooling. I arrived finding this beautiful little Vulcan on the counter. He gave it to me. I told him he should keep it but he insisted that it was in his way. I like it a lot, even though I believe it is not forged. It looks like cast iron. I wish I knew how old it was, but the only marks are a pair of "78" 's. It feels to be about 60#, but I do not have a scale. I love to share my new tooling with you guys, so here are the pictures.....

Image 1: 5 unmarked colonial anvils, including a smaller 65# uniquely shaped anvil. Image 2: The two anvils in the foreground are an 1834 William Foster and an 1830s Eveson, the back row is the same.

Thank you guys for the nice comments, and Thomas, a special thank you for clearing the weight marks for me. I decided to take a group shot of the pre 1830s anvils for you all, enjoy!

I bought an anvil today, it is a "colonial" period forged anvil. It is marked 1 0 23. I think this means it weighs 123#. I had to drive 20 miles but the anvil was only $85.00. Take a look at the pictures. This is my 7th colonial anvil for the collection. Thanks for looking folks! I also attached a picture of a deer bust I made out of copper.

It does have an anchor, but so does my Eveson. They each have initials stamped in the front too. The William Foster has WW, and the Eveson has TW. Not sure what they mean. The William Foster has incredible rebound.

I added a unique anvil to my collection today! You may have seen this anvil on E-bay today. The fellow had a buy it now for $175 but since he was local I offered to come pick it up on a non ebay transaction. I got the beauty for $110. It has no horn, but is really nice otherwise. I am guessing that it weighs 80lbs, but the English weight shows 90#. The date of manufacture is 1834, and interestingly enough, there is a factory forged pritchell. Enjoy the pictures, and happy new year!

Cbl, incredible job on the identification. Looks like it is a fairly rare model. I will be looking into a possible manufacture date, and update as soon as I do!

Today I aquired a new anvil that had been on Craigslist for some time. It is not a very "pretty" anvil but I could tell from the pictures that it was an older 1830s-1850s forged steel variety, so I figured I would try to make a deal. I ended up trading an old 1977 Stihl chainsaw to the guy for the anvil.....straight up. The guy told me it didn't have writing on it at all but when he pulled up I caught the glimpse of a stamp on the front. Maybe you guys can help with the identification of this old anvil. It has excellent rebound and a nice wide face. There are some chips in the top but overall I think it was worth the time I spent to go get it. the weight seems to be somewhere in the 130s of lbs. I hope you guys like it as much as I do! Side note....the little hammer on the top of the anvil in the pictures is a colonial hand forged hammer that i bought downtown for $5.00. I put an ashe handle in it and thought I would share the picuture.

I was very happy to find all those anvils in one location. I tried out the nail jig you gave me and it works great! I used copper but I got the idea. Look in the tools section to see the picture of the nail I made.

Headed out to the North Carolina State Fair today, and for the first time in my life, I took a special interest in the blacksmithing exhibit. I made some friends and got lots of information, and a fellow gave me this hand forged nail heading tool. What a generous fellow! He said it was made from one piece of round stock that was bent to a 90 and forged fat. Then while hot a file handle was driven into it to give it the square shape. He also gave me some hand made nails so that I can have something to try and mimic. I just got home and tried it with some soft copper and I am sold. What a great tool. I didn't have any copper large enough to fit the head but I added a spacer to the inside(made of copper, see picture) and the smaller gauge material seated just fine. I will never buy another nail in my life(just kidding) but really, it gets the job done with efficiency. Pictured to the right of the tool is my first hand forged nail, in copper(my foundry-forge is at my land.) The other two are iron that were done at the fair by the pro's. Pictured above the tool and nails you will see the piece of copper stock that I used, just a heavy gauge ground wire. I also found a connection to get some coal from a fellow in Advance, NC. If anyone needs coal in NC, this guy has a bunch, I hear. Message me for his number. Thanks for looking guys!

1900 120# my favorite anvil

Well this goes to show that the ping test is not a good test at all......... This Hay Budden anvil that SCREAMS when you touch it with a hammer, has a HORRIBLE ball bearing rebound test. It only rebounds 61%. Is this bad?

The anvil had a layer of dirt/dust on it and some rust in spots. I have a brass brush that I cleaned the rest of the rust with. I am happy with the way it looks!

I wonder if you could tig a tool steel plate to the top with some stainless filler rod? That would make for one sweet anvil, I would imagine. That is one heck of a chunk of steel, regardless!

@poppaclutch, Thanks! @ JIM, Thanks for the offer ;P @ Vaughn, I agree, it is outrageous. I said that I didn't need it, but after messing with it a bit this evening, I think it is my favorite of all three I have! I love how it doesn't ring like a church bell, just a solid thwack. I told the scrapper I would pay him better than that if he found any more anvils or tools, but I think he was just happy to be able to go get his next fix. I doubt I will ever hear from him again. As for my girlfriend, she was mad that I bought another anvil :) .