minaret

Thanks, it's good to see another one. I like your description of it!

That is great to hear! Do you have any photos that you can share of yours? I got it from someone in Germany but it very well could be Swedish, and perhaps that is why I haven't found anything similar, because I have been searching for the wrong country of manufacture. Anything else you know about them? If yours is 80 years old, I would assume mine would be somewhere near that. It has smoother action than my other vises and I'm looking forward to getting it set up. Thank you for the advice regarding the metric threads!

Cool, I think I may make them out of mild steel then. Sounds like a fun project. One of the tech companies here? I was just near you, up in the Cloudcroft NM area.

Ah sorry, just updated my profile. I'm in Texas as well.

I recently picked up this German bench vise. 6" jaws, 85#, very smooth action. Couldn't find any maker mark (without taking off the paint) and am wondering if anyone is familiar with it and can share any info about it? Also, any recommendation on where to get replacement jaws for it? Thanks for any advice/info.

Simon I've always thought that half of the world's treasures would no longer exist if it weren't for British museums! One of the most memorable travel experiences I ever had was spending a week in London, and a couple days of that in the British Museum and National Gallery. Yeah, I hear what you are saying, but I was using the term 'historically significant' in a very broad and somewhat casual sense. I could have just said 'antique' and I doubt anyone would argue with it. But the whole context of it was to say that although these anvils are antiques they are ready to be used. I thought it was a point worth mentioning in the ad. Best regards, Scout

They are awesome anvils, and definitely not easy or cheap to get from Germany to Texas. I spent about half the CL ads telegraphing how open I am to offers/deals/barter/etc, and I ended up selling them significantly lower than listed. And I have to say that though these may be readily available in other parts of the world, in Central Texas they are definitely rare, and historically significant in the same way that Greek pottery may be considered historically significant in London but not in Athens, though I've heard the Greeks are trying to get their stuff back Foundryman In any case, I'm crazy about German anvils and I have an early Refflinghaus that I'm just in love with. And yeah, you can get an amazing Nimba or Fontanini for the same price, but so can the next guy, and I think the folks that wanted these really wanted something different to work on. I plan on bringing some more back from Germany in the next year or so. Definitely not getting rich selling them, but it's a lot of fun and I've met some stellar people!

Awesome, thank you for the guidance on getting the anvil work-ready. I'm going to do what you've recommended. And thanks for advice on putting in my location; I'm going to set up my profile.

I checked it out and it definitely has had some welding done to it. Looks like mainly at the edges of the face. The rebound is about 75%. At $1.50/lb I just went ahead and bought it. Not sure if that's a good deal with the welding on it, but they don't come up for sale very often in Central Texas. I am planning to clean it up, grind/flatten the welds, and work over the face with very fine wet sandpaper. Is that a good approach or any other thoughts on that? I'm unsure what may or may not do further damage to the face. Any advice is appreciated. Here are a few photos.

Thanks for the advice, that makes sense to me. I was paranoid that someone had possibly done something to it but if it was forged that way by Hay Budden then I love it even more. Going to check out now to see about the rebound/ring.

I am new to the forum and would appreciate any advice on this topic. I have been blacksmithing for a couple years and I am thinking about purchasing this anvil, but I can't tell if the waist is tweaked or whether this is a profile that Hay Budden used? I haven't seen any that jut so far forward. My first thought was that something was wrong with it, but after looking at it I wonder if this profile is intentional. It is 250# and is well priced. The serial number is #16254. Any feedback regarding the anvil is greatly appreciated, particularly whether something is wrong with the waist/base. Thanks yall.