HP500

Interesting idea, thanks!

It is a wrapped eye design made from mild steel with a 5160 bit forge welded in and a Hickory handle. The grain on the handle wasn't very interesting, so I charred it in the forge and gave it a coating of Tung oil. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Nice job!

Very nice!

Thanks MC Hammer, I appreciate the info. The rebound on this anvil is very good, at least 90%. I may try to post a video of it. My goal this weekend is to mount the anvil and to get some hot metal on it. Fortunately, the height is already perfect for me, but I will need to level out the stump just a tiny bit. I am really looking forward to putting it to the test.

6 minutes ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

My MP Farriers anvil is cast steel and the calking worked a treat, also on our Hay Budden, both loud ringers.

How did you apply the caulk? Did you cover the entire base of the anvil, just the perimeter, etc.?

24 minutes ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

Another way to tame the ring of anvils is to mount it with calking compound. I have two that were so loud ear plugs didn't really help, after the calk I can use them and they are as quiet as my Vulcan.

Thanks! I definitely need to do something to dampen the ring. I believe this anvil is cast steel. It is much louder than my Peter Wright.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the information. 

Sorry Thomas, , I thought you implied that the anvil might be a recently manufactured knock off, which I’m pretty sure it is not. The part of the country I bought the anvil from was at one time well known for steel making, so it could very well have been a locally made copy of something many years ago.  I buy blacksmithing equipment to use, not to flip for a profit, so as far as using it goes I really don’t care what brand it is as long as it performs well. It is in better condition than my Peter Wright and has better rebound, so it will get a ton of use.

My main purpose for this post is that I’m very interested in the history of blacksmithing and blacksmithing equipment, so this anvil piqued my curiosity. I know there is a ton of experience on this forum, so I thought there might be a chance someone else here may have come across an anvil like this once before and would know some history behind it.

The previous owner seemed like a very interesting and creative man, so I would have welcomed the opportunity to talk to him about his blacksmithing business, the anvil and some of the things he made with it over the years. Unfortunately, this was not possible. If practical, I will most likely attempt to remount the anvil to the old stump it came with, just to keep the history going.

6 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

No markings?  Not really; after all there is a foundry down here making cast copies of old anvils so even if it was distinctive in shape it might not be "real".

I keep expecting some of the knockoffs to get fettled well and fake markings stamped and start showing up with the prices so high. (The knock-offs are not heat treated and the alloy depends on what was left in the ladle at the end of the day so some are OK and some are ASOs)

I'm not sure what you mean by your no marking question. All I could find was the number 7 stamped on the bottom.

I bought this anvil at an auction. It was at an estate auction of a 92 year old blacksmith/gun maker. His dad was also a blacksmith. The stump it was mounted on looked like it had at least 90 years of grime/sweat/dirt. etc. on it. The anvil itself was loaded with grime and some surface rust before I hit it with a wire wheel and BLO. While I can't be positive, I'm pretty sure the anvil isn't a knock off.

I will definitely need to wear hearing protection using this anvil. A friend told me about pulling the rare earth magnets out of old computer hard drives and using them on the anvil to reduce the ring. I tried it and it worked surprisingly well. 

I'm still very interested in learning what brand of anvil this is. Any way to know for sure?

Thanks for the replies. I haven't had a chance to put it to the test yet, but it seems like a very good one. I'll try to test it with some hot metal later this week. I'm more curious about it than anything.

I did some more research and I though it might be an unmarked Columbian, but a West as suggested by Judson is a distinct possibility. It sounds very much like the West in this YT video. Mine has a very annoying high pitched ring. I put some strong magnets underneath the heel and that helped quite a bit.

Thomas, rebound is at least 90%

I just picked up this 145 pound anvil today that is in  very good condition.  I wire brushed it, but I can't find any markings on it except for a 7 stamped on the bottom. It has a very good rebound and a loud, high pitched ring, especially in the heel area. It looks like the body was cast because there is an obvious seam. I did an internet search, but came up empty. I thought it might be a Fisher, but it doesn't have the typical Fisher markings. It does have some unusual circle marks on one side, but I suppose that could be from use.  Any ideas? 

I had a tracking problem with the 2x72 I just finished building. It ran fine when not under load, but as soon as I put pressure on the belt, the belt would move off to the side. A stronger spring in the tensioning tower fixed that.

Do you have any welding skills? There are a couple of designs on the internet that take some fabrication but are not super complicated. 

Thanks Frosty! 

Frosty, it wasn't my intention to advertise for the company. I have zero connection with them other than buying one of their VFDs and having had an exceptional customer service experience with them, which I've found to be rare these days.

A tool rest is my next project. I'm debating whether to make a simple fixed table or to make some kind of table that is adjustable for height and angle. I'd love to see pictures of tables others here have made.

I may install a lever for the tensioning  arm like you did at some point. The spring I have in the tower now is pretty beefy and tough to compress. I first went with a storm door spring but had tracking issues when I pushed against the belt/platen. The heavier spring solved that problem. 

UPDATE:

I have the vibration issues sorted out. The issue was that my high efficiency 2HP motor was not compatible with the software on my KBAC 27D VFD and it caused vibration problems below 60% speed. I contacted KB Electronics, the manufacturer or the VFD and they diagnosed the problem. Those guys are great to deal with! They had me send them my old unit and they replaced it with a brand new next generation unit at no charge. They did this even though they knew I bought the unit from a distributor and not from them directly. What great customer service! The grinder runs great now. Here is a picture before painting and with the motor temporarily hooked up.

Ok thank you

Frosty, my build is the same design as yours. What type of spring did you use for the tension spring?

Thanks guys. The motor is a brand new Leeson 2HP 3 phase "Watt Saver" motor. I think I have it narrowed down to a VFD issue. I was on the phone today with tech support from the VFD company and he said that there may be a compatibility issue with the new "energy saver" type motors like I have and the VFD software. He had me try a number of different VFD settings by moving various jumpers and trimpot settings to see if I can get any improvement. The only thing that got rid of the vibration below 60% was to change one jumper from "Constant Torque" to "Constant Velocity". When I did that, the motor ran smoothly at all ranges. The problem with that was, I could then stop the drive wheel with light pressure on it. This obviously won't work for metal grinding. When the VFD is in "Constant Torque"  mode, I couldn't stop it at all.

The tech guy told me to call back on Monday and let him know the results. He said there is a new software upgrade coming out, so that might solve the problem. Fingers crossed!

I tried again tonight without the drive wheel. Same symptoms. 

4 minutes ago, Shady McGrady said:

Is there a pulley or drive wheel on the motor's shaft? It sounds like you have some kind of a harmonic imbalance issue. It may resolve itself once you install it and there is a load on the motor.

Hmm...I did have a drive wheel attached. I'll try again tonight without the wheel and see what happens.

Just now, Daswulf said:

Bolt it down?

I did try holding it down very firmly to simulate bolting it down.  The vibration was very strong and doesn't seem normal. Running above 60% and it is as smooth as glass.