streetcore

On 8/19/2017 at 5:36 PM, Marc1 said:

Surely a good wire brushing and a bit of wd40 will make it look more presentable. 

I spent some time cleaning it up today with WD40, a wire brush, and some steel wool. I've attached a pic of the anvil and a few other things I've picked up recently. I think it definitely looks better.

On 8/20/2017 at 10:22 AM, C-1ToolSteel said:

Have fun forging on it, and whatever you do, don't weld or grind on the face! She's purdy.

I think somebody did some welding on it in the past and there's a high spot on top that looks like a zit that needs to be squeezed. Should I try filing that spot down?  Should I consider doing anything else to the top or the edges? 

Thanks.

2 hours ago, Randy Bill said:

 204 (228 lbs.?)

1 hour ago, C-1ToolSteel said:

Yep. 228 lbs is what it weighed at the factory. That is a great score at less that 1$/lb. Have fun forging on it, and whatever you do, don't weld or grind on the face! She's purdy.

Of course, 2 0 4 or 228 lbs makes perfect sense! Thanks!

4 hours ago, Tubalcain2 said:

its a old english style, my guess would be william foster or mousehole, but english anvils are not my thing so don't take my word for it. it would have wrought iron body with steel face plate. very decent anvils. it looks like you may have some delamination on the face. did you do a ring/rebound test?

I am a bit worried about possible deamination as well. I did a hammer test when I bought it and didn't hear any obvious buzzing or vibration that might be associated with a loose top plate, but like I said I'm a total noob. So I wasn't too sure what to look for, but at less than a dollar a pound I didn't want to walk away either. 

I shot a video of a ring/rebound test today and posted it below. Unfortunately, I don't have a steel ball to test with, so I used a hammer. There's a slow motion clip at the end.

4 hours ago, arkie said:

You might try hand brushing the sides and foot with a mild wire brush, then dusting with white flour. That usually brings out the lettering much clearer.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm not sure if I did it right, but here's a few pics with the flour. Didn't really reveal much more than I saw before. The AA on the foot seems pretty clear, but I'm still not sure about the P G 4. The G looks pretty clear, but the 4 might just be chisel marks.

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum and have no experience blacksmithing, but I bought my first anvil last week and would appreciate some feedback on the condition and who might have made it. I've always wanted to learn about blacksmithing and metal art, but my interest in anvils peaked over the last year as I got into woodworking with vintage hand tools. I've been buying and fixing up old hand saws and would like to learn how to straighten bent blades by hammering them.

So I've been watching the local market (Southern Ontario) for used anvils and one popped up on a classified site a few minutes away from me for a very good price. It was less than $1/pound and the seller said it was 250 pounds. I put it on a bathroom scale when I got it home and it's more like 220, but that's close enough for me. 

There's a bit of sway in the top plate and some cracks and chips, but I think there's still quite a bit of good useable space, especially for the kind of stuff I might be doing.

There are lots of chisel and punch marks on the sides. So it's hard to make out any identifying marks or stamps, but I think I see what looks like a "P", a "G", and maybe a "4" on the waist. There is also an "A A" on the foot that is pretty clear.

Here's a few pics. Any opinions or feedback would be much appreciated.

Thanks.