MC Hammer

Ok, so I liked the videos a lot because the whole rebound premise that it bounces the hammer back and reduces fatigue never made sense to me really. The only time I've had the hammer bounce back is when I miss the hot metal or I'm pounding on something small and and narrow with the hammer head making partial contact with the anvil face on either side. I think when we experience less fatigue with the harder faced anvil because it allows us to move metal better as some have already said. It also makes perfect sense that blacksmiths wanted hard steel so that the anvil lasts longer. I think when you were hammering to feed your family, you wanted to be sure your investment in an anvil and tools was a good one. They'd spend all day everyday at that anvil so it had to be worth what they paid for it. I noticed a huge difference when I started forging on my Trenton vs. the ASO I was using before. I could definitely forge longer and moved way more metal. Of course the anvil was 100 lbs more in weight and mounted on a big heavy stump, but I used that same stump with the ASO so the harder anvil had to have something to do with it. Maybe we just overthink things sometimes missing the simple reason that they wanted a durable surface that wouldn't sway and mushroom. This makes me wonder also if it was the reason they switched to a solid plate of tool steel welded to the face vs. the plates welded in sections that we see with the older anvils? They knew the multiple plate welds tend to get sway in them more so than the solid plate would. So........they were looking for durability and if the solid plate gave them more hammer time (I couldn't resist saying that) with far less risk of sway, then they were all for it. It seems the smith was always looking for a more durable anvil and not seeking rebound as a matter of saving them energy or saving them from fatigue. It's why many of us steer newbies toward the hardest steel objects to start forging if they can't afford an anvil. To my knowledge we suggest sledge hammer heads, railroad tracks stood up on end, etc. because those are the hardest and most durable things someone without money can find to have a starter anvil.

When I build my shop, I'm going to keep both of my vises mobile until I get everything set up and working the way I want it. Then, MAYBE I'll think about mounting at least one permanently to the floor. So far, if you mount the vise like I did so that you are standing on a piece of wood or plate of steel for a bottom, your own weight keeps it stable enough for most smithing activities. I suppose if I had a huge vise for heavy work I'd want that on a permanent and unmovable stand.

I'd say if it's too small to be held by tongs then it needs to get turned in at the junk yard for cash to buy something that can be forged. With that said, geez, I'll take some of the stuff you are throwing out guys

Clean her up with a while wheel on an angle grinder. Wash it with soap & water, then coat it with boiled linseed oil or new motor oil. I think it makes the anvil look better yet it preserves the decades of patina that has built up. Any time you can stop rust from happening really just is a bonus for your tools and anvil. The rust won't hurt it a bit, but why not make the anvil look her best?

The face is the money spot really, and your anvils face looks fine for forging. The horn is in great shape too. Put that old gal to work and make some things with her. You can always save up money for a different anvil is all the things you pointed out bother you. It's still a nice gift.

You can easily check out the book Anvils in America by Postman from your local library if nobody chimes in on the age. If you are part of a county sharing system you'll be able to find a copy. I did this and learned a lot.

For me, I was / am a well established flintknapper. I set up at a local history festival and right next to me was this nice blacksmith. He came over and apologized for the smoke and I told him I was thankful for it because it kept the bugs away. I watched him and thought "I think I could do that someday" and I loved the sound of his anvil ringing slightly. A year later I set up at another historical festival and who was next to me again, the same blacksmith. This time I spent some time watching him and decided I wanted to try it. Someone suggested I watch FIF and that sort of pushed me to start into it. My dad gave me a small 70 lb no-namer anvil, I bought a gas forge a couple of tongs and some HF hammers and got going. Man was it hard, but I found it so refreshing that if I make a mistake, I stick it back in for a heat and try until I get it right. In flintknapping, once you take a flake of flint off, you can't try again if you screw it up. I like learning old crafts and new skills, so forging fit right in with the period stuff I wanted to make someday. Like most, I do want to make knives someday, but I'm having so much fun making the little things that I really can wait to get into that when my skills come along more. So really, chance brought me into this great craft. These days I got better tools a much better anvil and I'm learning.

Yeah, I have to wait for the dirt driveway to firm-up in the spring or those metal cart wheels will just sink right in after leaving the cement garage floor. I'd leave the whole affair in the garage door opening on the cement, but I'm afraid the wind will change on me and blow CO into the garage which is below the house. Can't be too safe when it concerns your family and CO.

David, thanks for the info. The holes inside the vise body that except the box and screw look forged as the do not have a square section in them to accept the square section on the box. Weird, even my PW has that and it's one of the older ones. I wasn't aware they sold the box and screws back in the day. Wouldn't it be wonderful if some guy was cleaning out his family's oldtime hardware store and found 15 or 20 replacements still in the box ?

I roll my 179 pound Trenton out on it's stump with an antique barrel cart. It was the only thing that could handle that kind of weight. I picked mine up on Craig's List for $30. Now I smile when I wheel it in and out of the garage instead of dreading the whole affair - well I still dislike it, but it will make having a smithy someday all the sweeter.

Daswulf if I pay around $10 a pair for tongs, that's just about my limit. It takes me longer to make a pair. Most tongs I see these days are going for $30 or $40 a pair in my area. I won't pay that much unless I really, really need them for something. The guy from the junk shop has given me deals in the past so I throw him a bone every couple of months and give what he asks. He usually throws something in for free which I like. When I dig I make sure there's a chisel or a punch or something along with whatever I take to him. It's the type of place where there are no prices. Since I deal in Indian artifacts, I give him values and opinions on those if he has them. Good guy. Here I thought I did pretty good, but I guess I need to up my game

You could even buy a really abused smaller anvil and you'd have a better time forging on it.

A pretty nice anvil, but like the others I think the price is a bit high. Offer him your best price and see what happens.

Stopped by at my favorite junk / antique store and walked away with 2 pair of 5/8 & 3/8 Champion bolt tongs for $27. The other thing he gave me for free but I saw a bottom fuller to be made out of it for the hardy hole. I didn't know they were Champions until I cleaned them up as they were both quite rusty. I love this shop, but you gotta dig through the piles to find things. There was another pair of flat bit tongs he had, but I only had the $27 in cash on me and I had another pair on the rack just like them. I also loaded up the SUV with a pile of scrap wood that said free by it. Lots of oak with several thinner slices pieces of oak that I can make into hammer wedges. I didn't take a picture of that.

I bought this post vise from a friend for $50. His dad had it in his shop for years and didn't use it. Here's the before picture: Here's a few pictures after a few hours of cleaning and greasing: I really thought this was a Columbian until I cleaned it up. I'm thinking now that it is a Frankenstein being a combo of many different post vise parts. The screw box has the square stop on it yet the body does not have the square cut-out for the stop. Thing the screw is in really good shape except for a crack where the handle slides through the ball end. I'll have to watch that crack and have it welded if it becomes a problem. It's definitely not drop forged but the body looks like wrought iron. I had to grind off the checkered pattern from the jaws as they had not seen much use at all. The spring will need to be heated up and re-bent in order for it to work properly. I'd be open to suggestions as to who the maker of this vise is. There are no markings anywhere on this thing except the number 4 under the mounting plate and what looks like a 35 on one of the jaw tops. Any ideas as to the maker????

Great score!!! We all dream of yard sales like the one you found.

Maybe they case hardened the surface - don't know much about the case hardening process but there is a lot of that going on these days. My springshop guy tells me that most all U bolts are case hardened these days so when I pick through his scrap bin I stay away from them and go for the nice leaf springs & coil springs.

I love those opportunities when they come along. Glad you got there ahead of everyone and were able to pick up a decent anvil and the other tools.

Wow, nice gift! Let us see a picture of it all cleaned up and ready for service.

I think you have a good plan to use this anvil and save money for a better one. That's exactly what I did. I had one almost identical to yours that I started with. Mine was so poor quality that it had cast marks down the horn, but the face seemed not to be cast iron and my anvil was old enough to have a decent patina. I got it for free to borrow from my Dad so I couldn't complain and it did work. What Thomas says is no exaggeration! The first time I forged on my new to me German Trenton anvil I couldn't believe how much it rebounded and much better if moved metal. Some guys start out using sledge hammer heads, so you at least have an anvil albeit a lower quality one.

I'm just not sure the faces and edges haven't seen some work. I have to wonder if the face was not machined being that square and nice. The only other option would be that it truly saw very little work. If no work, then well it's probably priced that high as a collector's piece. IMHO $600 is too high as that translates to $6 per pound. Most people here will tell you that up to $3 per pound is a reasonable price for an anvil that is in good shape. You could buy a new anvil for that price. I like others feel that only you can decide because it's your hard earned cash. I know when I was looking for anvils, it gets frustrating and sometimes you just want to pay the high price and get your anvil so you can get going. But, what if you save that $600, wait until you find a nice $300 anvil then use the other $300 to buy hammers & tongs. I usually buy my tongs at junk shops / antique shops for $10 - $15 a piece in NY. Hammers are pretty cheap as well and less than $30 at the same junk / antique shops I frequent. I just present a different way of thinking about it. I certainly wouldn't look down on you for spending YOUR $600 on that anvil. Just check to be sure no work was done on that face as it seems a little too perfect for the age and the patina seems a little too perfect on the face as well. I'm no expert though.

$50 was a great deal. As far as cleaning it up, take a wire wheel attachment and put it on an angle grinder. This will take all the rust off without removing the patina that makes it look nice. After all the rust is removed, give it a good wash with soap & water, dry it really well and then oil it with boiled linseed oil or use clean motor oil. I used 5W-30 on mine and then I give it a light wipe down after forging on it. You'll be surprised how nice it looks when you are done. Just be sure to wear safety glasses because those twisted wires fly off and go everywhere. I see you even got a nice stump to go with it. Don't laugh, I had to take 2 buddies to go roll one up in a truck that was laying on the side of the road. You have a nice starter anvil there. Like has been said, do not grind the face of it . The best advice I hear on this forum is to use it for a year before you decide to do anything like grinding or "repairing" to it. My take is that many smiths used that anvil before you to feed their families. It's seen a lot of honest work and none of the smiths that used it before you saw fit to "repair" any of the issues you may find with it. That tells me that the imperfections didn't matter a whole lot or these earlier guys would have fixed them up. You will however have to do something manly around that anvil soon to remove the effects of pink chalk

You have a very rare Snub Nosed anvil there. Snub Nosed anvils had no tips on their horns and were used for carry conceal blacksmithing Just kidding! On a serious note, the face (top of the anvil) is all there and seems to be in good condition. That's the important spot where all the work is done. You could forge a bick for your hardy hole that could serve as replacement for the missing horn tip. Take a wire wheel on an angle grinder and clean off all that winter camo paint and it should forge just fine. Show us pictures when you get her all cleaned up and ready for service.

Gyro, It took me over a year to find a decent anvil and even that is in the eye of the one hammering on it. I love my anvil, but another smith might think it's not all that great compared to some really nice anvil they have or more likely the nice 3 or 4 they own. I started out borrowing a really junky anvil that my dad had kicking around. While using it, I read everything I could find on anvils on this site and in books checked out of the library with the purpose of knowing the different types and such / what makes a decent anvil / and what fair prices range. Ease into investing in your first decent anvil. Taking your time to look just allows you to save even more money to throw toward it.

They are night and day once you get a post vise. The first post vise I got was an unmarked Peter Wright I think and it was all cleaned up except for the screw and box. I read a lot on hear before taking it apart and cleaning the screw and box. Wow, there was so much crud in the box. When I got it all clean and greased up I too was amazed at how fluid it operated. Now on to my Columbian.