Ugotit22

I did essentially what you called for. Wire attachment for the cleaning. Only took about an HR. I noticed it was chipping alittle on the corners of the base so I went easy on them when I noticed. I then cleaned with soap and water and buffed with motor oil.

Here is the Anvil all cleaned up. I used MC HAmmers instructions and it came out awesome

So I spent the last HR or so cleaning the anvil with my father. The numbers came out much better. We also revealed what I imagine is the makers mark. 

There are what looks to be 4 large letters up top then a small long word below. Very hard to make out but it looks to be

 "I" then under that

HILL

Then the word underneath is very rough but appears to start with a R or B and end with AN

Any thoughts

Thanks for all the info. I think I'm gonna clean it up for him. He'll appreciate it. Plus he's a bit of a history buff so if I could get some more markings out of it I'm sure he'll be pumped.

Is it safe to just use a normal hand wire brush on it?

is there any special way I should clean it up before I give it up him?

I can't take all the credit all our siblings are going in on it as well.

I was concerned bc the price seemed to good to be true. From my limited research I gathered they go for anywhere from 500-100+ depending on condition in this size. I only paid $200 for it.

Thanks again for the info

Thank you for the info. I weighed it on a normal house scale so I'm sure the weight was off. 

That's pretty interesting it was made in England. The gentleman I purchased it from said he got it from his buddy in 1970. Apparently he was a blacksmith for the town of New Haven for 50 years and this was his anvil. The seller used it sparingly over the next 40+ years. 

Does the sound and rebound look good from the video?

Hi Everyone

Im new to the forum thank you in advance for any information you all can provide me with. I have been searching for the better part of a month for an anvil for my little brother as an xmas present. He recently got a house with a very nice barn and wanted to start blacksmithing.  He has  a small make shift anvil from a RR track but wanted something better. The only thing I new going into my search was to make sure the anvil had a nice ring and was steel. I picked one up for him today that I think will suffice, however I wanted some input from knowledgeable people.

It weighs 283lbs including the wooden base. The dimensions are

25L, 25W, 11L

Only marking on it are the numbers     1  3   13

There looks to be some sort of insignia on a side but it appears to be  faded long ago. I have included pics  as well as a video so you guys can hear how it sounds.

Thanks again for any input you may have. I hope I got him a nice one.