humphreymachine

I recently saw one stamped "AMERICAN" in the same place.

Jim – I have an abrasive cutoff saw which fills the shop with a super noxious smell and may push my neighbor’s buttons if used too frequently outdoors. I definitely could use a band saw but don’t have room in the shop for one of the larger units and hadn’t thought of the little portable units. Are they a good product?

The rust you see is just a powdery coating which happened almost immediately(it is not on the chip). I was half way through the cut and continued to use the tool after the piece split off – once again dipping it in water after every few hits to prevent over heating. This repeated dampening formed the fine oxidation powder. I believe I allowed the chisel to overheat on a previous project and then inadvertently hardened it when cooled in water. I think the lesson is – especially when cutting heavy stock – cool after every strike or two – don’t cool at all, or maybe have several hot cuts and rotate their use every few hits.

While cutting a length off of a ¾ x 2 ½ bar a chunk of the cutting edge broke away. I was quenching the tool frequently to prevent it from becoming too hot but obviously it hardened and then shattered. It can be reforged or ground back but I enjoy antique/vintage tools and hate to bust them up. Anyone else had this issue with hot cuts or punches.

Finally found a less than ideal but passing way to put my 8” Columbian to use. I was facing two problems. Firstly -- I had not decided upon the final layout of my shop when I poured the slab so was unable to cast a post into it or anchor bolts for that matter. Secondly – the forging area of my shop is relatively small at 12 x 12 feet which severely limits the placing options for a large post vise particularly given that I use my welding table as a bending jig for longer pieces so did not want a centrally mounted vice protruding above the table’s top surface. Then there was the problem of wall mounting the vise – both the lack of available space and the fact that a heavily used large vise would probably shred a stud wall. The solution was to mount the vice to a large chunk of wood beam sandwiched between two studs and run a heavy metal strap to the welding table to minimize breakout/movement of the wall. There is a sliding door to the vise’s right and ample space to the left and in front of it so it can now be used to work fairly long pieces. The drawback is that there is not much space behind the vise but this was the best I could do. I also mounted my two leg vises to a large steel plate – again -- not ideal but it seems to work for most smaller projects. The vice on the right is forward of the bolt heading vise so can accommodate pieced in the horizontal plain.

I love beeswax and it is a great additive for indoor use but I doubt that it will hold up well out doors. Many waxes turn milky/white when wet – but the oil may protect it? Maybe one of you who use the oil/wax coating can leave a piece outside and give us a report. I’m curious.

Great anvil by the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Light rubbing with medium to coarse steel wool before the application of linseed oil should work well to knock off the sand like rust grains. Valid question regarding the oil. Linseed oil is commercially available here, and hopefully there, in two types – “Boiled” and “Raw”. DO NOT use raw as it does not harden. Boiled Linseed oil is boiled by the manufacturer and hardens in a day or two depending on the humidity. I thin it with paint thinner/mineral spirits about one part thinner to two parts oil. I rub it on and wipe off the excess with a rag—again being careful to let the rag dry flat to avoid fire. This oil mixture is also great for treating rusting garden shovels etc as well as their wooden handles. In the case of wood, apply the oil much more liberally as it soaks it in, wipe off the excess after 5 or 10 minutes and let dry for a day or two.

Rather than paint I’d go with boiled linseed oil thinned with paint thinner – essentially the vehicle for early paints. Wipe on a thin layer to prevent too glossy an appearance and redo every several years or as needed. It will darken the surface but preserve the rust colors and fine textures which I assume you find attractive while at once preserving the metal from further water damage. It will darken the surface slightly but in my opinion look far superior to paint which obscures details and develops unsightly rust spots. Rags used with boiled linseed oil need to be spread out to dry as they pose a real spontaneous combustion threat when balled up in a trash can.

Really nice and kind of different with the circular base. Where was that manufacturer located? We love lots of photos!

Maybe the seller is following this thread and got the $3500 idea here!? Always a risk when it's all out in the open.

It looks real nice and based more or less on the Fairbanks hammer design?

Interesting but not clear how this relates to the hardy at the top of this thread?

Went out to the shop to get a shot – sorry about the poor detail. Mine was not as similar as I had thought but similar none the less. It appears sawn from a solid block rather than forged and has one large central slot and five narrower slots running from it to the sides. The single slot swage is forged and the closest swage is for caulking horse shoes.

I have almost an exact match to it which I will try to post a photo of. I agree with the member who thinks that caulking swages are usually ‘V’ shaped. Larger single slot versions of this swage are quite common. I had guessed that they might be used in spring shops to make short right angle bends in the ends of leaf springs? – just a thought.

Also -- one foot is stamped with a 9 and on the upper side it appears to be stamped 05 8. The base is a bit messy as well althought I don't know what is standared on these.

Thank you for the input. If there is a fifth numer it is a "2". There is a line which looks tantilizingly like the top curve of a "2" but it may well not be. I would have thought that they would have a smaller company logo stamp for the smaller anvils.

Picked up this little 50 – actually 49.5 lib. Hay Budden anvil in a house clear out. It seems a little sloppier that the normal fine line which Buddens are prized for. The waist on the horn side in particular seems to lean. It seems rough all the way around the waist. At first I thought that it may have been reworked but that would have obliterated the lettering. The previous owner claims that his father made five hundred something or rathers on it but it seems awful clean on the face and horn to have seen heavy use. The face could be reground? There is some grinding all the way around the top edge -- it even tapers in slightly. Did Budden do this? Can the serial number date it? The right name but not the best example.

I do believe that that is the way they cut rail in the field before the days of motor driven cutoff saws. I have several one foot lengths of early rail which were clearly scored with a cold chisel. The rail often became damaged at the ends and had to be trimmed back and then new rail joint holes drilled with a hand crank drill. They were not piecing in little one foot splices so the entire rail must have be put aside for other projects where a shorter section would do. Pump your hand car several miles down the track --- cut rail by hand --- drill rail by hand. That’s a day’s work!

I have an older forge with the triangular clinker breaker but it had a steel ring around it which was convenient to rest a permanent grate upon. I do not use the clinker breaker to regulate air flow and try to leave it straight up so that the air flow is symmetrical. I use a hand crank blower even for heavy work so varying air flow is easy. With an electric blower I’d use a variable speed control switch and or a gate in the air duct. My first two grates were cast iron disks with clusters of air holes but they soon cracked from the heat. I then went to a circular piece of half inch thick steel plate with a central 3/8 hole and six to eight 3/8 holes clustered around it. It works very well although the fire cement which I sealed it with has cracked allowing air to escape under it which encourages the fire to spread horizontally. I really need to fill the entire void between the grate and firebox wall with refractory cement. Clinkers do form but are easily removed with an L shaped poker.

$10 for 20’ of any kind of steel sounds cheap although at that cost per pound I’m guessing without doing the math that my 1x1 would have been over $60 for a 20 footer. The old timer I’m buying from may not be around for long so I’m trying to decide whether I should be stockpiling at his 45 cents a pound price.

let's see a photo?

I do some estate clear outs as part of my career as an antique dealer and have the good fortune from time to time to find ‘old surface’ i.e. ‘antique’ hardwood stumps in people’s barns or cellars. These were used for splitting kindling – logs - etc and are almost always the right height for medium weight anvils. I love the old look but invariable they rock as the bottom cuts are seldom true. I was thinking of purchasing and dishing the bottoms with one of the ‘chainsaw’ type wheels which are available for 4 inch angle grinders but I like the router idea even more.

I’ve always wondered the same and am still not clear from the above discussion how exactly they were used in carriage construction.

Partly for lack of trying I have not located a local steel supplier who is happy to deal in small lots, single lengths etc. I do have an old time scrap/steel buyer/seller who I’ve been doing business with. His inventory is old but unused – bought at industrial foreclosures etc. He claims that his 45 cents a pound price is a bargain. Is it a bargain or just about right for new or too high? I paid about $23 for a one 1” square x 20’ length.