Sandrion

Pretty good rebound, I'm going to pick up a ball bearing at work today so I can try that method. Rings pretty well when tapped with a hammer.

Bunch of little men running around with clipboards and jerking open filing cabinets. Papers everywhere. Haven't made the transition to paperless yet.

Doh! I'm sorry... Talking out of my xxx again... I thought Wilkinson but typed Nicholson. Twice! I had files on the brain for some reason...

The smallish letters I think you are talking about, are definitely from the PO, as they've been electro-pencilled in. This is what I am referring to. I was under the impression that Nicholsons were common? Also, where are you seeing a date stamp. I must have missed it.

I managed to find some time to wire wheel my Nicholsons today. Looks pretty good without all the writing And paint all over it. Any way to put a ballpark date on this guy?

Thanks for the info! Yeah, I'm fairly handy in most things and like to think I have common sense. I've worked in fabrication/machine shop/maintenance my entire adult life. I've completely restored two American Pacemaker lathes that came out of an old mill basement, lots of wire wheeling went into those. As for the branding on the anvil, I am pretty sure its a Nicholson, 129lbs. I don't plan on doing anything to the face, I was more concerned about the corners but from what I am reading, they should be fine for now. Like you say, just use it! Yeah... think twice, measure twice, cut once. I have two good Wilton bullet vises I use already for piddling in the garage, and I am on the lookout for a leg/post vise as we speak to use for smithing. Thanks again for the input!

Picked up these two bench vises when I bought my anvil. The Columbian is pretty self explanatory and I feel like $25 wasn't a bad price. As for the other, I can't find a mark or stamp or raised casting on it anywhere! Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance!

Thanks! I caught that in the other thread and have been reading on and off.

I figure that wire wheeling it, then a little oil will go a long way. I do that to my shop table and it hasn't failed me yet. The search feature really is useless, the recommended way is much better. I've read a lot already in my spare time today.

I should wax it.. maybe nickel plated? Ooh! I know! Cadmium!

So, as far as the face, just wire wheel and then once I get a forge and whatnot, work some metal on it. What about the body? Wire wheel and oil? It gets awful humid here in NC to just leave it bare metal after I get all the paint off and whatnot.

Here are the pictures the PO sent to me when I asked for some. Also, pictures of the two bench vises I bought from him. $250 for everything. What's the best way to clean it up? Wire wheel? What about the face and corners?

Just wanted to drop into the general discussion forum and say hello! I recently bought an anvil (made a thread about it in the anvil forum) and have decided to eventually start smithing. I wasn't aware of such a big community for it, although I am happy to find it and maybe be a part of it. Now, school me on what I should have first, since I have the anvil, obviously I won't be needing one of those anytime soon. I have a ready supply of all types and sizes of steel to choose from. I look forward to hearing from everyone! Oh, and a little about my background. I grew up in my dad's machine and fabrication shop, which now has 6 employees for machining and 45 for fabrication and I went to school for machining, then worked in the shop for 2 years so I'm pretty familiar with steel in those forms. Afterward I worked on the maintenance/mechanic side of the business for 6 years. I'm now in Industrial supply at a local place.

Hi guys! My first post here and its about my first anvil! I've always wanted one, for nothing more but to use it as a convenient place to hammer on something. Only after following one or two folks on Instagram and really reading about it did I want to get into smithing! I called one of the folks I follow on Instagram and asked him if he could help me make the decision whether to buy this anvil or not. After some pictures were sent, I was told to go ahead and go buy it, that it would be a good starter. I knew next to nothing about anvils or how much they cost. What to look for and how to look for it. After scouring Craigslist for a couple weeks, this one popped up and I pounced after the go ahead I mentioned above. It's a 129lb Nicholson. I don't know how to figure out how old it is. The P.O. said that it was his dad's, who was a welder. The edges seem rough, but I could be wrong. I will post pictures later today! Sorry if it seems like I'm rambling, I honestly don't know what to say about it yet.