pleb

Unfortunately I can't be of much assistance, but as a collector of old woodworking tools, I might just provide a bit of information that might, or might not, prove to be useful. In 1810 Jean Pierre and Jean Frédéric, together with Jacques Maillard-Salins near Montbéliard, found the company "Peugeot Frères et Jacques Maillard -Salins". They converted an old grain mill into a foundry, producing saw blades and watch springs. Over the course of two decades, they expanded their production and in 1832 "Peugeot Frères Aînés", began producing tools for joiners, carpenters and turners. In 1842, company led by 7 cousins was split in two separate companies. "Peugeot, Japy et Cie", which was renamed to "Peugeot Freres" in 1852 (and to "Les Fils de Peugeot Frères" In 1892). While In the other company, the four sons of Jean-Frédéric Peugeot join forces with the four Jackson brothers under the name "Peugeot Aînés et Jackson Frères". In 1877 (or 1889) the company was renamed "Peugeot Aînés" and in 1894 "Peugeot et Cie". Until both companies joined forces in 1922, and since 1936 under the same name (Etablissements Peugeot Frères), but that's too recent for this anvil. You can find all of the logos these manufacturers used over the years if that might help with identifying the anvil. Conclusion is, we know they had a foundry and produced tools, and were one of the largest manufacturers at the time as their 19th tools are still commonly found today. Only I haven't read anywhere, nor found the information that any of the Peugeot companies produced anvils. But again, there's not much information on the subject and some info. contradicts each other at some points. I hope this helped you, even slightly. I highly suggest that you do some research, as in checking sites that sell old anvils and trying to find similarities with one that is in your possesion. Perhaps one with it's logo in perfect condition. Best of luck. Cheers.

I'm a bit late to respond, but thanks for all the help and precious information. As we haven't figured out who the manufacturer would be, i thought i might as well contact Refflinghaus and see what they think about it, because we all love seeing old anvils, don't we? I wasn't expecting them to reply back, so I was surprised when Jörg Refflinghaus replied to me. He said he doesn't know what the "UF" under the horn means, and how he's never seen something like that before, therefore he'd ask his father for opinion. In the second mail, they asked me to check if there were any square holes in anvil body and under the anvil, which would indicate that the anvil is forged, but as my anvil doesn't have any holes in it, the conclusion was that the anvil is not forged, but rather a cast anvil. In the second mail i sent, i asked if he could make a guess on how old the anvil could be and who could be the possible manufacturer. I shouldn't have asked this, because it confused me even more. They couldn't really figure out what was the marking on the anvil (the one on the face, something that looks like the head of an eagle), and this is the follow up: Just thought i'd make an update, so it doesn't look like i disappeared and left this "story" unfinished. Maybe i should contact Richard Postman too and see if i get a response lol

Yeah, it's definitely welded, hardy hole is only about 3 inches deep, the bottom is rounded, and there's probably about another 3 inches of weld to the bottom of the hardy hole, someone probably didn't care to properly weld the underside, that's why it looks so wonky, no idea why would it be welded in the first place. I'll most likely drill it, chisel it like Irondragon F&C and Marc said,and file it, it's the best solution to the problem i guess. Thanks! Oh and i don't have a torch, i wouldn't use it anyway, really, a bit risky i think @tanglediver Makes sense! And there's no way i'm gonna be grinding nor milling anything on the face, damaging it wouldn't be any easier. Oh boy when i saw these two posts, i thought to myself, how didnt i think of that before?! I ran outside like a little kid, with my wire brush and baby powder and started brushing the side of the anvil (the one with the upsetting block), didn't reveal anything, so i said to myself "Now it's GOTTA be on the other side!", so i spent more time wire brushing and powdering it in hopes of revealing the brinks of hope, yet i didn't find anything. Then i though, "AHA it must be on the side of the upsetting block, gotta brush that too!" - It wasn't. Kinda disappointed, i thought to myself - might as well check the sides of the feet, there might be some numbers hidden or something, i checked one side, there wasn't anything, turned it around, nothing on the other side. At that point i said screw it, it's unmarked! BUT, as i looked up under the horn, I thought i saw some letters. Yeah RIGHT, why would anything be under the horn! I got excited, brushed it and it revealed something important yet meaningless to me because i had NO idea what it meant. It was just two letters. "UF". Now it gets interesting here, well, maybe, my mother decided to check out why i was brushing an anvil for an hour, just as i was telling her i'm trying to find a mark but there's absolutely nothing else but that "UF" under the horn, she saw some lines on the side of the anvil that she thought were too square and geometrical to be a chisel mark, at first i had some doubt, like no way. I decided to spend some time brushing that particular spot on the anvil, impatiently waiting for it to reveal it's secrets! We spent a good hour trying to figure out what it was, because the mark is sooo shallow and very hard to "read". We both agreed it looked something like an eagle, with wings.. maybe? It's like watching clouds, everybody sees something different. Let me know what you guys think about it You are right. Eventually it's gonna need some repair, i thought i might as well do it now. But it can wait a few years.. or decades Cheers Never knew the difference, thanks for the info! Oh and i also bought it in a heart beat, especially because i love buying old tools. Guy was asking 380 euros, i offered 300 and the guy took the bait, wasn't expecting it, really. Too bad the seller didn't care about the history, where it was or anything. He said he bought it from some guy, the anvil was used in a blacksmith shop, apparently the old blacksmith died and family decided to sell all the "old iron", good thing it didn't end up at a junk yard. That's just the way things work around here. My guess is the seller also wanted to get rid of it asap, because nobody needs an anvil around here, there's a very few blacksmiths here, and the guy probably paid for something he could not get rid of, so he accepted any price. Good for me i guess, too bad i missed out on the story, but oh well.

Hello, I'm kinda new here, haven't really posted anything ever since i joined, just lurking the forums for months,soaking up all the knowledge that's been spread over the years on these forums Anyway, i don't want to drag on for too long, i recently bought an old German anvil and it's got a few things i can't really wrap my head around, so i figured i'd post here in hopes of getting some advice. So yeah uh keeping it short.. eh It's somewhere between 330 - 440 lbs (150-200kg) and 3 feet long (90 cm). Now, what bothers me is that it is unmarked, i haven't found any markings on it, the surface is kinda "rough", and the hardy hole is about 3 inches deep, the rest of it is WELDED! Okay so, -Who would be the manufacturer of this anvil, i did some research and i just.. uhh.. couldn't figure out, many manufacturers made this style of anvil, ii'm dying to know, there's something about knowing who made it, where it's been, i love the history of tools and items. - Should i weld it? I know it all comes down to "what do i want, and what do i need", i just want to hear other opinions. Apparently everybody (elsewhere, not here) has different opinions on welding anvil surfaces. Some say use 7018, 7010 rods, some say build up rods are great but they are a pain and not to waste time using them, some say dont bother preheating, and then there's some guy's comment on youtube i saw, saying how he was a weld(ing) inspector for 40 years and how welding anvils leaves a destroyed/melted surface under the weld therefore anvils shouldn't be welded at all... like WHAT?! Now, i did read about the Gunther / Schuler method, it really seems like the way to go, BUT, since i live in a 3rd world country, and many things are not available, if i can't buy stoody / build up rods, what rod should i use? (if i decide to weld it of course) - Now how about some nasty welded hardy hole, i wonder why was it welded in the first place, should i try to cut through it or better yet, how should i do it? Good thing i kept it short ay? Sorry, i just had to express myself! Cheers