Julianb

Hello, I have found yet another small vise, I couldn't pass upon. Not for it being sold 250m away from my workplace. Slightly damaged, but for 25€... Cheers!

Good morning (at least around here it is), the handling holes are only an indicator of a forged anvil and not a really reliable one at that. Most larger cast models do have them, to allow easy movement for production steps like heat treatment, grinding, etc. A real giveaway would be the welding seems between the different parts, for example where the horns have been welded to the body. Cheers!

Thanks for the pictures! Still, this anvil looks cast to me, based on the transition between body and feet. I don't know anything useful about Swedish anvil manufacturers, but if Lindesnäs is not a known one, that mark could also just be an owners mark. Whatever they did with it, they might have gotten it in 1909, weight it, marked it... I strongly doubt that any blacksmith or other person would've been allowed or able to just relocate a makers mark and use it as he saw fit. Most probably just the anvil was moved for whatever reason. The most important thing to keep in mind is that the pattern designation doesn't actually indicate the location of manufacture. Cheers!

Hello! It is highly unlikely that this anvil was manufactured in Germany. From the one picture it appears to be a cast steel anvil, which would furthermore point to it being made in Sweden at that time. The position of the mark is also untypical for German models, although there's always exceptions. Swedish anvils were produced in any kind of "German" pattern, so that is not actually a geographical indicator. Those pattern designations are in no way solid evidence for the original place of manufacture. The manufacturers in Westfalia, right in the "mid-western" part of Germany produced all kinds of patterns and sold them all over the world. You could be located in Hamburg and order a "Bavarian pattern" anvil, which would then be produced in Westfalia. Anvils travel all over the world, yours has arrived in Australia, hasn't it? To construct a story on how it got where is nice, but without any solid evidence nothing more than wishful thinking. It is still a very nice anvil, could you upload some more pictures of it? Cheers! Julian

Hello! Sorry for the late reply, had to prepare a lot of stuff for this week of school... No milling machine, but a large drill press. I think I'll present some pictures of the shop in an extra topic. Cheers! Julian

Hello! I have been followed by an anvil that will be the main anvil in the shop from now on: Cheers!

Hello! If you're building it in a museum, why don't you look up the way people built blacksmiths shops at the depicted time period? Which is it, btw.? Cheers! Julian

On the hottest day of the year, I decided an anvil cone could be of use. It worked great. Cheers!

Hello, Gustav Refflinghaus is correct! Cheers!

The German terms are often directly translatable and only take the form of the jaws into account. I'll add a verbatim translation. The first ones are called "Kastenzange" (box tongs), the second and third ones "Rundzange / Rundmaulzange" (round tongs / round jaw tongs), as they both are designed to handle round stock lengthwise. Cheers! Julian

It is most probably a bloom that would be transported to a press or hammer with such a cart. Directly into the rolling mills wouldn't work, I think. You can spot one of the likes in one of my favourite works on the topic, Adolph Menzels "Eisenwalzwerk" (eng.: [iron] rolling mill). On the left hand side you can see a worker transporting a readily prepared block of iron/steel to the rollers. Cheers!

Hi, as I am from Germany as well, I’d be able to provide you with the German terms. I’ll shoot you a message! Cheers! Julian

Hello, it seems as if the whole heel has been broken off and replaced. Weight stamps do not necessarily state the exact weight. Most of the German manufacturers tended to stamp in the weight a little lower than it actually was. They also contracted for +- 10% of weight for the ordered anvil, as during the manufacturing process the final weight couldn't be anticipated precisely. Cheers!

Billy, the boot scraper set in stone is a nice idea, I might steal that! Thanks in advance! Cheers!

Interesting to see this pattern on a PFP anvil. You can clearly see the ground off flash residue below the horn, which also makes it identifiable as drop forged. Cheers!

I know, it still amazes me. And if people are willing to pay that, why not?

Hi! Nice anvil, could you post a picture of the makers mark and date? That'd be great! It is ridiculous to see the prices the "bigger" tools sellers on the various platforms are able to call up. I've seen anvils that have been up on the German small ads sides for around 300-500€ been offered up and sold for 2000$ in the US. But where there's a market... Cheers!

I’m afraid that won’t help us with determining the maker. Sorry I’m not of any more help here.

It was possible to order an anvil in almost any weight you wanted. The price differed according to the weight and if you'd want a pattern with distinct features like double-feet, a breast, upsetting block, etc. Some manufacturers, FWDS for example, offered such features only on anvils above 100kg. Which is most probably not a strict rule, if you paid for it, it wasn't impossible to do that. You could also order a pattern with an additional feature, that normally wouldn't be included, for example add double- or even triple- feet. As for your anvil, it is almost impossible to determine the maker, if there's no visible markings left. It could've been produced by anyone.

I do, what do you want to know?

Absolutely correct, but keep in mind that this FWDS catalogue is very crudely translated. Look at No. 46 for example, the word "Stauch" (upsetting block) is translated with "compression", which doesn't make any sense in this context, although "stauchen" means "to compress" in German.

Hello! First of all: Don't grind! If at all, I'd take a bit of sandpaper to the cuts to soften any sharper corners of the indents. What you have here is an anvil that comes closest to the so called "sächsische Form" (Saxony referring to the geographical region more than the present federal state), with double feet and a breast that doesn't have the smooth transition into the horn as for example the Southgerman or Bavarian patterns have. Those patterns don't mean anything concerning the region this anvil was actually manufactured in though. It can very well date back into the 19th century and probably does. It is a nice piece, have fun with it! Cheers! Julian

Interesting, thank you! I use a lot of previously rusted material, I'll try to compare it with some fresh steel sometime!

Hello, I'll just squeeze in my finished hook rack in between all the great projects here. Coated in beeswax, I don't really like the reddish spots shimmering through, but stuff needed to be hung... Cheers! Julian

Hello! I thought I'd just throw a few pictures in between all the really enjoyable to see pieces here. To practice forging uniform pieces of the same shape, I attempted a small hook rack. The hooks are made from 8mm round mild steel, the plate is some old wagon wheel rim. The riveting is still to be done. To be able to make rivets from small round stock, I practices with the power hammer a little, drew out a small piece of mild steel. I drilled the holes to try out the automatic feed of the drill press. Cheers! Julian