Jeff B Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 This is my Main anvil in the shop 300# Peter Wright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herchammer Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 here's my main anvil 220 lb Hay Budden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elemental Metal Creations Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 This is my first anvil a Miller Falls Anvil Drill, given to me by a friend a couple of years ago. She said that it had been in her family forever. Well used and abused, cracked and broken. Has a groove in the horn, looks like a million horse shoes were made with it. Does anyone know anything about these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Here are three of my anvils, from left to right: >a 211 pound Hay-Budden farriers' pattern; >the same anvil with a yard stick on top; >my 250 pound Trenton which I used for 35 years; >my current using anvil, a 250 pound "Rathole", Steve Fontanini Anvil and Tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willis Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 The bottom anvil belonged to my great grandfather and has been tentavely IDed as an HB of 250lbs. There are no marking that I can make out but it does have a weldseam about half way up from the bottom of the foot. Which I understand was late HB? The top smaller anvil has been 90% IDed as an Alsop dating back to the 1700's. I IDed the anvil from the anvil gallery on Anvilfire.com. The stats they give for the Alsop 95lb anvil match mine exactly. However, there are no markings that I can make out so I will not claim 100% ID. I acquired it in a trade about three weeks ago from a fellow smith that was not intrested in the historical aspect of his find. Any and all information relating to these two anvils would be most appreciated and yes, I do use both of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I'd be a bit more tentative about your tentative ID; as anvils were all "hand built" back then they didn't tend to be exact matches save by coincidence and there were a *lot* of anvil makers making quite similar anvils back then! Anyway having no name doesn't affect it's usability! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 I picked up a couple more since last Thursday. The 1st is a 1921 38 pound Fisher - in nice condition: The 2nd is a post 1910 152 pound Peter Wright Farrier. It's in rougher shape so I think I will give it some rehab with a welder. I bought the Peter Wright from an older Austrian gentleman. He was a 2nd year apprentice blacksmith when he lived near Graz. He quit his apprenticeship when he emigrated to Canada. He told me a few stories of how the master trained them to strike with hammer patterns etc. He always intended on getting back into smithing, but now he believes that he is too old to start again. He asked if he can watch me smith. The next time I make it out to my shop I will bring him along. I figure he can probably teach me WAY more than I can teach him. Plus I'm sure it will put a big smile on his face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turner Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Here is a pic of my usable anvil. It was given to me by my brother-in-law. It was his Dad's and after his Dad passed away he gave it to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesley Chambers Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Hey Willis is that the horns weld seam showing on that 1700's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Your "usable" anvil looks in quite good shape to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turner Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Your "usable" anvil looks in quite good shape to me! Thanks...... I guess I didn't qualify the usable part. This is my "non-usable" anvil. It's a sad little anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 You know that sad HB; you could make it into a tooling anvil. Get a chunk of heavy leaf spring (say RR car spring) or a broken fork lift tine. Anneal it and then drill/mill a number of shapes/holes in it for pins, swages, etc. Then do an oil quench on it and draw considerably back and weld it on top of that HB with just good fillets on the sides. (May want to re-work the hardy hole area a bit too.) This would give you a good hardy holder, a good horn and lots of places for pins and stuff for building hot metal I have 3 anvils that are in much worse shape than that one, a Vulcan (no surprise), a Peter Wright and a William Foster; of course the most expensive one was US$10... And except for the Vulcan they do get used at times! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turner Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 You know that sad HB; you could make it into a tooling anvil. Get a chunk of heavy leaf spring (say RR car spring) or a broken fork lift tine. Anneal it and then drill/mill a number of shapes/holes in it for pins, swages, etc. Then do an oil quench on it and draw considerably back and weld it on top of that HB with just good fillets on the sides. (May want to re-work the hardy hole area a bit too.) This would give you a good hardy holder, a good horn and lots of places for pins and stuff for building hot metal I have 3 anvils that are in much worse shape than that one, a Vulcan (no surprise), a Peter Wright and a William Foster; of course the most expensive one was US$10... And except for the Vulcan they do get used at times! That is a great suggestion Thomas. I really did want to make that anvil usefull and I think that would be the best way to do it! Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith Girl Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 She's not much but she's my first true anvil Henry Wright Solid 80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 She's not much but she's my first true anvil Henry Wright Solid 80 That looks like a nice anvil. I would suggest mounting it differently though. It looks like the legs on the stand stick out a bit, which will prevent you from getting up close to the anvil. For most of my forge work, I am leaning against the horn of the anvil hammering metal. A lot of folks, specially people just starting, stand too far away from the anvil. This will drastically decrease your hammer accuracy and cause excess strain on your arm and back. If your anvil stand prevents you from getting CLOSE to the anvil, I would suggest changing it. Doesn't mean the stand is useless. Put a piece of plywood or sheet metal on top and use it to hold tools next to your anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith Girl Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Actually it's not too bad as it is a small 80lb anvil, infortunately it was welded to the stand when I bought it, and the stand wobbles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesley Chambers Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 time to bust out the angle grinder and give the stand the chop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Wobbly stand is pretty easy to deal with, put a durable shim under one leg... If you have access to welding equipment you can weld a coupling nut in the channel of one (or more) leg, say in 1/2 inch (or bigger) then thread a bolt up to have an adjustable leg. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 time to bust out the angle grinder and give the stand the chop! I'll second that! Especially with an 80 pound anvil, it needs to be mounted SOLID! I have a 280# Fisher now, but my first anvil (and my current demo anvil) is an 80 pound Trenton. There is a HUGE noticeable difference in the efficiency of a solid mounted 80# and a poorly mounted 80#. Get an angle grinder with a cutting disk, cut the welds, and remount. I would go with a heavy stand as that is going to help your anvil out as well as being mounted solid. A stump will work fine if you can get one. It doesn't have to be a metal stand. A pile of scrap wood nailed together, or plywood filled with sand or concrete will work too. Just look through the pages of this thread and you'll get plenty of good ideas. Whatever you do though, cut that thing off it's current stand! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ten Hammers Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 This shows one method of attaching an anvil to a block (well the front anyway). The back has hooks and turnbuckles hooked to the chains. 115 lb Hay Budden. Block weighs about the same as the anvil. This is the trailer shop. The second pic is NOT my anvil but is a littermate to the my stand ( exception being my shop anvil just sets on the stand without the hold downs and my stand has 2 shelves). The hold downs could be made in other fashions if you please. The inverted hopper design of the angleiron stand gives a base that is solid. Build a pictureframe from angle to fit your anvil base and then build the stand (leaving space UNDER the stand to get your foot under it for close up work). This design also allows for the anvil to be moved which is handy, and this design excels on cement floor. The need for a solid base under the anvil can be helped by adding some mass on the bottom shelf if you please (piece of heavy plate or a sack of sand or whatever). Home shop anvil is a 148 lb Hay Budden and it sets fine and forges on the horn nicely. A smaller anvil might need to be attached to the stand to keep from tipping. I also have mounted anvils on wood stands made from bridge plank that was bored and sandwiched together with long bolts. This method requires getting the ends pretty square and driving some good sized spikes (2 on the far side and one on the near side ) next to the base of the anvil. Actually the trailer anvil nests in a place that I drilled and drove some 3/8 hot rolled instead of using spikes. If this is to be used on cement, the bottom can be hollowed a bit with a chain saw to allow better base. If it sets on soil ( like the trailer shop anvil) then you just have to get it set down good. Pick the anvil and block up ( this requires of course the anvil to be tied to the base) and drop it a few times to get a good foundation. After a spell of forging it (trailer anvil)normally is solid enough to draw 3/4 square on the close part of the horn. I also have built a bottom tool that fits in the hardy ( piece of HARD shaft about 1 1/4 diameter that was forged to fit the hardy hole and then bent to lay flat on the face of the anvil over the waist and beyond to the ledge). This allows me to forge on a smaller horn but over the mass of the anvil and I can plow as hard as I want. Sorry no pics of that. As a side note, I have a lifetime of shop tools and understand that tools are not cheap. If however you plan to swim in the deep end of the pool, you should know that spending money on tools will be rewarded with the starting of the abilities to build what you need. Side note 2. I attached a pic of an anvil I received for Fathers Day a few years ago from my oldest Daughter and Son in law. 137 lb Arm and Hammer. It now lives in the new Threshers shop and i will build an angle stand for it. Yes Scott and Ian, the back of my truck HAS been clean at one time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith Girl Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 The problem with a wood base is Termites. we just had to deal with a major infestation in the shop. As for the anvil stand there are 2 strips of metal on the botton that seem to be bowed. I figure if I can straighten these out and then set an 80lb bag of cement in there that should keep it in place fairly well, Possibly a block of cement too say 120lbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Due to the lack of good sized trees out here in the desert I have been using pieces of old large creosoted mine timbers as "stumps". No termite issues! As soon as my shop extension gets closed in I will be burying a very large chunk of timber and moving the 515# Fisher out to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howie Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 Here are a couple of pics of my 70# Bulgar from OWA. Howie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 this is a post for a new member Hedgeop that was having trouble posting the pics... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigred1o1 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 mind if i ask how you posted those photos steve? i cant get a photo to stick to a post even if i used a staple gun at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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