Show me your anvil

[Chubby]

Picked up this anvil in Milwaukee to get me started in blacksmithing. No room to make a permanent setup, so wanted an anvil easy to store tucked away inside until I am ready to bring it out. Next I will start to build a small propane forge.

Rebound seemed pretty good, dropping a bearing from 10" it would bounce between 8.5"and 9" over majority of the face.

'JAW' appears twice on the bottom and once on the back, what does this mean?

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Chubby, glad to have you. What do you mean, "get you started?" That lady is in fine shape, I don't see a spot on it I wouldn't use, just a little care and your Grandkids will be bragging about using their GrandFather's anvil. 

What's it weight? I'm guessing it's reasonably light. JAW was probably stamped into it as identification. I like paint of a color no thief would be caught dead with in his/er possession.  My initials are JAF they get remarks from smart alecs. I just don't let mine out of my sight.

SWEET score by the way. 

Have you skimmed the Burners 101 and Forges 101 threads? There is a lot of discussion of propane forge and burner construction, orientation, size, shape, etc. Plus lots of ideas some even practical!

Frosty The Lucky.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

JAW, probably a prior owners initials.

[ThomasPowers]

Owner's stamp; hope they don't come a looking for it!

[Chubby]

By 'get me started' I meant starting to gather first pieces of equipment. Never did any of this work before. Reading a lot, looking at other peoples ideas.

I did woodworking for years, so have some modest abilities in that respect, but very limited in any metalworkings.

Weight of anvil is 55 lbs.

[A.R.]

Here my new (to me) anvil. It’s a 146 pound Soderfors Paragon in what I believe to be in pristine condition. I have not done the ball bearing test yet but it has outstanding rebound based on a missed hammer blow. Oops, no damage though this thing is hard. I just got set up a couple weeks ago and made a few tools, have a lot to learn but this is great and I am excited to learn from everyone here.

Regards

Andy

P.S. If the photos are too large I apologize, first time posting photos and with a smarterthanme phone.

[JMWW]

 

On 4/16/2019 at 6:40 PM, ThomasPowers said:

What were the ball bearing test results?

And a picture of the bottom please.

I got 50-60% rebound by the horn, 40% over the center and down to around 30% by the hardy hole. It weighs 270 lbs. And here’s a picture of her bottom. 

[ThomasPowers]

Large hollow in the base---Buel Patent? (does it extend up into the body?)   Those values are low for the ball bearing test; are you following the exact process?  Clean face? Real ball bearing, (round mild steel balls give as lower reading than a real hardened ball bearing)?

[Frosty]

On 4/22/2019 at 6:59 PM, A.R. said:

Here my new (to me) anvil. It’s a 146 pound Soderfors Paragon

Oh you LUCKY DOG Andy! Welcome to the world of using one of the best working anvils on Earth! She looks to be in excellent condition, I don't even see chips out of the edges. SWEET!

Be careful of missing blows on the edges, Soderfors are notoriously HARD, a new file skates on mine, so the edges will chip if you hit them very hard. Hit it anywhere else but the horn and it'll leave flat spots on your hammer or top tool. I was at a Demo with an old name not to be mentioned associate and straightened a piece of 1/2" rnd mild on his anvil cold, demonstrating how doing it over the hardy hole will straighten without damaging the texture. Anyway, I left dents! WHA!!!

The fellow I was demonstrating the technique for was told by old unmentionable that it would've broken my old Solderfors Sorceress #5. I took a cold chisel of his, placed it on the face of mine and gave it a smart smack with a 3 lb. hammer. I showed the audience the FLATTENED chisel then dragged my fingernails across the spot on my anvil's face. Not a snick.

I smiled and said, "See? Bigger isn't better."

That flat chisel is my large veiner and still on my table. That's how I make veiners, though I don't hit them so hard. 

Yeah, I'm a Soderfors fan. Best anvil you'll probably ever use. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

Frosty is positively ensorceled by them!

[A.R.]

Wow Frosty that is a neat story and I knew you would be along sooner or later as I have been lurching here for quite some time now. This old girl has been around since 1925 or 26, not sure since both dates are stamped in her. It was owned by a gentleman who is somewhat of a local legend out it my tiny town that stamped his name it also. Clark county has a historical marker at his place now an I’ll be sure to take a picture of it and post it here. 

And now the story of how she came to me.

I have been taking the same route to work for the past 11 years and never really looked at this one property (complacency?). But one afternoon I notice a post vise mounted to a pipe next to a shed, I could smell the anvil right then. So naturally I stopped and started talking to him about all things tool related, maybe 30 to 45 minutes before I asked him if he happened to have an anvil. He said yes and my blood started pumping, but when he said he didn’t want to sell it I think he saw my heart sink into my boots and took pity on me. He then asked if I do side jobs and of course I said yes so we agreed on the price of zero, yes zero dollars and 2 hours worth of electrical work for the anvil. And now she’s all mine.

One more thing Frosty, I see you talk about your “sorceress” but can’t find any info on them. What does that mean exactly? 

Thanks for letting me share.

[Frosty]

Sweet story, I probably gave $9.00/lb, I don't know what the value of the tongs, nearly a pallet's worth, top and bottom tools, and various other smithing tools were worth. I was getting desperate, I hadn't seen anything after a couple years worth of looking then one of the guys at work told me a neighbor of his was selling his farrier tools.  All but maybe: 10 hammers, a hot cut, cold cut, punch, a couple bottom and top tools were disappeared by the associate not to be named. The $400 worth of books went too. 

Anyway, even if I'd spent all $1,150 just for her it'd still be a good deal. She is a "125 lb. Soderfors, Sorceress #5" cast in . . . I have to go look, I don't recall. About the same time as yours, give or take.

The pic is her in my steel tripod stand, rigged to lift into the pickup bed. I don't spend as much time at the anvil as I used to and I don't have a dry shop, it wasn't quite closed in when I had the accident. The rust shows a lot more in a photo than in the dim shop. <sigh>

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[FlatLiner]

Sweet find A.R. I love my sodorfors, but it's in rougher shape then yours. I got mine in Wyoming. It looks like it had a hard life shoeing horses. I've never been able to find a date on mine though.

[Frosty]

I opened this thread to read the latest news and it inspired me to go clean off her side and read the year. I'd taken a LED flashlight and darn if it looked like I was way off but couldn't read it clearly. From straight on it looked like 1988 or squinting 1938 then 1923 then . . . I took a wire brush to the date stamp, cleaned up as 1928. I have no idea how many layers of crud had been jammed, oiled and waxed by me to look like. Enough babble, my face is red.

She carries a 1928 date stamp.  The date stamp is under the weight stamp and fainter on mine.

I don't think that damage is just from farrier work, the chips from the Sorceress's edges are from farrier work. the farrier I bought her from was the 3rd. generation of farriers to make a living with her. He bought her from his mentor who got her from his, who'd brought it from Europe with him.

Or so I was told. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[A.R.]

Here is the marker at Joe Beatty’s place out here, he died 6 or 7 years ago and I got the anvil from a friend of his. I don’t know how long he had it but I think it was a good long while. If you look close you can see his name stamped in the side.

[HammerDownUnder]

UPDATE - After recently acquiring my ATTWOOD anvil and finding that I already had an ATTWOOD hammer to go with it - yesterday I added a post-vice to the workshop. To my surprise, after cleaning and wire brushing I found that this is also an "ATTWOODS BEST - STOURBRIDGE". A bit of a freaky coincidence!

[D Jones]

[D Jones]

I need to see if I can find any info on this anvil. I am a total noob to them. Does it look like anything that someone has possibly seen in the past? What kind of markings am I looking for.

[Frosty]

Well, in general it looks pretty beat up. The face plate is missing from just in front of the hardy hole to the end of the tail and the edges are kind of beat up. I usually recommend against "repairing" an anvil's face plate but this one's a candidate. 

This could well be one we've seen here before one of it's outstanding features was missing face plate in the same general location but there have been several different anvils with similar damage.

About markings. How important are they to you? Do you want a historical artifact or a working tool? Sure, it's cool to know a little of a tool's history, I have a fair handle on my Soderfors' history but zero idea about my Trenton's history. Both work just fine.

If you're looking for a good tool I'd pass on that one. I don't know the condition of the remaining face plate, it could be delaminating and have poor rebound and be ready to break again. It'd have to be a really good deal before I picked it up and I know how and have the equipment to repair that kind of damage. Serious PITA though.

Be patient there are better anvils out there if you take your time and hunt. Are you using the TPAAAT method? It'll come right up in a search, it's an effective way to hunt most any kind of tool.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Daswulf]

I think I see a hunderdweight stamp in the first picture. Can you get better pictures of that side and maybe the other? 

Easy there Frosty. Yeah the tail section of the faceplate is gone but theres lots of life left in that old girl.  

Look up and try a rebound and ring check on it . The ringing or thud will tell you if the rest of the faceplate is solid, and rebound will tell you how good whats left is. Still, its an anvil. Use it. Just take it very easy on the heel. It could still hold a hot cut for not so heavy work. 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

It looks like someone has welded up the edge to me. I would probably pass on that one too, unless the ring & rebound was good and the price was fair. What does it weigh?

[Daswulf]

Not sure, but being in the show me Your anvil thread, I would guess he owns it now. 

Looks more like mushrooming on the edge to me. 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

When I blew up the second image, the edge is a different color than the rest of the anvil and I see the arc bead of a stick weld.

[BV Forge]

I have a couple to share. My 112 lb Hay Budden, and my 200 lb Trenton/ACME

[Old Crew]

I just got my first anvil and am hoping that someone here can tell me more about it.

 

I have been a welder for many years but have never forged anything so I will be collecting and hopefully learning new [old] ways to work metal.

here are a couple other pictures of my new anvil. I was told that it is a Bavarian armor makers anvil .

When i first got it I put it on my welding table but it was much to high so I have started to make the stump base in the other pictures.