cvmikeray Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Picture order. 1st 2 are the Soderfors, Middle 4 are Hay Budden ??, last three are Peter Wright. How D all !!! I am in Central Alabama and I am starting to collect all the tools I need to setup my forge. I started with these anvils. I went to get two but picked up the one with the hour glass bottom (Can yall tell me if it is a Hay Budden ??? ) and the horn is complete. It weighs about 220lbs on the scale we put it on. I was told this was a Trenton when I bought it, and I know they had a depression in the bottom, but after reading a bit, Trenton and Arm and Hammer have an oval bottom and the Hay Budden has a hour glass bottom. If it is a Hay Budden it would explain the faint markings I have in one of the PICS that shows B (I thought was an R) a bunch of space and then N.Y. Also it has a 21 on the tail and on the horn side of the foot it has two 8.s (not pictured) I also got a 198lb Soderfors. The guy I went to had just taken it in on a 400plus pounder that I really wanted. It has less ring than the first one I mentioned, but has a lot better spring. It rings good, just not as good at the other one. It also has a nice top and the edges are pretty good. The only issue is someone cut off the tip of the horn. Looks like to do some special stuff becuase it has a little dimple in the top of the horn right behind where it is cut off. The thrid one I bought it was painted solid silver and knew it was European style. Took a shot that it was a Peter Wright and it was once I stripped off the paint. I got this one (0-3-18) 102lbs becuase I can move it around and work it over if I want. Question on this one. Being soild Wrought Iron, did they harden the surfaces on this one? I would like to mill it a little to bring the faces back a little, but I do not want to ruin it. I paid a little over $2 a pound for these but I think they are good anvils. I will choose between the two lager ones once I get my forge setup and sell the other or trade it and something for a lager anvil. I want the 400 plus anvil to sit next to my forge an NEVER move !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartthesmith2 Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 I love hay buddens, I have four of them!!!!!!!!!!they range from seven hundred pounds down to 95 pounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 Nice crop of anvils you got there. Looks like the smith that had that Sodderfos got tired of backing into the horn or else he hit it to hard on time to many. All of the wrought iron anvils have a steel hard face on them, I guess if you got a real hankering to go to milling it down that is your right to. I can be rather risky if the face isn't parallel to base since that is not always the way it is being that these are forged and not machined anvils. If you can see the line where the hard face if forge welded to the wrought iron body of the anvil it will give you an idea of how thick you hard face actually is. Sometimes you can get it to show up better according to some with a white vinegar etch, or you can use a wire brush to get it to show up. Sometimes it is only 3/8" at one end of the hard face and 5/8" at the other, so it can be risky to do a lot of milling on them. The Soderfos may be a better candidate since it is a cast steel anvil or all forged steel and not a wrought iron/forge welded anvil you wouldn't run the risk of taking the hard face off or making it so thin as to be useless. Oh well, heck their your anvil do what you want, have fun banging iron, happy forging! B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvmikeray Posted August 26, 2010 Author Share Posted August 26, 2010 I dug a little deeper when I went back to my shop. The anvil with the 8's on the feet is the Peter Wright not the one I suspect being a Hay Budden. That one (Hay Budden) does have a SN on the foot 156752. So I would still like to know if someone can tell me if it is a H-B or a Trenton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 I dug a little deeper when I went back to my shop. The anvil with the 8's on the feet is the Peter Wright not the one I suspect being a Hay Budden. That one (Hay Budden) does have a SN on the foot 156752. So I would still like to know if someone can tell me if it is a H-B or a Trenton. Sounds like a Hay Budden from 1908-ish. Trentons usually have the weight on the left of the foot and the sn on the right of the foot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragons lair Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 As Sask said IT is a 3rd pattern Hay budden 1908 or later can't get to AIA right now. anvil is solid tool steel from the waist up. Now the PW would have a steel plate or plates on the face. Probably don't want to mill it. Try a belt sander first. Ken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 I generally suggest to folks that they mill as much of the face off as their anvil as they are willing to mill off their own face! If you MUST mill remember that an anvil face may *NOT* be parallel to the base and so step one is to clamp the anvil updide down and mill the base parallel to the face. and only then flip it over and kiss the face lightly. I have *personally* seen anvil where they milled through the face on one end because it wasn't parallel to the base and they were determined to make it flat, (ruined, damaged, useless are just side effects of having a machinist go hog wild on an anvil!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvmikeray Posted September 2, 2010 Author Share Posted September 2, 2010 I am not bent on milling the faces, but the H-B is tool steel from the waist up and does not have a plate on top. Sooo it could be dressed up pretty easily? That waist up tool steel does expain the pronounced ring that it has compaired to the Soderfors. The Soderfors does have better spring though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Ahh just because it's tool steel does NOT mean that it is hardened the same amount all the way through---look at how shallow hardening steels actually harden! A 1" diameter bar can have a substantially softer core than shell! So if you mill off the hardened part and end up with a softer face you have NOT improved the anvil! Re-heat treating it might be possible though generally more expensive than getting another anvil---you need a source of high pressure water to beat through the steam jacket to harden an anvil face. AIR McRaven used the high pressure hose from the local fire department when he re-hardened an anvil (cf: Country Blacksmithing). Lots of details in how an anvil was made and works---why so many of them get trashed by people who don't know things like that the hardness decreases as you go away from the surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 I'm always somewhat perplexed why there is an all consuming desire to set to improving and old too to near new condition if what you wanted was a new tool why not buy one? Easily confused by this phenomena. http://www.oldworldanvils.com/anvils/two_horn_classic.html <_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvmikeray Posted September 3, 2010 Author Share Posted September 3, 2010 I probably will not touch it. Just beat on it with respect. I just want to learn what I can and can't do. And I like the price of the used ones. I did not want to spend the dough on a new one now. I will probably settle on the Soderfors and sell the other two at some point and pick up a new 125 lb one that I can lug around. Still thinking about that part. I am still looking out for one over 400 to setup next to my forge area when I get it built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvmikeray Posted September 25, 2010 Author Share Posted September 25, 2010 Added another Anvil yesterday. I think I have the illness . Was reading the local rag and saw the anvil and it is about a week old so I figured it was a goner. But I called and the guy still had it. He had this one and I helped him ID a second one he had. This one is a 1-1-12 (112+28+12) Peter Wright. The other was a 100lb Trenton. Gonna clean this one up and dress the edges, which appears to have been done once before. Weighs 150lbs. But seems to be in good shape. Anyone need a 102 Peter Wright? I sell the one I listed earlier in this thread for $225.00. I am in Central Alabama. Can anyone tell me more on this Anvil? It has what appears to be either an S or a 5 on each of the feet under the horn. It has an O in the casting on the bottom. The guy said he has had this one for over 35 years and the smaller he said he had that one way longer than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragons lair Posted September 26, 2010 Share Posted September 26, 2010 I'm always somewhat perplexed why there is an all consuming desire to set to improving and old too to near new condition if what you wanted was a new tool why not buy one? Easily confused by this phenomena. http://www.oldworldanvils.com/anvils/two_horn_classic.html Let me take a shot at this one. Why do some of us buy 50+ yr old cars. 1000lbs of rust/dents and dings burns more oil than gas. Gonna just drive it? I grew up getting my butt whipped for useing damaged tools. No do not halfbutt repairs but if ya have the skill/tools and time restore it. Had a saying in my older biker days. If I have to explane it ya probably won't understand. I do NOT fix anvils or tools for resale Or for hire. I repair MY tools, bikes,cars and guns for my own use. And used they are. My friends 57 chev gets out of the garage 4 times a yr. My 48 chief was a daily driver for 3 yrs. There is no right or wrong. Do what makes ya happy. Ken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaBlacksmith33 Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 hey cv or anyone else in this thread if u get ready to sell an anvil...like now...lol im a beginner blacksmith in GA looking for first anvil. i could drive and pick up or possible freight, up to u Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvmikeray Posted October 12, 2010 Author Share Posted October 12, 2010 sent you an email. I'll part with one of them. I also have a post vise. Iron City Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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