G Lilley,

Yes sir, its a cliff carroll 125lb.

When i bought it I didn't like it much, although it looked the part. It rang alot, then i put magnets on it, then a rubber mat underneath, now I have the chain aswell and its shut the hell up. Maybe the stump and a concrete floor are issues. Its a really good anvil and for the money the emerson would be a little better. But theres no cams (use rarely) or clip horn on those. It does make you work more than a decent 300lb+ anvil. I had one for use a while back and it was reclaimed sadly.

I ground the top surface of the bick only very slightly to get my magic lines running neatly, it works better for me to shape shoes now, as I can turn my hold and apply open of close angles and retain lines much better.

The stump was bought for putting it in my truck, but now I have a lighter 75lb for just shaping that works well on a lighter metal stand I was given.

cheers,

Paddy

Paddy - Thanks for getting back - thought that top-down shot looked familiar! I have the same and have had it for about 1/1/2 years. It is an excellent anvil for the price and has a good size waist compared to other fairer-type anvils. I find the cams handy for S-hooks and making bends in smaller stock and the graduated radius on the heel is perfect for starting scrolled tips and other small bends. I have worked stock up to 1 1/2 inch with a striker with no adverse effects on the face. Only dings it has is from my 4lb hand sledge before I got my hammer control set! I will be moving to a bigger anvil down-the-road but this one will still be in the smithy.

...Farrier-type not farier. I can a be a non-spelling dude sometimes.

I had grand ideas of flattening out one end alot to make a squared or rounded flatter wider than the round stock itself, but due to me being on my own with just a hammer and anvil, I instead just squared up the hammer side and gave the flatter side a few decent wacks, and then rounded it up using a rasp.

I feel your pain. Funny how working alone sometimes makes you re-engineer things, isn't it? Nice job working with what you have. :)