tinybigsmoke Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 New toy, heard it was in my area 10 years ago, but no one knew where, then someone posted the blower in the background on craigslist , I bought the blower a 24 inch buffalo forge, and the conversation turned to anvils, and he said his dad had one over a 1000lbs, i asked if it had a hole in the middle, when he said it did, i knew what he had, we went to dads house who had it in the flower garden, a nice guy who decided it was time for someone else to enjoy it, and couple hours later it was loaded, picture is it at home still in the bed of the truck, sunday got it into the shop, I need to get the history on it, thought I would share a pic, must have some carbon it rings nicely, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 NICE SCORE!!! Man,that is one sweet lookin` anvil.I`d buy a lottery ticket if I were you,while my luck was still running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 Very nice! What are the dimensions? Does it really weigh a grand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 super cool man.... Not every day you come home with a 1000 lb anvil in the back of your truck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike-hr Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 I noticed your pick-up has a plastic bed liner, what I like to call an inertial slide system. When I transport my big anvil to hammer-ins, a big chain goes around the anvil waist and gets rigged to the trailer reciever hitch frame. A sudden stop will launch that chunk into the engine, it doesn't care if you are between or not. Beauty Anvil, didn't mean to step on your thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 Very cool new toy. Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpotter Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 Anvil envy, I am feeling warmly toward your anvil. that is just plain cool I would use it as a bench and an anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinybigsmoke Posted November 2, 2010 Author Share Posted November 2, 2010 Very nice! What are the dimensions? Does it really weigh a grand? Hi, have not weighed it yet, it is 41 long 25 tall and 8 wide horn is 12 inches long thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinybigsmoke Posted November 2, 2010 Author Share Posted November 2, 2010 I noticed your pick-up has a plastic bed liner, what I like to call an inertial slide system. When I transport my big anvil to hammer-ins, a big chain goes around the anvil waist and gets rigged to the trailer reciever hitch frame. A sudden stop will launch that chunk into the engine, it doesn't care if you are between or not. Beauty Anvil, didn't mean to step on your thread. I am mr safety and do the same, I have 4 large eye hooks in the 4 corners of the bed to tie down, and like u I run heavy strap around from anvil to trailer receiver just in case, if something can go wrong it will and i dont want any collateral damage done to innocent civilians due to my actions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 I can't help you ID the anvil's maker, but I offer a footnote. These anvils were sometimes used in the oil patch, when they still used cable tools. The large tool was heated and dressed in the field by men wielding sledge hammers. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGropp Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 Was there a reason they were made with the large hole in the middle? I've always heard they were used to sharpen the bits on cable drills by drawing out the flutes. Does anyone have a picture of one of those kind of bits or even better, one being reforged on a bridge anvil. Nice score! Thats the best looking anvil of that style I've seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrnewberry Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 That's a big one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 But just think--- you could build a tool box in the cut out---or a beer cooler, or a flower box... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knots Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 Years ago my parents bought their home place down in Texas. The property had, at one time, been part of property owned by a driller. Way in the back there was an area which had a lot scrap metal that had been left behind including a big old drill bit that looked like a tuning fork. Probably weighed something over 200 pounds. Probably to small for oil. I could see how those fork tines in a larger version could have been run through that bridge opening when sharpening. What a prize that anvil is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie Posted November 7, 2010 Share Posted November 7, 2010 Very cool anvil! Is it cast? I've never seen one this big with integral legs. Not that I've seen that many, but the ones I have seen have separate legs that are either slotted and welded or else dovetailed on. Here's a pic of my 840-pounder... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinybigsmoke Posted November 7, 2010 Author Share Posted November 7, 2010 Very cool anvil! Is it cast? I've never seen one this big with integral legs. Not that I've seen that many, but the ones I have seen have separate legs that are either slotted and welded or else dovetailed on. Here's a pic of my 840-pounder... Cool picture, I like the length of the horn, nice, yes it is cast, has a nice ring to it so I think it has some carbon in it, I have another that is similar that came out of the Southern Railroad shop in Chattanooga, it has same base, but no ring to it, have some pictures somewhere of a huge steam hammer with bridge anvil in the foreground, just neat to see one in its environment, thanks for posting the pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinybigsmoke Posted November 7, 2010 Author Share Posted November 7, 2010 Cool picture, I like the length of the horn, nice, yes it is cast, has a nice ring to it so I think it has some carbon in it, I have another that is similar that came out of the Southern Railroad shop in Chattanooga, it has same base, but no ring to it, have some pictures somewhere of a huge steam hammer with bridge anvil in the foreground, just neat to see one in its environment, thanks for posting the pic What are the dimensions of your anvil, what is its history, area of county u found it, the picture came out dark on my computer, looks like the bottom of the legs are bolted to a base plate, is the base plate cast? any markings on the anvil, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 What are the dimensions of your anvil, what is its history, area of county u found it, the picture came out dark on my computer, looks like the bottom of the legs are bolted to a base plate, is the base plate cast? any markings on the anvil, thanks It is 48" long x 26" tall; the face is 7" wide. It was bolted to a piece of 5/8" plate for a base. No markings and it doesn't ring, but it is hard with good rebound. I saw it in a classified ad in the paper in Johnstown, PA. I had been doing some consulting work on a project to preserve an historic steel mill blacksmith blacksmith shop in Johnstown, which contains several of these big bridge anvils. The ones in that shop sat on a dirt floor on similar bases. They are quite solid that way... in fact you couldn't budge them without a forklift. I removed the plate on mine and mounted it on a wider base made of channel that a pallet jack can go in when I need to move it around on my concrete floor. The guy I bought it from worked at Bethlehem Steel in Johnstown. When they were winding down their operations there, they started demolishing buildings to get them off the tax rolls. He saw this anvil in a machine shop they were scrapping out prior to knocking down, and got permission to buy it for scrap price. Pretty sad when you think of all the old iron they sent to the scrapyard. He said he saw a machinist turning a part on a lathe; the supervisor told him to step away, and a demo guy with a big torch cut that lathe in half right there... Anyway, my best guess is that my anvil, along with the ones still sitting in that blacksmith shop were forged right there. You can see the shop at http://jaha.org/BlacksmithShop/restoration.html In the top picture, you can see a couple of similar bridge anvils that were temporarily moved outside during restoration work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron J. Cergol Posted November 11, 2010 Share Posted November 11, 2010 you can see a bridge anvil in this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D6-w1g3_30 from about 1:00 onward you can see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinybigsmoke Posted November 11, 2010 Author Share Posted November 11, 2010 That is an awesome video, the sledge work is is amazing, when 4 men are hammering together 2 on the ring and 2 on the ground, one miss by one of the men on the ring would mean curtains for the guy on the ground, and how about the guy in the background swinging the hammer on another project like John Henry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted November 11, 2010 Share Posted November 11, 2010 Freddie: How are the legs fastened to the main body? It's a great design, the top is a pretty straight forward forging that way. Surprised they didn't leave more space between the legs for forging yokes and clevise ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 Freddie: How are the legs fastened to the main body? It's a great design, the top is a pretty straight forward forging that way. Surprised they didn't leave more space between the legs for forging yokes and clevise ends. Grant: The legs have tenons that are welded into slots cut into the anvil. Some others I've seen have dovetail joints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.