T Ritter Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Hello, I am just curious how many broken anvils are out there. Such as broken heels or missing faces in that sort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I don't think there is a positive way of knowing for sure but my first one has half of the hard face gone, it is still gone after all these years too, I haven't "fixed" it. After I'm dead and gone I figure some misguided soul with a welder will do a swell job messing that up. Some of my best times were had forging on that anvil and I never considered it "broke" just broke in. <_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I have one with about a forth of the plate worn off. I am not planning to "fix" it either, but if I did, I would replace the whole top-plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Exactly 137,992. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tala9 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 did you count the one I rescued from the scrap dealer just today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Ritter Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 Good deal, even if the anvil is missing part of it, it is still just too good for a scrap dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tala9 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I do work for a scrap dealer so he calls me when he has something he thinks I might like. I have gotten I very good anvil and a well loved swage block from him. My boss is a used forklift dealer and we scrap lots of forklifts. The standing deal I have with my scrapping friend is I pay 2.5 times what he pays my boss. so I think the swage block was less than 20 cents a pound and my anvil was no more than 30 cents a pound. Plus when I need something he will let me walk his yard. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Ritter Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 I would have to say that is one heck of a deal you have. I wish I had a friend at the scrap yard. That would be sweet. Great find with the anvil and swage block by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Ritter Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 The reason I started this thread was I am kind of looking for an anvil which needs a great deal of repair. I like having one in the shop to work on when I feel like it and I can not find any more around my area. I am not looking to spend a lot sense it costs quite a bit to rebuild something like that. I was hoping someone had an anvil that they were just moving around and did not feel like working on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunsmithnMaker Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 T Ritter, I think at this point I would need to know what kind of damage you would prefer to repair. I posted an Anvil Top that I found on Craig's List in the Providence R.I. area. If you are looking for one with a bad top instead I'd have to look around locally and I live in Vermont. The shipping from either place would probably be prohibitive. It's up to you just what you'd like to pay and which type of repair you want to try to work on, but I don't think my New England area broken anvils would interest you. Of course this is assuming that I could even find a broken anvil. It's hard enough to find good anvils when I'm looking. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willis Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 If you ever run across an anvil with a broken off horn, latch onto it if the price is right. During the civil war, Sherman's troops broke the horns off southern blacksmiths anvils, during their march to the sea, rendering them spmewhat usless. I've seen pictures but never an actual one. They seem to be somewhat of a collectors item nowadays. I sure wouldnt mind haveing one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Ritter Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 I will keep an eye out for you when I am looking around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I have a number of damaged anvils, collecting them when cheap to add to my "wall of shame" Lets see, off the top of my head I have 1828 William Foster: missing heel and 90% of face plate---I bought it for US$5 as a candidate for forge welding a new face on. Small Vulcan: with broken off horn, severely ridgebacked, gouged, most of the face plate missing what I would call a "ranch" anvil *Very* small Vulcan, 32# with a thin and missing plate. Peter Wright?: Just the base the entire top *half* is missing, but it's weight stamped so it was once complete! Powell: missing the heel, Face is quite good, horn is fair. (This is my loaner anvil and the one that stays "out" in the coal forge area) Peter Wright: missing only one foot the rest is in quite good condition! I had a bridge anvil with rather severe face damage on it; but I had it repaired. I had a 407# Trenton? suffering from mine use---air arc gouging scars with a beautiful flat face in between them---had it repaired at an anvil repair clinic. Once owned another Vulcan with bad edges that was repaired at an anvil repair clinic and sold on to a fellow starting out. And this is just me and doesn't count my *good* anvils (big fisher, HB, PW, A&H... I'm always amazed at anvils missing a piece but showing no other abuse or damage A lot of damaged anvil were repaired---the old anvil ads mention reforging and refacing services. Others were scrapped and *not* held back Note that that urban legend about Sherman's troops breaking anvils is just that and untrue. In fact I believe the fellow who started that story is still alive---he wondered about the possibility of it and then suddenly it was being repeated as "fact" all over the place. *Old* built up anvils seeing a lot of hard use don't need external causes to end up broken! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Ritter Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 That is quite a few anvils you have there Mr Powers. It is nice to know that bad beat up anvils are being repaired and not scrapped when possible. I like the wrought iron or steel based anvils for rebuilding at least it does not require ni-rod in the process and when it is missing some of the top face plate it just adds to the fun. I have rebuilt a few Peter Wright's, a Mouse Hole and a Hay Budden farrier style so far. They all varied in weight smallest being 107 lbs and the largest so far at 206 lbs. I think rebuilding is fun just don't put a due date on it or it will be frustrating. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Now to talk the local ABANA affiliate into try forge welding a face on that William Foster...Didn't want to suggest it when I was President of it---conflict of interest! My fun lately has been making stake anvils from oddball sledge hammer heads---RR Spike Drivers, old mining drilling hammers, etc. I've been forging sturdy shafts for them and then riveting them onto the shaft using a tenon through the hammer eye. As for the number of anvils; well I used to live in the happy hunting grounds for blacksmiths---Ohio. Lots of industry and farming during the heyday of anvil use and by talking with folks I'd average a good brand anvil in excellent shape for under a dollar a pound for around 10 years running. As I teach having a number of smaller anvils is handy for the classes---especially the ones I have to bring all the equipment to. And of course I had the hots for a BIG anvil... The good anvil list is: 515# Fisher (mint---main shop anvil), 410# Trenton (repaired will be the main anvil in the armour shop), 165# PW, 134# HB, 112# PW (mint save missing one foot), 93# A&H for a total cost of US$1025; earliest was bought in 1983, latest in spring of 2010 There is a number of other intermediate anvils that I have bought and traded or sold on to other smiths not on either list of "good" or "wall of shame" too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Ritter Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 Forge welding a new face on the William Foster sound like fun. If you were the president of ABANA for a number of years that should give you some pull. Good luck with your rebuild and have fun forging those stake anvils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 No No NO! I was president of an ABANA Affiliate---SWABA to be exact and since that is my local group I didn't want to lean on them to do the task. What's funny is I used to be a member of SOFA---before I moved 1500 miles away and I had once suggested it as a demo for them and they did it as a "Friday Night" for Quad-State---then my wife had surgery and I missed that one! Oh well the first thing I need to do is remove that last little shard of 1828 face steel and make a Fur Trade knife from *documented* 1820's steel. Then smooth out the wrought iron base. Postman suggested I weld the new face plate to wrought iron and do a wrought iron to wrought iron weld to affix it to the base. William Foster didn't use the highest grades of Wrought Iron according to Postman and so I might have better luck that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Kenney Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Will Willis, I just purchased an anvil yesterday in a barn find in Jonesboro, GA. The horn is broken off and I just saw your comment. I wish there was some way to know if it was broken during the civil war. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WL smith Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 I had an anvil with the face plate missing plus the tail But the horn was perfect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Tim what difference does it make if it was broken off during the ACW compared to before it or after it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Tim, Sherman breaking anvils is an urban legend. Besides, a broken anvil can still be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Special Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Long running myth. Also, welcome and invited to the Alex Bealer group in the Atlanta area if you haven't been already. Meet once a month. And if it's that william foster from earlier, they're especially prone to broken welds. At one point they were the third most popular import. I've got one that's missing the heel, and love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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