Robar Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Tomorrow I am picking up this anvil I bought over the phone based on the pictures. Not sure who made it, but for 200.00 I told the guy I'd take it. Can anyone tell me who made it or anything about it? I'm not even sure what it weighs. Just that he said it was around a hundred pounds. Any information would be great. Thanks guys! Robar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Looks like a Hay Budden to me. Probably one that they made for a hardware store. When you pick it up, check to see if there is a serial number on the front of the foot. If it is a Hay Budden, the serial number will give you an indication of the year it was made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimw Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 looking at the picture, it says Hay Budden Solid Wrought on the side................could it be, yes it could, you got a hay budden, as you should Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robar Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 Thanks Guys I thought it looked like a Hay, but couldn't make it out. I had wondered if it was made for a hardware store or some other distributor as well. Thanks for the info, that just backs up my assumptions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BM454 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Looks like my Hay_Budden as well. If it's not, I'd say it's gonna miss a good chance to be. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Parker Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 It looks like a hay to me, I have one just like it, same marking. You dun good, real good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robar Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Okay got my anvil. It does have numbers on the front foot but I can't make them out as they are very rusty. The face is not as smooth as I had hoped. It appears that a lot of chiseling has been done one face's sweet-spot. Anyone ever have their anvil's face ground? I'm thinking a 1/16th of an inch would make a measurable difference. Anyway it's my first real anvil and it's cool, but I'm not tossing my 3"x4.5"x22" piece of cold rolled steel to the side just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Looks like hammer dings to me has it been through a fire? HB's are usually *quite* *hard* *indeed*! First go over it with a belt sander to see how bad it really is before trying to grind on it. AND remember to tell any machinist to true the bottom to the top BEFORE removing material from the top! No guarantee that the bottom and top are or were parallel and if you have to make them so take it off the bottom not your anvil's face! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robar Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 Looks like hammer dings to me has it been through a fire? HB's are usually *quite* *hard* *indeed*! First go over it with a belt sander to see how bad it really is before trying to grind on it. AND remember to tell any machinist to true the bottom to the top BEFORE removing material from the top! No guarantee that the bottom and top are or were parallel and if you have to make them so take it off the bottom not your anvil's face! Of course like a first timing dolt I never asked about fire. I was starry eyed and hardly able to contain my excitment enough to keep from just trading my wallet for the anvil. You all remember what your first time was like? I doubt fire though, just based story behind the anvil I'd guess no. I was also thinking along the lines of the belt sander as my first atempt at cleaning up the face. Going to swing by and get some aluminum oxide belts for the sander. This weeked will be all about wire wheels on the body and working on the face. I want to thank everyone for there input and comments. After I get it cleaned up I'll post some more pics and hopefully the numbers on the foot. Thanks! Robar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 This is why the ball bearing test is useful; but you need a flat surface to get good results. However a good anvil that has been softened is still way better than a cast iron ASO and you may want to give thought to rehardening it if it was softened by a fire. McRaven describes how he re-hardened an anvil in Country Blacksmithing. As to my first anvil it was a lovely 200 pound cast steel one that was stolen out of my back yard about 2 years after i bought it. Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 The anvil was so big that I had to go into an adjacent room to see it all. BOL. I have 3 Hay-Buds and have bought and sold a few. All of mine had a curvilinear trade mark on the side saying "HAY-BUDDEN MANUFACTURING CO. BROOKLYN N.Y. None had "WARRANTED" on the side. Most H-B's have a single number under the horn stamped in the waist next to the handling hole. Our guess is that it is an inspector's mark. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I agree with Mr. Turley regarding the stamping on the Hay Buddens. However, on some of the anvils that Hay Budden made for hardware stores, they did occasionally have 'Solid Wrought' and 'Warranted' stamped on the side, depending on the customer's requirements. There are examples of these anvils in 'Anvils In America' by Richard Postman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robar Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 After knocking off some rust and looking the anvil over I’d say its not to bad for the price I paid. It’s got a couple pits that I can live with, but mostly the face is smooth. The main thing is the anvil wasn’t beat to death doing to heavy work on to light an anvil with a monster sized hammer. There is only the slightest hint of a saddle in the work area which won’t bother me. Rebound is about 45% with a 1 cm bearing. Not the best, but it will work well enough until a better opportunity comes along. I still can’t make out the name on the side. It looks as though we are only seeing the bottom half of the letters as I can’t faintly see the upper half of an “S” making the last letter in the name an “S” I also wouldn’t be surprised if a the first 1 or 2 letters are missing from the name as they are missing from the word below. Solid is missing it’s “S & O” so it could be the same with the name. Numbers… As can be seen there is a “3” up on the left side of the handling hole. On the foot I’m not sure what all the numbers are. For sure the first is a 7 the next might be a 7 a 9 or possibly a 1, third is clearly a 5 forth possibly a 1, and fifth is clearly a 3. 77513, 71513, 79513? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Those serial numbers would make it a 1901 or 1902. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Assuming this is a Hay-Budden, If the # is 71513, it was made in 1901. Both of the other #s were from 1902, according to AIA. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Sorry Mark. We posted about the same time. LOL. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 No worries George. Sorry for cutting you off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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