February 5, 201115 yr Hello fellers! I am a greenhorn at this as I've said before, and I have a question. I know what the holes in the top face of anvils are for, but what are the other small square holes in the front,bottom,side etc. for? I always assumed the one on the very bottom of the base is for mounting it on a steel or iron stake on the top of a stump, etc. Right..... wrong....???? Inquiring minds want to know....
February 5, 201115 yr Additional holes were for holding the slug with tongs while it was being forged into an anvil
February 5, 201115 yr The biggest problem was first catching the slugs. Usually beer in a saucer was employed. But of course fine high quality anvils came from the finest of slugs which had different methods of procurement. The Peter Wright slugs were usually lured with a nice Dom Pérignon and perhaps Brie and crackers.
February 5, 201115 yr Hello fellers! I am a greenhorn at this as I've said before, and I have a question. I know what the holes in the top face of anvils are for, but what are the other small square holes in the front,bottom,side etc. for? I always assumed the one on the very bottom of the base is for mounting it on a steel or iron stake on the top of a stump, etc. Right..... wrong....???? Inquiring minds want to know.... A long bar known as a porter bar was run through those holes to provide handles for lifting the anvil (or pieces of it) into and out of the fire when it was being forge welded, among other things.
February 5, 201115 yr The biggest problem was first catching the slugs. Usually beer in a saucer was employed. But of course fine high quality anvils came from the finest of slugs which had different methods of procurement. The Peter Wright slugs were usually lured with a nice Dom Pérignon and perhaps Brie and crackers. So... let me get this straight. If I have an anvil with no slug holes is that like being a person without a belly button?
February 5, 201115 yr So... let me get this straight. If I have an anvil with no slug holes is that like being a person without a belly button? Yes, an anvil with no slug holes was forged in a test tube and had no mother. Poor little anvil If you find yourself with one of these poor little orphaned anvils, please contact me as I promise that I will provide it with a good loving home where it will be nurtured into a fine productive member of blacksmithing society. Mark<>< :D
February 5, 201115 yr Apparently some anvils, such as chain-maker's anvils, have additional hole(s) in the side(s) to hold specialized tooling for making chain and other stuff. Sort of like having a hardy-hole in the side of your anvil. But such additional holes were likely to be higher up on the anvil than the holes that were used in the forging process.
February 7, 201115 yr Author I had thought about the holes being used in the manufacturing, but I wasn't sure....Thanks for thr info.
February 7, 201115 yr Yes, an anvil with no slug holes was forged in a test tube and had no mother. Poor little anvil If you find yourself with one of these poor little orphaned anvils, please contact me as I promise that I will provide it with a good loving home where it will be nurtured into a fine productive member of blacksmithing society. Mark<>< i found 1 but its all mine mine. u cant have it. if u want it u have to get your own. but seriously i did find 1 at the flea market so i bought it home. is that not an anvil any more i have herd it both ways some people say it is an asso.
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