March 30, 201115 yr I kept looking at the side shelf on my Fontanini Rathole anvil and thinking that it could be useful in drawing out a hot-split fork tine, or animal horns, or odd branding iron shapes. But it would have to be reduced in thickness to better serve. Today, a buddy and I unhitched my anvil and turned it over. We ground and sanded the side shelf/extension removing most of the material fron the edge area of the concaved bottom. We worked back from the end a little over one inch. We were "sharpening" the end which, when new, was about 5/16" thick. The edge was taken down sharp, a fairly acute angle. We turned it right side up and proceded to work with the small disc sander. One half the width was made to have a small 50º included angle. The other half was radiused, a scant 1/8". http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools
April 1, 201115 yr Hey Mr Turley, I believe the handyman anvil has a sharper side shelf. Looks to be a handy option for working tight angles. I don't know if I could bring myself to doing that to my 460#! After all, I guess it is just a tool.
April 2, 201115 yr Author Haberman anvil. I don't know what you mean by Habermann or Handyman. I guess Old World makes a Freddy Habermann pattern. You have a Fontanini (as if you didn't know), which I saw on your other thread. I have the little brother. Steve designed an "American horn" with a swell to it, not a straight cone. The upsetting block is on the near side, which is not too typical on German anvils. I saw one Austrian anvil like that. The church window aspect is nice, aesthetically speaking. I don't know if the 5th foot does much, but it is cute. My anvil is mounted in a box of sand, a method I saw in Otto Schmirler's "Werk und Werkzeug des Kunstschmieds." The anvil is fairly quiet in terms of ring, and it has good rebound. I used a 250# Trenton for 45 years, a good anvil, and before that, a 158# Hey Bud. Buena suerte with your Fontanini! http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools
April 2, 201115 yr Author got any pictures of it? I would like to see what you did to it... [/quote Right now, my PC says that my camera has "compatibility issues." So no pics; sorry.
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