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I Forge Iron

What is it?


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Hi all,

I've got an anvil here I've been wondering about for a while. It weighs about 70 lbs by the bathroom scale (hence the 70 mark on the front foot). It was pretty badly nicked up--some fool must have thought it would make a good chisel backup....

So Stan and I cleaned it up by machining off the top and sides. When we machined it, we got _dust_ not steel chips. Hence, cast iron. It looks great now, and I was wondering if anyone could tell me exactly what I have. It has a raised "70" mark on the front foot, and a raised "105" on the back foot. Other than that, there are no other markings that I can tell.

Thanks much.

Best,
Nathan aka Gobann

1728.attach

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1730.attach

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no dont be to hard on it ,set it in the floor and use it for a upsetting block , or put it on the shop insurance as a A1 p wright forged anvil , then leave as near the door as you can get it put it up of the ground a little so its easy to lift, and wait and pray,some good samaritan might help you ,towards a great anvil

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Remember that they used to sell cheap cast iron anvils 100 years ago---just look at the 1906 Sears&Roebuck catalog! Alongside the *good* anvils are the cheap cast iron ones, often with a catchy name to make them sound "ok".

One thing the MOB did with a HF anvil was to make it into a propane stove for conferences: Drilled it 3/8"-1/2" under the face with one long bore started from the heel through to near the horn making sure to miss the hardy hole. Then counter drilled a series of holes from the side of the anvil into the long hole and tapped the ends and sealed them. Then from on top we drilled a gridwork of small holes into the interconnecting shafts. Hooked up a propane mixer to the original hole and voila a propane stove. I forged a rod for the pritchel to hold a coffee pot over the face.

Sure drilled soft and *black* more graphite than iron in that anvil!

Thomas

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Mount it on a block and use it. Is it the best anvil, NO!, Will it work, YES! If you are a good smith, a lousy anvil will not hurt your work. If you are a poor smith, the best anvil in the world won't improve your work.

Woody

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As Bruce said, put it on the ground and use it as an upsetting block, it has enough mass to work well for that purpose. Altenatively, if your main anvil is reasonably large, it is often handy to have a small anvil with a finely shaped horn for making small eyes and such. Cast iron anvils might not be much good for "serious" forging, and at 70lb it's a bit small anyway, but it's still an anvil.

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Agree with Woody and Bandicoot. Just because it isn't a Peter Wright doesn't mean it isn't useful, and it looks like you put a fair amount of effort into cleaning it up. It's a good size for demos, can be used on the floor for upsetting, or just set up as a backup. I started out with a chinaman anvil from a discounter, I now have a Vulcan. I mounted the chinaman on a lower block, and my kids have been using it ever since. The right height for them, and I'm the only one putting dings in my Vulcan.

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Absolutely Doc, Bandicoot, and Woody--it's my primary anvil actually, since it's small enough to be moved around easily. It's a dandy little anvil that I use for general purpose stuff--all hot work really.

I guess what I was meanin to ask was how old is it and who made it? Thomas mentioned the junk sears anvils made in the early 1900s so could this be one???

My peter wright has the "England" and "Patent" marks on it, and it has the numbers "1 3 8" also. I've heard that a marking of "1 2 7" is 179 lbs, and that a marking of "1 3 1" is 197 lbs. So I'm thinking I have a 200+ lbs pw. Any ideas on the date/weight of that one?

Best,
Nathan (or Gobann, or Nate, or "Hey you!")

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