macbruce Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 A new friend of mine asked if I could find out about his 130# anvil ser#72680. He thinks it's a HB and I think he's probly right. He's a machineist and is wanting advice on how to ''refurbish'' it...........if you can believe that! I think he's dying to put it under his big mill and go to town on it.... :rolleyes: ....Now, I'm usually a proponent of grinding when need be but in this case I'll tell the machineist to stand down...... ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Nice! Tell him it's worth a lot more to Hay Budden collectors if he doesn't mill it. I got offered quite a bit for my 155 pound BIC Omaha that wasn't nearly as nice as that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 If it is a Hay Budden, Anvils In America says that serial number was made in 1901. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Tell him we advise to not mill anymore off that face than he would be willing to mill off his own face! (and warn him that the face may not be parallel to the base so it's mandatory to flip an anvil upside down and mill the cheap base parallel to the face before doing any machine work on the EXPENSIVE face! Also point out that sharp corners tend to damage your forge work and 100+ year old smithing books tell you to *round* the edges of a new anvil first thing) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 The told me about the anvil when he came to look at that big SB lathe I posted here and later flipped......He described the anvil as needing some work and would I advise him on how to fix it.....Then he sent pix and I had to laugh....... I'm gonna tell him it's way too far gone to fix and see if he'd like me to haul it away...... :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Roy Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Am I right? A Hay Budden would say "Hay Budden, Brooklyn, NY" on it. I think "BIC Omaha" means it is something other than an HB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Hay Budden (as well as many other anvil manufacturers) also made anvils for hardware stores and other customers (ACME, SD Kimbark, BIC Omaha etc.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric sprado Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 It's Junk: To show you my heart is in the right place, I'll pay shipping to Oregon so you folks on the East Coast won't have to look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbcsaver Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Greetings all, I'm a novice to this site, and to forging steel in general. However, I'm a hands-on late 50's guy who is quite hands on, and more than familiar with metal working and welding. 3-4 years ago I purchased a "old" anvil, of 122 lbs (per my bathroom scale. I just recently made a stand from 4 6x6 pressure treated stuff, on end Gorilla glued together, then wrapped in 2 x 8 pine, in vertical position, glued and screwed, with an aluminum diamond plate top. The base must weight 100 lbs. My plan is for some horse stall mat ( 1/2" rubber ) under the anvil. I now now that this is a Hay-Budden Anvil (according to the side), made in Brooklyn, NY. However, I can't find a serial number, or age link. There is alot of base damage, that looks like square (ish) holes. I assume the base is cast. Where can I look for the serial number? Should I attempt to mig weld the base defects. Thank you for all your assistance! Regards, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbcsaver Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Greetings all, I'm a novice to this site, and to forging steel in general. However, I'm a hands-on late 50's guy who is quite hands on, and more than familiar with metal working and welding. 3-4 years ago I purchased a "old" anvil, of 122 lbs (per my bathroom scale. I just recently made a stand from 4 6x6 pressure treated stuff, on end Gorilla glued together, then wrapped in 2 x 8 pine, in vertical position, glued and screwed, with an aluminum diamond plate top. The base must weight 100 lbs. My plan is for some horse stall mat ( 1/2" rubber ) under the anvil. I now now that this is a Hay-Budden Anvil (according to the side), made in Brooklyn, NY. However, I can't find a serial number, or age link. There is alot of base damage, that looks like square (ish) holes. I assume the base is cast. Where can I look for the serial number? Should I attempt to mig weld the base defects. Thank you for all your assistance! Regards, Steve PS! ........... I could attach more pics to the above...... I sorry, really a tough time at this site attaching pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Just a thought: you made a nice base for yoiu anvil and that is a key to an anvil working right.Think about that rubber mat before you put it under. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Greetings all, I'm a novice to this site, and to forging steel in general. However, I'm a hands-on late 50's guy who is quite hands on, and more than familiar with metal working and welding. 3-4 years ago I purchased a "old" anvil, of 122 lbs (per my bathroom scale. I just recently made a stand from 4 6x6 pressure treated stuff, on end Gorilla glued together, then wrapped in 2 x 8 pine, in vertical position, glued and screwed, with an aluminum diamond plate top. The base must weight 100 lbs. My plan is for some horse stall mat ( 1/2" rubber ) under the anvil. I now now that this is a Hay-Budden Anvil (according to the side), made in Brooklyn, NY. However, I can't find a serial number, or age link. There is alot of base damage, that looks like square (ish) holes. I assume the base is cast. Where can I look for the serial number? Should I attempt to mig weld the base defects. Thank you for all your assistance! Regards, Steve That anvil is fine to use as is. The base is not used normally for forging. Those marks were put there by the smith testing his tools to see if they were properly hardened. The base is made of low grade reforged wrought iron it is normal for it to have voids and inclusions. You can weld up the holes but it will give you no advantage other than it will look smooth. Also the diamond plate may bend under heavy use. You will be better off with it spiked down to a stump. Its not going to be part of a NASCAR garage racing team tool set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 It has the HB "hourglass base" and stout step I associate with HB's so very likely it is. The larger central hole in the base and on the sides are handling holes used to hold the anvil with special tongs while working it in a large steam hammer and so are a good sign---low grade cast iron anvils don't get worked on a steam hammer as they would crumble! Serial numbers are usually on the front foot (below the horn on the little vertical flat section right at the base where it meets the stand) They are often unreadable due to rust and dammage. Early HB's may be hard to see the hourglass bottom depression as they were quite thin walled and not very deep and so can wear almost flat from long use as scale is an abrasive and tends to get between the stand and anvil over time...I have one like that but the side stamping is clear and pristine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbcsaver Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 It has the HB "hourglass base" and stout step I associate with HB's so very likely it is. The larger central hole in the base and on the sides are handling holes used to hold the anvil with special tongs while working it in a large steam hammer and so are a good sign---low grade cast iron anvils don't get worked on a steam hammer as they would crumble! Serial numbers are usually on the front foot (below the horn on the little vertical flat section right at the base where it meets the stand) They are often unreadable due to rust and dammage. Early HB's may be hard to see the hourglass bottom depression as they were quite thin walled and not very deep and so can wear almost flat from long use as scale is an abrasive and tends to get between the stand and anvil over time...I have one like that but the side stamping is clear and pristine! Thank you all for your help! I'm sorry if my post was confusing, but this clearly a 122 lb Hay-Budden, which I have learned in the last 48 hrs, even though I've owned it for 4-5 yrs, has a fabulous ring and bounce. The stand is a work in progress. I'll do my best to find some numbers on it. What black smith "specialty" or purpose was this fabulous anvil made for with the (circled) side piece off to the side, just pre-horn? Just curious what would the (NFS) value of this anvil be? Again, Thanks to ya'll for your expertise! Regards, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Your anvil is a farrier pattern and the small piece that you circled was used to form toe clips on horse shoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.