August 19, 201213 yr Hey guys and gals, my uncle has this old anvil and he wants to get some info on it. It's defiantly in rough shape but it works alright. I used it to start out with. Just by looking at it, it seems like its actually made from 8 seperate pieces. It looks like the four feet are welded to The base, the base is welded to the waist, the waist is welded to the top and then it's got the tool steel face. The only numbers I can make out are a 74. Here are a few pictures.
August 19, 201213 yr Postman has identified over 200 anvil makers in England; he might be able to make a good guess based on the weight stamping but other than saying it's a traditionally made anvil I can't see any obvious tells. I suggest you contact Richard Postman
August 19, 201213 yr Author Thanks Thomas, I take it he is probably not a member of the forum is he? Lol do you have an idea on how I could contact him?
August 20, 201213 yr Well I drag items in question to Quad-State as talk with him directly but I know a number of people who call him up and talk with him about anvils---but I don't have his phone number. Very nice fellow and always interested in the "different" anvils. That one's construction with a base middle and top chunks (+ feet, etc) is an interesting construction as most anvil I have seen have a waist weld.
August 20, 201213 yr Your uncles anvil is obviosly a wrought iron based anvil with a tool steel face. It is probably from the colonial era.
August 20, 201213 yr Your uncles anvil is obviosly a wrought iron based anvil with a tool steel face. It is probably from the colonial era.
August 20, 201213 yr Author Colonial era! Wow that would be cool. That could make it pretty darn old. It's defiantly a crude build compared to my Trenton.
August 21, 201213 yr Maybe early 1800's but not colonial. It has a hardir hole, pritchel hole AND horn, none of which showed up on an anvil til after 1820ish.
August 21, 201213 yr Author Hmm that's cool. Defiantly an old one tho. I wish there were more markings on it.
August 21, 201213 yr If there were more markings on it then it probably wouldn't be as old... Nice anvil though, despite a few flaws.
August 21, 201213 yr Richard Postman,strange as it may seem, is NOT a computer person. You can call him on the phone and he is very helpful. Can't seem to locate number right now...
August 21, 201213 yr I have an almost identical anvil. Mine's only got 53 stamped on the side. The same multi piece welded feet, base, waist, horn to heel with tool steel face. It'd be a two fer one if you find who made it. Here's the thread where I shared mine.
August 21, 201213 yr Wow I was going to suggest it might be a blacksmith shop made anvil as the size was within a good blacksmiths shop capability to manipulate and the build method is "non-standard". The marking in pounds indicates an American made anvil and I agree post colonial; but I would bet pre ACW!
August 21, 201213 yr Author I wouldn't imagine forge welding 75 pounds of steel by hand lol. You would almost need a full heat suit for that. It is a crude build so you never know it just might be a blacksmith made unit.
August 23, 201213 yr Author How available we're large number stamps back then? I just can't see a normal blacksmith having number stamps that were almost 3/4" tall.
August 23, 201213 yr If that was what their shop used for their output then it would be quite common---just like back in the 1960's metric wrenches were hard to find in American auto shops---except for the ones that handled foreign cars. Take a look at some of the work Bruce Wilcock has handled in a not so large shop in a remote area. www.brucewilcockforgings.com
August 23, 201213 yr That's really neat. I've never seen so many welds on an anvil, or an anvil with such a tall waist.
August 24, 201213 yr Author Your right man it does have a tall waiste and a fairly small base compared to the top. I never noticed that before.
August 24, 201213 yr Your uncles anvil and mine have to have been made by the same person. Look at your third picture. From the rear yours has the flat at the base that is taller on the left and tapers to the right. The lopsided shaping with the feet splayed out differently match too. Look at the pics of mine in the link I posted and you'll see the similarities. And they both have the same really high waist. Proportionally they are very close. I looked at mine tonight and while the feet on mine are welded better, there are obviously 4 seperate feet welded on like this one. Mine was brought to Oregon from Georgia. That's all I know about it's history....
August 24, 201213 yr Author I totally agree with you. They are extremely similar in every way except the weight. I sure hope we can figure out who made them. Mine came from northern Saskatchewan and that's all my uncle knows about it. Lots of people migrated here from the states and over seas but like stated before, the weight being marked in pounds is a sure sign of a north American made anvil. I've spent hours looking at pictures of anvils and non of the ones I have seen are like ours.
August 24, 201213 yr Hi, First post for a true newby.... I recently acquired a Hay Budden Anvil, marked 106 with a serial number of 200928. Any idea as to the age. It also has OOKLYN below the Hay Budden but the stamps are not really neatly placed so can be a little hard to read, but the HAY stands out. Been looking for lots of years but finally found one at an auction in Central Wyoming. Thanks in advance for any help. KA4993
May 10, 201313 yr Author Hey everyone, I just thought I would "bump" this thread back to the top to see if I could finally figure out what kind of anvil this may be. My uncle gave it to me so now I can say its mine :) that makes it a 5 anvil collection so far :)
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