my first (second) anvil

[madwing]

as i posted in the introductions forum, i just bought my first anvil with a horn (i bought a 65 lb fisher sawyer's anvil about 8 years back for $20, but that's another story, to be found in the oldtools archives...).  note that some of the pictures are the same from that thread.

 

here's how it was presented in the ad:

 

 

it was dull (from the concrete, i imagined), and seemed to bounce ok, so i bought it.

 

here it is in the truck...well strapped, i wasn't interested in having it slide all over the place.  even as it was, it rolled a bit from side to side, and coming home from work on fairly windy roads it was moving me around just a bit:

 

 

when i got it home i decided to take it off its base, as it was too heavy for me to hoist about by myself...which is what's needed for the time being.  and the WAF of the anvil alone is an order of magnitude higher than it would be on its base.  i salvaged the iron rods that were set in the concrete, for tool holding, i assume.  i then wirebrushed it, and hosed it off.  when i get it on its stump i'll put some atf fluid on it (to keep the sides from rusting any more), and use the heck out of it.  btw, it rang like a bell once it was out of the concrete!

 

 

 

 

 

 

it came with this bottom fuller (i believe that's what it's called), which i have since evaporusted:

 

 

it was advertized as a "swedish" anvil, and lo, it is:

 

 

a soderfors, marked at 125 lbs.  i am considerably happy B) there are some marks on the front foot, under the horn:

 

 

makes me think it was made in 1911.  maybe in december, or the 12th anvil of the year, or model 12, or...

 

it does have some chipping out of the table:

 

 

 

 

but michael (who looked at the pictures, and greased then pushed me down the slope advised me to buy it) suggested those weren't too much of a problem.  to that end, what advise can be given here to me about how to treat those edges?  leave them?  grind them to a radius?  have them welded up?

 

so, i am feeling pretty good about the $200 I spent, and look forward to learning how to do things a blacksmith does (since i can't ever see me calling myself a blacksmith, per se).  first thing i need is a forge, and that will come as it does...

 

best,

bill

felton, ca

[Frosty]

Ayup, there it is Bill! Sodorfors dated their anvils, she was made in 1911. Like I said in the other post, clean up the side opposite the name, that's where the other half of the info is on mine. It would be great to have another sorceress here.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[quint]

Ive got a sodofers (my first anvil) and it to rings pretty darn loud. I have it on a wooden block with a slice of leather under it and a chain wrapped around it. Still kind of loud. Great anvil though. I really liked using it. My numbers and lettering were a little harder to figure out though. 

 

I am using my PW right now because on a stump with a little silicone and a chain it only makes a thwap sound. No ring at all which is good for my neigborhood. Its not as nice as the sodofers though. Would like to use the HB I picked up but that thing rings like a bell on steroids so gotta save that guy for when I find another place to live. 

[SilverDeck]

What kind of a process did you use to get it out of the concrete and remove any concrete residue from the metal?

[VaughnT]

I wouldn't do a thing to those edges for at least one year.  Work on the anvil and learn how to work the iron with what you have.  Then, once you have some experience and an idea on the kinds of things you like to do, you can grind/weld/whatever the edges to suit your particular needs.  A smooth radius is nice for turning corners without dinging up the inside of the bend, and you could grind the chipped section in such a way as to create a swage for spoon making or the like.  

 

All depends on what you decide you like to do.

 

Great purchase, all around.  That anvil will last you a very long time.

[madwing]

What kind of a process did you use to get it out of the concrete and remove any concrete residue from the metal?

a four pound sledge, banged on the side top rim of the barrel.  it was only in a couple inches, and i never hit the anvil directly.  the concrete was pretty old, and not set like rock (it was pretty sandy), so it broke off in big chunks that freed up the anvil and the two rods (which i kept for stock to make stump staples).

 

i hit the whole anvil with a wire wheel, then washed it off to get rid of the rust and remaining concrete.  there is a line of raised rusty blobs that follows the contour of the concrete covering; my guess is water would get there and go no deeper.  the final three pictures above show pretty much what is there.

 

concrete isn't that bad an idea for a "stump", actually.  he'd put a piece of 2x6 centered directly under the anvil, and between that and the concrete there was no ring *at all*.  in fact, if i hadn't realized how it was made, i might have passed on it because it was so dull.  out of the concrete it rings with a shrill, piercing quality that's going to necessitate damping as well as double ear protection (muffs and shooting plugs).

[madwing]

quint, as i said about the concrete it did a good job of muffling the ring; it sounded like i was hitting broken concrete, not steel.  i plan to put it on a stump, and sandwich a layer of asphaltic emulsion between the two, and hold it down with a chain that's resting on the same emulsion sheet around the base of the anvil...just thin strips, it shouldn't take much.  then a few rare earth magnets that have the same emulsion stuck to them placed as needed.  i have a vanagon, and the emulsion sheets quieted it down hugely.

 

vaughn, that's kind of where i've gone with it.  not so much the result, but using it until i find those edges needing to be different.  my usual mo is to get it all done up front, but the smithing i've done has already showed me that it's better to just use it, not think about it terribly much.  more than woodworking smithing seems to be a "use it" process to learn, even though reading is fun and informative for ideas and process awareness.

[VaughnT]

You're on the path, MW!

 

I silenced my anvil by setting it in a bed of silicone caulk.  Shut it right up!  No need for chains or magnets.

 

You'll find that the ring is caused by the thinner horn and heel vibrating.  If you place a light magnet on the ends, the ring dies.  But, the magnets collect scale and soon look like a dead muskrat.  The caulk did a far better job of silencing than the magnets and there's no maintenance.  No magnets.  No chains.  No ring!

 

Here's a video I shot showing the effect of magnets.  Mighty quiet, but not nearly as much as a simple bed of silicone.

 

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i115/VaughnT/Smithing/MVI_0344.mp4