Ayup, that's a grand old lady you have there mate. Good score. Steel stand is my recommendation for quieting an anvil but you're familiar with my experience in the matter. HBs are almost as damagingly loud as a Soderfors. It's good to see her rehomed where she'll be properly taken care of and loved on.

Enjoy brother.

Frosty The Lucky.

I got a problem with that anvil.......Can't decide which I like better, the tractors or the anvil.........my problem....not yours      Dave

That's a mighty fine anvil mate, awesome stuff. Can't imagine there would be many other HB anvils here in Australia. Be good to catch up again, Hans is planning another hammer in at his workshop next weekend I think, will see you there.

Mate, I'll be there. Not often we get a chance to see a power hammer in operation. I'm going to drag along a piece of hefty reo I want to draw out into a snake. Too much to do by hand. Will see you there.

This morning I set the anvil on its block. After considering a number of methods, I settled on a pair of 3/8 flat bars, coach screwed in to place. The screws are angled into the block so it's not quite end-grain. They are 1/2 inch diameter 6 inch long screws, so they have a good bite.

Now that I have the screws set, I will undo it, winch the anvil up and seat it on a bed of silicone before tightening it down finally. Hopefully, that will keep the ring to a reasonable level.

Here's a pic or two:

 

 

When I first heard about you buying an anvil from the US I thought you were crazy but great anvil you did really  well. 

When I first heard about you buying an anvil from the US I thought you were crazy but great anvil you did really  well. 

It's a beautiful anvil alright but he's still crazy.

Frosty The Lucky.

When I first heard about you buying an anvil from the US I thought you were crazy but great anvil you did really  well. 

I'll admit to that. However, there was method in my madness. I had been looking for a decent anvil without success for some time. You blokes know how hard they are to find in Australia, especially way up here on the pointy bit. And we're a big country - freight from anywhere is a killer.

So the practical solution was a quality anvil from overseas, freight free. We had a container of tractors waiting to come over from Ohio, where anvils are plentiful. A stowaway was the obvious answer! 

Yeah, crazy perhaps, but hey (Hay) I got a nice anvil at my place now.

Congratulations! Hay Buddens are great anvils and beautiful too, IMHO. 

One consistent thing that I've noticed about every HB that I've seen is that the edges are still in good shape and the face is still pretty flat. All the ones that I've seen, anyway. Either all of their owners treasured them as much as I treasure mine and took really great care of them, or they were built very well. Maybe both.

Congratulations! Hay Buddens are great anvils and beautiful too, IMHO. 

One consistent thing that I've noticed about every HB that I've seen is that the edges are still in good shape and the face is still pretty flat. All the ones that I've seen, anyway. Either all of their owners treasured them as much as I treasure mine and took really great care of them, or they were built very well. Maybe both.

Both. You see HBs that have been worked hard enough to be swayed and chipped up but even then they're still good hard working anvils. You have to put one through a fire or let idiots with cutting torches near them to hurt them.

Frosty The Lucky.

Good job mate

ausfire, your HB is beautiful. You will enjoy it very much. If your serial number is as you indicated, mfg. date was 1919.

Dust the markings with a dusting of flour for better definition.

Edited June 22, 201511 yr by arkie

Thanks Arkie. 1919 sounds to be right. I did try the flour but it seemed less clear than without it. I have found a good method is to take a photo at a sharp angle so that any flash shadow makes the letters stand out. That's the only way I noticed the weight numbers. After looking very closely I couldn't see them, but the flash angle picked them out.

Beautiful anvil, Ausfire.  To think that an anvil made in Brooklyn, New York almost a hundred years ago is now on the other side of the world..... that's a lot of travel for it's short life!

 

Best way to deaden the ring is to tilt it up and squeeze about half a tube of silicone caulk on the base.  When that silicone hardens, it'll sound like you're pounding on an oak plank!  Not quite as good as a Fisher's "thunk", but definitely better than the ear-splitting bell that it is right now.  Just have a few nails at the ready to pin it in place because that silicone makes it want to slip and slide like you wouldn't believe!

You were right, Vaughn. I used a full tube of silicon on the base and the anvil settled on the stump nicely.  Bolted down with the bars and coach screws and ... no ring. Not exactly a 'thunk', but certainly not hard on the ears. A couple of chains round the middle helped a bit as well. Now, ... where's that big ol' speaker magnet?

Good score there 'aussi'. Good read also, some handy hints on setting up the anvil, also, maybe look further afield for a (another) anvil(s), ie overseas (USA).

where's that big ol' speaker magnet?

I put a magnet on the end of the heel and not only did it absorb all the vibrations (resonance), but it made for a handy catcher for punches and chisels that I was using.

Good score there 'aussi'. Good read also, some handy hints on setting up the anvil, also, maybe look further afield for a (another) anvil(s), ie overseas (USA).

Yeah, Macca, they're cheap as chips over there, but how will you go with freight? Qantas wouldn't be too happy with the hand luggage. 

Weld on a handle and bulk up so it looks like you are carrying a haute-couture designer hand bag with no effort.  X-ray at security shouldn't bean issue 'cause there's nothing inside the anvil but more anvil...

Let us know how it goes!

You might laugh  but in the "good old days" before airport security I once had a 90# carry on as I had run across an old scrap pile by the rotten remains of a cabin around 9000' in the Colorado Rockies.  They weighed your suitcases; but not your carry on...and no I did not put it in the overhead compartment.  There was sufficient leg room for it and me. The hard part was to not appear struggling to carry it under my arm...

Yeah, Macca, they're cheap as chips over there, but how will you go with freight? Qantas wouldn't be too happy with the hand luggage. 

hehe....nah, I'll figure some 'rat-cunning' way. Obvious thingy is sea freight. As you said 'cheap as chips' over in the states, soooooo....the trade off is a relatively cheap(ish) anvil offset with a freight charge. Meh...'swings & roundabouts'. Once I get into this 'smithy' gig proper it'll be  xxxxxxxxxxxx.