scottyp74 Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Hey guys and gals i got my first anvil mounted to the stump and ready to do some work. My dad got it given to me from my uncle for free so i cant complain. It has the horn broke off it. My uncle said it was knocked off a work bench and the horn snapped off. Well that is what he was told. It was just sittin outside his shop. My uncle said all he used it for was to crack walnuts... HA. There are not any marking i can see on the side so im not really sure what kind of anvil i have. I know it weighs about 100lbs with out the horn. From the size of the face im assuming it would have been a farriers anvil. The face is only 5" wide so it is not that big. It might be 6" but i don't think it is. It has some very nasty chips out of the sides right along the main body of the anvil face. and there is a bit of sway to the face but not bad at all. I took a 80 grit sanding wheel and cleaned all the rust and dings out of the face. You could tell it had been hit quite a few time with hammer right to the face of the anvil. It was free and i feel it will get me started. Here are some pics let me know what you think. Also if anyone could help me figure out what kind a anvil it is that would be great as well. Also what should i do about the huge chips on the edge of the anvil? should i leave them or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Leave the chips and use it. Looks like a good functional anvil. Others can tell you more but get forging on it and you'll learn what you need and don't need, and how it works for you. My one anvil had a really bad edge on it and I cleaned up and welded up one side. If I had been reading on here I would have left it alone. It has held up so far but hey. Just get using the sucker. Anvil dosnt need to be pretty to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 After using it a wile you may chose to blend the edgesbut dont get in a hury. Forge a bick frome a chunk of OTR truck axle and bed in your stump and you have a set up as good as any and beter than most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Remember that the relatively thin hardened face is the soul of the anvil. I suggest people remove only as much of it as they are willing to remove from their own face and do their own face *first*! That is not necessarily a farriers anvil though many of the smaller ones were used that way as well as for other work. Heavy chipping on *both* sides of the face is usually a good giveaway that people were working shoes cold on it though. Since traditionally made anvils forge welded the horns and heels on they are often found absent due to a weld failing. (And I have a Vulcan that lots it's horn due to massive casting bubbles/cavities at the horn/body interface so not only a welding failure!)One of my most used anvils is missing it's heel including the hardy hole. When students need to swing a heavy hammer it's our go to anvil! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyp74 Posted September 28, 2015 Author Share Posted September 28, 2015 What is After using it a wile you may chose to blend the edgesbut dont get in a hury. Forge a bick frome a chunk of OTR truck axle and bed in your stump and you have a set up as good as any and beter than most. What does OTR stand for and what is bed in your stump mean? Put it into the trump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Over the road truck, 18 wealer, tractor trailer... They have 1-7/8-2" axles. And yes, beding it in your stulp would be to drill/carbe a hole and firmlu invert it. Some of the bronze and iron age bicks were dounle ended, one being square one being round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyp74 Posted September 29, 2015 Author Share Posted September 29, 2015 Over the road truck, 18 wealer, tractor trailer... They have 1-7/8-2" axles. And yes, beding it in your stulp would be to drill/carbe a hole and firmlu invert it. Some of the bronze and iron age bicks were dounle ended, one being square one being round Thanks for the tip i will try to find an OTR truck axle shaft. I dont what else could work for a bick if i cant get a OTR truck axle shaft? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Well that would depend on what YOU want to use it for and how YOU work. Me I made my own stake anvil using a RR spike driving sledge hammer head with the two different cylindrical ends. I've also used a bull pin for smaller stuff and have a forged one for quite small stuff---good for arrowheads. If you are not doing anything that requires one you don't need one and for many tasks an assortment of different sizes of pipe would actually work better. Yesterday evening I was bending the loop for the top of a tripod leg and used a piece of pipe welded to a chunk of angle iron as the form---a lot easier than using the bic of the anvil! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 For a few dollars, you can simply buy a quality bick from eBay. Yesteryear Forge makes some really nice ones. By the time you hunt around for a sizable chunk of steel, then burn some tonnage of fuel to hammer it into a round cone, then spend a few hours smoothing said cone down.... $60 + s/h doesn't look so bad.Personally, I'd be more inclined to spend the time hunting for pipe sections. I use all different sizes of pipe as mandrels to bend around because they give you precise, repeatable radii. You can't have enough pipe sizes, in my estimation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Old bail spikes, large shafting, square sextion drops, speaking of drops, any outfit cutting out thick rounds will have nifty ones, a 4" drop from a 48" circle would be the bomb for a bick and anvil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSW Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Guy I know has a big 6" round chunk of S7 he got thru work I believe sunk in an angle iron V groove "saddle" that he uses as his horn to draw out stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matei campan Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 there are anvils made without horn from the beginning. a knife-maker could chose this one instead of a "horned" one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I had TJ cut the horn of of one that had the heal drohen threw the hardy hole, for a small demo anvil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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