1926 Columbian Soderfors

[D.C.]

First TPAAAT success!  This little guy has been in a local ace hardware since the building was built in the 40s. I had inquired about it 2 years ago,  but the owners wanted to hold on to it at the time.  So I figured it was time to check in again,  this time, with a couple leaf key rings and a business card. 20 minutes later,  I was loading it up in my truck,  with the owners happy it was going to get used. 

1926 Columbian Soderfors Dannemora

148lbs.....

And I paid a whopping 150$ To be fair,  I did tell them they could get more if they advertised it, but they happily accepted my opening offer.

It is in great shape by my standards, with just one odd gouge in the face. I was concerned at first because it didn't have the ring I expected of a soderfors. .but it turned out that the angle iron brace that secured it to the stump did an amazing job at neutralizing the ring.  I had taken it off in the pics, but I'm DEFINITELY putting it back on. 

[Anachronist58]

Dannemora! A dollar a pound! I am embarrassed by the anvil envy I am feeling right now. I love my beat up little 88# Soderfors, but WOW.

Robert Taylor

[Frosty]

Welcome to the club Soderfors DC! What a sweet deal, you're going to LOVE working iron/steel on that beautiful old lady. How about a close up of the gouge on the face?

  Frosty The Lucky.

[D.C.]

It is DEEP.  At least 1/8". Only thing I can imagine is that it's from someone using it as a cutting table with a torch. But only being 3/4" long,  I'm not too worried about it.

[Black Frog]

That was the time period that Columbian Hardware Company was importing Soderfors anvils to sell in the U.S. 

Great anvil!  I have one from the same year.  :-)

 

[Mark Ling]

at least the gouge isn't in the sweet spot, were most metal will be worked.

                                                                                                     Littleblacksmith

[Frosty]

Mine is from '23. That looks like an arc gouge it sure doesn't look like a torch cut but who knows. That little ding wouldn't bother me a bit.

Frosty The Lucky.

[D.C.]

You're probably right Frosty,  a bit narrow for torch cut. Since your our resident Soderfors connoisseur, I'm curious what you've found about the depth of hardening on the face.  I don't plan on grinding or anything,  but is there any info on how the foundry tempered the working surface?

[Frank Turley]

If I remember correctly, our well known "dean of American blacksmiths," Francis Whitaker, used a 150 pound Soderfors for all of his forgings. I got to use it one time when I demoed for the Rocky Mountain Smiths in Carbondale, Colorado. Hey, you're in good company.

Francis, RIP.

[John McPherson]

You are right, Frosty, it looks more like a plasma arc gouge than what you would expect from an oxyfuel cutting torch tip. 

Something that small and in that location would be easy to repair, if it really bothers you. Simply grind it clean to the bottom, and one pass with a E11018 stick rod, or TIG with S7 should be fine even without preheat. More extensive repairs, such as major edge damage in the form of big chips and chunks missing requires preheat.

[Frosty]

I don't know what the depth of hardness is on a Soderfors. They're a monolithic steel pour and after a precise tie in the old to solidify they're removed after air cooling to the correct temperature they were quenched under a water tower holding a specific quantity of specific temperature water. Everything was specified by weight and model even the flume size. Once the water tank was empty the residual heat in the anvil tempered the face. the temper was stopped after a specified time.

I don't know what depth the face is hardened but if I had to guess I'd say a couple inches tapering off to the heart which stayed above critical the longest time. Seriously these things were made with Swiss watch precision. Soderfors may have been OCD but what sweet anvils they made.

Frosty The Lucky.

[D.C.]

That. .......sounds. .........awesome. Just picturing that in my head. Thanks for the info Frosty.