mutant Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Hi everyone! My Dad picked this anvil up for me at an farm auction in upstate NY. I believe it's a 150lbs Hay Budden but not entirely sure. The logo is quite worn but I can just make out Brooklyn and 150 on it. I did weight it and it came in at 156lbs. There's a 105 stamped on the heal and I can't see any numbers on the foot. Underneath has an hourglass indentation . Except for a few nicks on the face, she's in great condition. Rings true and I get an 80+ rebound with a ball bearing. Whatever type of anvil she is, all I can say is that I'm very happy with it and I've already forged a few small items on her. I feel extremely lucky to have one of this size and quality. I was wondering if there's any additional info that can be shed. thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anachronist58 Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 ANVIL PRETTY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 It's a standard anvil. Good size for a shop. The NY is a pretty good indicator of it being an HB with the hourglass and it "looks like one". I don't quite get the "type" question---it's a London Pattern Anvil and not any of the variations of it; not a Farrier's anvil, coachmakers, chainmakers, etc. The "brand" or "maker" would be Hay Budden... Go make pretty things on it already!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mutant Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 3 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: It's a standard anvil. Good size for a shop. The NY is a pretty good indicator of it being an HB with the hourglass and it "looks like one". I don't quite get the "type" question---it's a London Pattern Anvil and not any of the variations of it; not a Farrier's anvil, coachmakers, chainmakers, etc. The "brand" or "maker" would be Hay Budden... Go make pretty things on it already!!!!!!!! I guess I was wondering if it's a true HB only because there's no serial number. It's not a big deal if it's not either way since I'm very happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JME1149 Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 I agree with Mr Powers, it has the general shape of a Hay Budden and the markings on the side are consistent with that brand as well. The serial numbers for Budden were located on the front foot edge (under the horn) and I can't quite make out from the 3rd photo if that is the front or back. The 105 stamped on the side of the heel is not typical factory marking and may have been added sometime in the last 100 years or so of it's life. From what we can see, the face looks flat and the corners good. As long as it hasn't been ruined in a barn fire, it should last you and your grandchildren if not abused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 The 80%+ rebound rules out a barn fire scenario. Many times anvils may have lost their serial numbers due to abuse or corrosion; but they are still made by the same people! (I have the remains of an anvil that is just the bottom half of the body. It's weight stamped so I know it was once a complete anvil; but all the upper section is missing and so all the stampings are just gone---Postman gave me an educated guess that it was a PW based on the feet ledge and weight stamping...I was heavily used after it's "accident" as the top is flattened and mushroomed so folks using a "soft" faced anvil way back when,,,) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mutant Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 21 minutes ago, JME1149 said: I agree with Mr Powers, it has the general shape of a Hay Budden and the markings on the side are consistent with that brand as well. The serial numbers for Budden were located on the front foot edge (under the horn) and I can't quite make out from the 3rd photo if that is the front or back. The 105 stamped on the side of the heel is not typical factory marking and may have been added sometime in the last 100 years or so of it's life. From what we can see, the face looks flat and the corners good. As long as it hasn't been ruined in a barn fire, it should last you and your grandchildren if not abused. That third photo is of the front foot. As you can see - no serial number can be made out. I hope to put her to good use and my son, who is only 6, has shown interest already. My first project was a hook. My Dad, myself, and my son all worked on it. I was pretty amazing to forge something and to have three generations of my family trying this out together. It would be awesome if it would be passed down to my son and then to his. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Not awesome; "typical". It usually takes a heap of generations to wear out an anvil! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Frog Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 I wouldn't say it was typical. If a tool was well cared for, and not used too heavily, then yes. Either through extended hard use or abuse, the average lifespan of an industry anvil "back in the day" was around 20 years. I've found several advertisements based around that number, and editorial comments within trade journals stating similar. There were advertising campaigns about repairing wore out anvils. Fisher was boasting that their anvils would last 20 years. If Fisher was using an anvil lasting 20 years as a selling point in advertising, what does that tell you about the average anvil's lifespan at that time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Well for hobby use I expect a longer use life than in the good old days with 12 hour days 6 days a week with sledges... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mutant Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 27 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: Well for hobby use I expect a longer use life than in the good old days with 12 hour days 6 days a week with sledges... I wasn't thinking about the condition of the anvil over the years. More like it would be nice if I was able to keep this up as a hobby with my son staying involved. When the time comes, my tools would become his and what we learned together, he'll teach his kid. That sort of mushy thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 No hopefully you can get some licks in on that anvil with your grandsons and grand daughters and they will remember and tell stories about *you* to their grandkids over that anvil! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyanchor Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Does this profile look familiar? Mine is a 150 pound 3rd style HB Made in 1919 or so. Mine isn't marked HB, it's marked "H Hudson Tool Co" but the shape is pretty distinctive. Yours does not appear to have been as abused as mine was, it should provide many years of good family time. Enjoy... Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoxFire Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 The 105 stamped in to the side tells you that it is a 3rd gen Hay Budden which means that it is a later 2 piece construction. Hay only did these stampings on their 2 piece anvils. It's a great anvil and I personally really like the horns on these guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mutant Posted April 6, 2016 Author Share Posted April 6, 2016 12 hours ago, FoxFire said: The 105 stamped in to the side tells you that it is a 3rd gen Hay Budden which means that it is a later 2 piece construction. Hay only did these stampings on their 2 piece anvils. It's a great anvil and I personally really like the horns on these guys. Thanks FoxFire of the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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