when time permits I am going to clean this up, check for markings, remove the badly welded plates and try to fix this.

at the moment though I have too much to do so just posting some pictures.

weight is between 100 and 112 pounds at a guess.

these pictures are from 2011 when I got this, more details when I clean it up a bit

the anvil has broken from above the feet to the middle of the table as can be seen in the second picture and 2 ugly plates have been added.

my plan is to closely examine it as is and then to clean it with pressure washer and hand wire brush and then examine it more, then to remove those added plates and check for markings below them, remove the welds that have been added and deeply V it and do a better job of welding and then look into refacing where needed.

this will take a lot of time but I will try to do updates when I can

 

I'm looking forward to upgrades on the "Anvile Makeover", I can't help but wonder if removal of the straps will result in a spontanious parting of the halves! Will the ugly duck become a swan?

maybe its russian and there is a smaller anvil inside

 

...a nest of anvils! now there's a thought.....

That's not a reinforcing bar on the side -- it's a heading plate for rivets!

(Very short, very thick rivets.)

Have to wonder how that got busted.  Under a big power hammer?  Anvil shooting?  A really enthusiastic smith get his hands on Mjölnir?

it was probably just a failed weld, it may have failed after 100 years or more of use which still makes it a good weld, maybe things will be revealed when it gets fixed.

it will be some time as I have just moved shop and need to get machines working and tons of junk sorted so I can make my normal stock for events so it will be a winter project

Don't do a lot of anvil shooting over this side of the pond as far as I'm aware ( not comensurate with the laws here ) .....but......given it's likely age it may well have seen at least one major altercation......so could even have been bombed.....you never know!

I think it has been around long enough to see several altercations, I got it from the south coast, devon / dorset way and would guess the welding is a lot older than me

Anyone else notice the weld running diagonally down from the centre of the face towards the horn? It looks as though the front half of the anvil was broken off completely and then welded back on. And rather badly by the looks of it. 

Where did you find it David? It looks like a Czech anvil, you don't see very many of them over here. 

And what size is it? 

Andy

"really ugly anvil with bad repairs"?

The politically correct term would be "well loved"

 

" weight is between 100 and 112 pounds at a guess."

" I got it from the south coast, devon / dorset way "

" the anvil has broken from above the feet to the middle of the table as can be seen in the second picture and 2 ugly plates have been added "

from previous posts on this, hope that helps andy

That anvil might have been owned by Dr. Frankenstein. 

 

On 9/30/2016 at 3:49 PM, the iron dwarf said:

" weight is between 100 and 112 pounds at a guess."

" I got it from the south coast, devon / dorset way "

" the anvil has broken from above the feet to the middle of the table as can be seen in the second picture and 2 ugly plates have been added "

from previous posts on this, hope that helps andy

Sorry chap missed those. Just not reading things properly obviously. It's a xxxx shame I'm moving out of the workshop I'm in, I'd have offered to have a go at it myself. 

I look forward to seeing it fixed up though. It'll be a lovely little anvil once it's done. 

Andy

3 minutes ago, Kozzy said:

"really ugly anvil with bad repairs"?

The politically correct term would be "well loved"

 

im not a politically correct sort of person

4 minutes ago, Everything Mac said:

Sorry chap missed those. Just not reading things properly obviously. It's a damn shame I'm moving out of the workshop I'm in, I'd have offered to have a go at it myself. 

I look forward to seeing it fixed up though. It'll be a lovely little anvil once it's done. 

Andy

I got it before you joined here for the starting price of £50 on a certain auction site, no one else bid on it.

it is usable as is and I thought it was bad enough to repair.

there will be pictures and before we start we may use it for a while just to try it out

"Well loved" certainly isn't the phrase I'd have used.

 

Fair enough. I recall seeing a hornless anvil on that site some years ago that was in an awful state. I really fancied buying it to do it up. In the end I decided not to bother which was a shame. I'd like to give it a go at some point. 

Andy

I have an eveson anvil to rehorn sometime

apart from losing the horn it is in good condition and I have a new part ready to fit

38 minutes ago, Daswulf said:

That anvil might have been owned by Dr. Frankenstein. 

or made by him

today we used it, works fine according to John, we just avoided the areas where the top was missing

making a nail header and drawing out some 12mm square ( 1/2" )

Glad to see that your giving Frankenstein's monster some new life  

yes ITTTTTTSSSSSSS ALLLLIIIVVVEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thought as it is usable and the other anvil John uses has very little heel it could be used until we start work on its restoration

On 9/30/2016 at 11:22 AM, aessinus said:

Have to wonder how that got busted.  Under a big power hammer?  Anvil shooting?  A really enthusiastic smith get his hands on Mjölnir?

 

On 9/30/2016 at 2:00 PM, Smoggy said:

Don't do a lot of anvil shooting over this side of the pond as far as I'm aware ( not comensurate with the laws here ) .....but......given it's likely age it may well have seen at least one major altercation......so could even have been bombed.....you never know!

This is pretty much what I was thinking. It looks like somebody else said Czech or I was thinking maybe Austro-Hungarian or south German but whatever. It's very possible the thing might be a casualty of war. Somehow it made its way to England though. If this stuff could only talk

Nice. I have full faith that you could restore it. I think it has a lot of character tho. But myself having two good complete anvils and a twisted sense of tastes in character, in the end it's yours to deal with  

I have a few things here that would fit right in with TPs wall of shame.

it will be used and hopefully improved.

I would like to find out more about it and maybe some markings will show up that can help

I found it to be a perfectly usable anvil, needs a stand to get a real feel of it, at the moment it is on a set of plastic builder's steps.  I will keep using it to clean it up.  I am the first person to hit metal on this for ??? years

You need to post some pictures of that anvil, and the items you make on it on a certain Facebook page to show everyone that you do not need a perfect anvil to work on. 

It doesn't need restoring....that is a combination swage and texturing anvil.....