Dom Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Seller estimates it at 300 lbs and could not find any manufacturer marks. Apart from the rust it looks it great shape. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 Here is all I have. I'm not on site but I can contact the seller and ask for some more info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatfudd Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 It looks like an Austrian style anvil, I have one that is similar. There were a number of European makers including German and Swedish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 From what we can see on the picture, would you think the rust could be a problem or it`s mostly surface? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 I don't see any pitting, the rust should brush right off. NO grinding! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldshove Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 I,m with you on this , The best way to clean it up more is to heat some steel and start forging it will planish up nicely .jmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 What I'd want to make a decision is the results of a ball bearing test. That's one of the least rusty anvils I've seen in the wild. I have one that spent 50 years in an unheated shed next to a swampy creek. Fine condensation pitting all over the face that hot steel is polishing out nicely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 I can't seem to be able to find a 1" (or even anything 1/2" and above) locally (or I don't know where to look). I'm supposed to go see the anvil this afternoon. So what's the next best test I can do? Tap it with my hammer? Thanks for any suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Automobile repair places should have them. Filing that look up hammer test on google using "I forge iron" plus hammer test as your search phrase, and check out the results. The search function here sucks lemons. Bonne chance. SLAG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 Would something like this do in a pinch? http://www.crosman.com/copperhead-ammo-1 Called the local auto parts and got a rather rude response to my inquiry about a 1" steel bearing ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozenforge Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Needs to be hardened steel. A smaller ball bearing will work just its harder to keep track of! Clean off an area with a wire brush really good to get an true indication, especially if you use a smaller bearing that can be affected more by surface corrosion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 Funny how things are. Took too long to find a ball bearing, by the time I called the guy, the anvil was already sold. However I found a nice couple selling parts of their anvil collection, including a nice 138lbs Brooks with the hardened steel plate. Supposedly in perfect condition. It is way smaller than the one I pointed to in this thread, but it might still be plenty enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 You can do a lot of work on a 138# anvil. Large anvils are nice to have, but most of us probably don't need anything over 125#. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Hammer Person, A very large anvil is a wonderful acquisition but few of us really have a need for one. They suck heat out of the forged piece like a vampire sucks blood. Your 143 # should suffice for most of your work, Congratulations, SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 1 hour ago, BIGGUNDOCTOR said: You can do a lot of work on a 138# anvil. Large anvils are nice to have, but most of us probably don't need anything over 125#. It all depends on what you do. i would hate to make a gate on a 140 pound anvil. but small decorative stuff is ok. i suppose knives too, but I don't make knives so i don't know. Horses for courses. I have a 26 and a 88 pound anvil that I use a lot for detailed work, and a 240 for bigger scrolls. Wouldn't mind a 500 pounder one for some reluctant structural things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Like I said, most of us, not all. If you look at the type of work posted on here , much of it does not require a large anvil. My main anvil is a 260# Fisher and I use it more because it is so quiet, not because I need that big of an anvil for what I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 I have two anvils a :200lb. Trenton and a 125lb Soderfors and the Soderfors is my go to anvil for about 90% of what I do. You do NOT NEED a 1" bearing ball! That whole thing is the result of "more is better" thinking and just ain't so. Unless you're checking a large anvil the smaller bearings are more accurate and you can carry a couple 1/2" bearings in your pocket all the time, it's easy to forget they're there. Heck you might be able to use marbles though I don't think they'd work as well. A light ball pein hammer works fine for doing rebound tests it just takes more practice to interpret the results. The slingshot ammo would work IF it's actually round, the bag I bought a while back aren't smooth balls and don't bounce straight. Happily I bought them for my slingshot and moose chasing. Can't walk the dogs if a moose is trimming the brush next to the porch. Happens here all the time. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 A ball bearing 1/4" and larger will work just fine.. 1" or bigger just looks cooler... Ask any garage/Auto repair place if they have any bad axles in the scrap pile.. you will end up having to deal with a greasy mess but turn the CV joint past 90 and you can usually pluck out the bearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 Showing up with a dozen doughnuts one morning and explaining what and why you need it will generally work better than calling especially as they charge by the hour---but time for a doughnut tends to not be charged time! The half life of good deals on anvils on the internet can usually be measured in hours or even minutes, You have to be ready to jump on them and that includes cash/transportation/testing materials/etc. Using the TPAAAT can get you deals where you have a bit more time to ponder them---but not too long as once a person starts to think about selling that old anvil there is a LOT of folks willing to help them out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 Not an anvil but a stand... this came out of a cutting die shop that was incorporated in 1847.. The shop closed its doors 3 years ago due to a family dispute and the company was divided between 2 people... All the equipment was given to 1 person and the building to the other.. the person who owns the building told the other person to get the equipment out or he'd throw it out.. the person had 2 weeks to remove 2 power hammers and 20 anvils on stands, 4 forges and several thousand stake anvils.. I missed out on the forges and power hammers as I was retired then. But when I started to get active again I bought a 198lbs HB mounted on this stand.. The point was/is. They had bought all the equipment brand new.. Lots of the anvils were custom ordered.so many of the anvils don't have standard shapes/ sizes.. all the stands I had seen were composite stands with sockets for stake anvils.. and the anvils were bolted on with leather pads between the block and anvils.. Most all the dies were bent cold... with some hot work... so you can see damage on the anvils consistent with the cold work.. Nearly all 6 of the HB anvils had broken tails at the Hardie hole, one had part of the face plate removed from where it delaminated.. the Peter wright anvils faired very well and out of 4 there was little damage.. but the PW anvils were short Like the colonial pattern.. where as the HB anvils were longer then normal. There were only 2 HB anvils with no damage on the tails.. one was a 230lbs that was a very short old style HB and the 198Hb which I bought.. the face is only 4" wide and the feet are huge compared to any other HB anvils I have ever seen.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will W. Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 I don't know how it turned out with the new anvil you mentioned, but I use a 150# Fisher and it's plenty enough to make knives and decorative things. A 138# anvil will serve you quite well I imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom Posted April 12, 2017 Author Share Posted April 12, 2017 I bought it today! I have probably overpaid but it is tough to judge since anvil availability is not the same here in Quebec than down in the US. Prices on-line seem systematically higher. Anyway, what is done is done. I'll post some pictures in a new thread soon. Now, just have to find a forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacksmith-450 Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 On 2017-04-04 at 10:34 PM, Dom said: Seller estimates it at 300 lbs and could not find any manufacturer marks. Apart from the rust it looks it great shape. Thanks. I think i've find it ! http://www.german-anvil.com/German_Anvil_Collection/Soderfors_Dannemora_Sweden.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubalcain2 Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 that looks like it. talk about a sweet soderfors! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-1ToolSteel Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 The horn transition looks a little different, but it could still be a basically the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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