Frozenforge Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 TO ANYBODY READING THIS THREAD. THIS IS A SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE THAT CAUSES US TO RECOMMEND GRINDING THE FACE OF AN ANVIL !! Please read the whole thread to understand why! Nice! I would suggest to start with the angle grinder to quickly get the majority of the material then go to the belt sander to see where the low and high spots are and to do the final finish surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belshe92 Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 will do, I think I will do another rebound test when I get it ground down to see if it's any better with a flat surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belshe92 Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 just for my own humor does anyone know or have an idea as to which anvil this could have been molded from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JME1149 Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Looks like a Hay Budden or Trenton shape to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobS Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Unless you find the people that cast it, the original will probably never be known. But looks a little like maybe a Trenton was used for the mold. Here's why I think that. Any one of the reasons below could be argued for any other brand, but all together they start to narrow the field down. 1. Tall and narrow waist 2. Long and thin heal that sweeps down to the body. 3. Square feet with a cut-out on the sides of the body and a step on the front and back. 4. Large horn that appears straight and parallel to the ground, no upsweep. 5. Looks like an intentional blob in the casting on the right side where the original makers name would be. Roughly same size and position as Trenton as well as others. Ok now I can take my tinfoil hat off... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-1ToolSteel Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 This is intriguing to me. It has those perfect porpotions that you rarely see on an ASO. Also, in the video, it has somewhat better ring than I expect from cast iron. (Note that it could just be because of the thinner heel) The Casting is coarse, but not THAT coarse. It also has a handling hole, and PWish ledges on the feet. On the other hand, the casting line through the face is an indication of the worst of ASOs. Has a hardy hole but no pritchel hole, which is another ASO indication. BUT, the horn is absolutely outstanding for an ASO. The handling hole seems to make the grave stone thing unlikely. My best guess is that it is a cast iron ASO, made from a mold that was patterned after a nice anvil. If that is the case, the handling hole was probably there just to make it seem like a "real" anvil. However, it is on the bottom, so it doesn't really seem like it would help much for marketing. If the handling hole was intended to be used as a handling hole, then, there is reason to believe that it is a decent anvil, or at least the start of one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Just thinking out loud here but wonder if for some reason the factory failed to weld the steel plate on it. Something like when most steel was going to the war time effort in WWII. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 IronDragon; So a cast steel anvil missing the smallest amount of steel used in an anvil to save on steel? C-1; if you read the entire thread you will see that the 3rd post in it says "I would say it's one of the cast anvils coming up over the border from Mexico. Does it have a pritchel? They are using old anvils to make the molds and so they look like a great anvil. They are cast with whatever is left in the ladle at the end of the shift and so vary in alloy. Some are quite nice but of course they are not heat treated." I still stand by that: The clear ring indicates it is probably NOT cast iron. The ones coming up from Mexico have the parting line down the face and horn, they are generally missing the pritchel hole but I have seen several where one was drilled post casting---usually where someone was trying to represent it as an antique anvil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-1ToolSteel Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 That would make sense, Thomas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 I am expecting people to start faking them as antiques with name stamping now the price of anvils has shot through the roof. The big tell will be the lack of a plate for anvil types that had an applied face, also the various base features. I expect people to fettle the parting lines out but not to mill the hourglass or oval in the basses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belshe92 Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 next question one I get it flattened out would it be worth drilling a pritchell into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Yes, No or Maybe depending...Do you use a pritchel a lot or just a bolster plate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belshe92 Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 don't know just getting started and prior to this I just used a piece of rail. So I guess the better question might have been how often is the pritchell actually used and is it worth it to drill it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 15 minutes ago, Belshe92 said: don't know just getting started and prior to this I just used a piece of rail. So I guess the better question might have been how often is the pritchell actually used and is it worth it to drill it? You could easily make a bolster plate and use it over the hardy hole. If you find later that you would use it often and it would save you time having a pritchel hole instead of grabbing the bolster plate all the time, then drill one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 How much did the machine shop tell you? Even at $100 per hour it may be worth it. How many abrasives are you going to burn through at $? Each. What is your time worth? I would also ask the local community college or high school if they still have the machine shop classes, since many have removed them, and see if they could do it. A guy in a garage with a Bridgeport size mill could deck that top in about 15 minutes with a 2" carbide face mill. I would only grind the surface off first as some casting skins are really abrasive to cutters. A 9" angle grinder would make short work of that. I would prefer to do it by making a purple rainbow that lasts minutes than a shower of sparks that lasts for hours. As to the pritchel hole. Will you be punching a lot of holes the size that require a pritchel hole? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belshe92 Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 23 minutes ago, BIGGUNDOCTOR said: How much did the machine shop tell you? Even at $100 per hour it may be worth it. How many abrasives are you going to burn through at $? Each. What is your time worth? I would also ask the local community college or high school if they still have the machine shop classes, since many have removed them, and see if they could do it. A guy in a garage with a Bridgeport size mill could deck that top in about 15 minutes with a 2" carbide face mill. I would only grind the surface off first as some casting skins are really abrasive to cutters. A 9" angle grinder would make short work of that. I would prefer to do it by making a purple rainbow that lasts minutes than a shower of sparks that lasts for hours. As to the pritchel hole. Will you be punching a lot of holes the size that require a pritchel hole? I didn't get into town yesterday we had some farm equipment break yesterday so spent all day fixing that. will try to stop in before work today or tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 So the question devolves to "Tell ME how *I* will be using this piece of equipment!" Do you see our problem? Some folks will use one several times an hour and some folks will use it once every other year. Note that if you will be drilling it; you could drill it at any time. (unless you are going to try to harden the face). So no need to decide *now*. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belshe92 Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 Just now, ThomasPowers said: So the question devolves to "Tell ME how *I* will be using this piece of equipment!" Do you see our problem? Some folks will use one several times an hour and some folks will use it once every other year. Note that if you will be drilling it; you could drill it at any time. (unless you are going to try to harden the face). So no need to decide *now*. I can see that, sorry for the vague question Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 If you want to get fancy: drill a hole for a bolt and then make a bolster plate that will revolve different size holes over your hardy hole using the bolt hole in the anvil as an axis... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belshe92 Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 so if I do decide to drill it what is the most common size for a pritchell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 What size is most convenient for you and what you do? Make the bolster plate first with some different sizes and find out what size you use the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranchmanben Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 If you're going to drill a pritchel hole, I'd do 1/2"-5/8". The good thing about drilling one is you can start small and work your way up til you find a size to works well for you. A pritchel hole is handy for more than just punching holes. It can be used for bending stock, holding punches and I'm sure a billion other uses I can't think of right now. I use mine for my hold fast and would hate to have to get by without it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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