Hey y'all, this is the anvil an older gentleman who does blacksmithing was kind enough to give me and I intend to use it and use it well but I just kind of wanted to know your opinions about it btw sorry for so many pictures but I figured yall would ask for them so why not add them to begin with

 

Also, the anvil weighs 124.2#

The hardy hole is 3/4" ×7/8"

The pritchel is 1/2"

The horn is 8 1/2" from tip to the table/step

The table/step is 2 3/4" ×3 1/4"

The face is 14 3/4" ×3 3/4"

The waist at the most narrow section is 5"×4"

And the anvil is 10" tall

 

So what do y'all think honestly don't sugar coat anything

Have you done a ring test and a rebound test?

Looks like it needs a LOT of red hot (and hotter!) steel pounded on it!  Are you addressing it's needs?

It's been used a lot but does not look abused; if anyone suggests you mill or grind on the face---DROP IT ON THEM FROM A HEIGHT!

 

 

Why are you still reading this go pound some steel!

Maybe just smooth out the mushroomed edges, and get to work.  Nothing wrong with that anvil other than it is not being used. 

 

 

Have you done a ring test and a rebound test?

Well i honesty dont know what to be listening for, and i dont have any steel ball bearing and cant afford to buy any, is there anything else I could use as a substitute?

 

Lol well up until this past Saturday it was getting hammered on for about 3 or 4 hours everyday for the last month and a half but y'all know how busy life vcan get and I'm in the process of building a new side blast forge

 

 

As far as ringing, it sounds like a steel bell when you hit it, much higher pitched the farther away you get from the waist

A clear ring is a good sign. What you don't want is sudden changes as you move around the surface, especially from a "ping" to a "thud".  That's often a sign of a hidden crack or delamination. 

The rebound test measures how much energy is absorbed by the anvil and how much is returned to the workpiece.  Get a ball bearing, drop it from 10 inches above the surface, and measure how far back up it bounces. 8 inches equals 80%, 5 inches equals 50%, and so on. The higher the percentage, the more better. 

A rebound test is a measure of how much energy the anvil returns to the work. There are two basic methods, #1 drop a ball bearing and estimate how far it bounces back as a %. You can do this in front of a ruler if you don't have much practice eyeball estimating this sort of thing. A ball bearing rebound test doesn't work on a face as rough as that one, there's no telling which way it'll go and I don't know of anybody with good evaluation standards for wild ballistic rebounds.

The other rebound test is with a small ball smooth faced hammer, old ball peins are good, they're reliably pretty hard steel so the results are a little more consistent. The method is to let the hammer head fall on the face and estimate the rebound. This takes more experience as the variables are harder to gauge but it's a good test and you almost NEVER have to go hunt for a hammer that took a weird bounce and rolled under the far back corner of a bench behind a table in another room. Bearing balls WILL do this sort of thing you betcha.

Anyway, it's easier to beat a tattoo of taps around the face in a pattern. You want to listen for a sudden change in tone known as "Dead spots" which indicate places where the face plate may be delaminating (coming unwelded from the body) or perhaps damaged by some moron with a torch heating something. This is why you do a rebound test in a pattern over the entire face, forget the horn. Expect the rebound to taper off evenly as you move away from the center of the face, there is less "Depth of rebound" where the steel under the blow is thinner. Don't let this worry you, it's normal. It's the sudden changes that are a concern. 

Help?

You're not stroking that fine old lady enough boy, BE ABOUT IT! 

Frosty The Lucky.

If the ringing is too much for your ears, read some of the other threads about making an anvil quieter.

OK thanks frosty, glad to hear I can use a ball peen hammer to test the rebound, and believe me if I could I'd never stop forging but I've been helping clean and paint a house my aunt bout so that takes up most of my time

What are the same ways to clean the anvil by the way, I do not intend to grind the face it is going to stay the exact same way it is but what could I do to the waist and legs and such?

wire brush, electrolytic rust removal, sand blasting with a gentle medium, etc

I knew a gentle medium once. She was horrible at foretelling the future, but she was very kind. 

Well, could I use a wire wheel attachment for a drill? I was kind of worried it may remove any hidden  markings

Also if there are any maker marks where would they be likely to be?

Looks like you have lots of info right in front of you.  Take a wire wheel cup on an angle grinder and clean this area.  

I can see the 131, and part of the other stamping.

If you start out gently with the wire cup, it'll remove the rust from the outer surface before it gets down into the recesses of what's left of the stamping. That will create some contrast and make the stamping easier to read.

I used one of those drill attachment wire cups and it worked just fine. Also if you are unaware my local Menards sells ball bearings for like 1$ each. It's not what some may prefer if they want a big old 1" solid ball, but at 78 cents or so you can get a smaller 1/2" bearing to at least test. I like how small it is because it fits in my wallet, and if i ever chase down a craigslist ad i'll have it no matter where i'm at. 

Be carful with wire brushes, especially cup brushes, they will grab your clothes and try to eat you, as well as throwing eye destroying needles of steel. A stiff hand brush like used on masonry to knock the loose stuff off the body works wonders, hot steel will take care of the face. 

can confirm the needles of steel, plucking them out of your arm is better than an eye though. 

Yes, yes it is, I have had to deal with both and I prefer the arm

Well as soon as I start on the cleaning I'll be sure to post pics

Think like an archaeologist and go gently. Stratigraphy is your friend.

Hmm there is a phrase there somewhere---"Stratigraphy recapitulates  Orogeny" or something like that...

Don't make a mountain out of a molehill.

The saying was basically the reverse of that...