Baldncane Posted April 10, 2018 Posted April 10, 2018 Hi all, i have another anvil prospect, but the face appears to have been repaired with a new plate. Can anyone verify this? If so, should I keep looking? thanks, Ben Quote
Black Frog Posted April 10, 2018 Posted April 10, 2018 That is not a new plate. Some Columbians were cast with that as part of the pattern mold. That is original casting. Check it with a ball bearing for rebound amount, if you're satisfied with it a Columbian is a high quality cast steel anvil. Quote
Baldncane Posted April 10, 2018 Author Posted April 10, 2018 Black Frog, thank you very much! That’s exactly what I was looking for! Quote
jlpservicesinc Posted April 10, 2018 Posted April 10, 2018 Yup, what he said.. I own a 200lbs and it's very nice. Quote
Baldncane Posted April 10, 2018 Author Posted April 10, 2018 JLP, thanks! I’m hopefully going to pick it up this evening! Quote
Baldncane Posted April 11, 2018 Author Posted April 11, 2018 Mine! Got them both for $600.00! Where I’m from, that’s a pretty decent deal! The anvil needs a good cleaning, but the forge should be good to go! These were supposedly bought together at a hardware store near the seller in 1917. He wanted them to stay together so I obliged! Still looking for the $50 post vise Thomas! :-P (sorry for the photo size) Quote
Baldncane Posted April 11, 2018 Author Posted April 11, 2018 I also scored a wrought iron buggy axel that I found leaning against a tree in my grandmothers yard today! A fine day indeed! Quote
jlpservicesinc Posted April 11, 2018 Posted April 11, 2018 Congrats. Now your ready to go in nearly 1fell swoop. Quote
ThomasPowers Posted April 11, 2018 Posted April 11, 2018 "Still looking for the $50 post vise"---yup that's the way you find them! (But even I was surprised to find a 6" columbian postvise for US$50 at Quad-State! Of course he was getting ready to pull out with it still on his truck and it didn't have a spring or a mounting bracket....but still WOW!) Quote
Baldncane Posted April 11, 2018 Author Posted April 11, 2018 I forgot to mention that there seems to be some sort of plate on the bottom that causes the anvil to wobble a great deal. Is that by design or should I consider either removing it or maybe grinding it flat? Quote
ThomasPowers Posted April 11, 2018 Posted April 11, 2018 Can you show it to use? Is it part of the anvil or applied to the anvil? This is the reason that so many brands of anvil have a depression in the bottom to deal with possible uneven stump faces too. Quote
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted April 11, 2018 Posted April 11, 2018 2 hours ago, Baldncane said: some sort of plate on the bottom A picture of it would help with what it is. Quote
Baldncane Posted April 11, 2018 Author Posted April 11, 2018 As you can see in the second photo, it bulges out where the plate is. Quote
ThomasPowers Posted April 11, 2018 Posted April 11, 2018 Grind it or mill it off---removal of a bit of the bottom of the anvil is NOT a problem! Quote
Baldncane Posted April 11, 2018 Author Posted April 11, 2018 Thank you sirs/ma’am’s! Next up is replacing oil in the blower that leaked out on the ride home! Doing some homework now tor figure out maintenance for it. Quote
ThomasPowers Posted April 11, 2018 Posted April 11, 2018 A lot of the early equipment pretty much use "flow through oiling" Not over oiling can cut down on the mess. Quote
Frosty Posted April 12, 2018 Posted April 12, 2018 Filling the oil pan in a blower is a good way to see how large an oil stain it'll make on the floor. Just give it a LITTLE quirt through the oiler ports when you start a session. It only takes a few drops to keep them turning smoothly more just leaks out. It's the same story with old mechanical power hammers, they should NOT be slobbering and slinging oil, just a small squirt, a few drops on the main journal oil ports and two or three in all the others is plenty. I put about 1/4 cup of automotive anti friction motor oil additive, I can't think of the name, in a gallon of chainsaw bar oil. Origionally for the chainsaws of course but it's perfect power hammer and Champion 400 blower lube. It's sticky and the friction reducing additive keeps everything slick. The only place that drips oil on my 50 lb. Champion is the ram guides. Frosty The Lucky. Quote
Baldncane Posted April 14, 2018 Author Posted April 14, 2018 Frosty, the only “port” I can find is this thing. Is this what it should look like? It seems kinda chewed up. I’ve tried fiddling with it, but it doesn’t really move. Would I just drip oil into this? Quote
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted April 14, 2018 Posted April 14, 2018 1 hour ago, Baldncane said: Would I just drip oil into this? Yep... I would make a cap (which is missing) to keep crud out of it. Quote
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted April 14, 2018 Posted April 14, 2018 I have a similar blower. I just leave the top cover screws loose and pop the cover off and dump some oil in. Faster than putting it through the tiny oil cup. Quote
kiddcaprix Posted April 24, 2018 Posted April 24, 2018 That Columbian you have is crazy different than mine. I am amazed at how the processes for manufacturing these differ so much. Besides that, my Columbian has been a great anvil. Great rebound, nice ring, and she comes in right at 180lbs. Glad I got her. I haven't been on any other anvil since I started swinging so I can't add any comparisons. I would buy another (bigger) Columbian if the opportunity arose. Mine also had a slight protrusion on the bottom but not as dramatic as yours. I ground mine off and called it good. Quote
Baldncane Posted April 24, 2018 Author Posted April 24, 2018 Kiddcaprix , the edges on that are darn near perfect! Have you notice any issues with the face leaving some of its dimples in your work? Though my edges have seen better days, they cleaned up really well, but the face appears the same texture as the rest of the body. I’m assuming that’s as cast, but I did notice a few marks show up on some thin material I was working on. I suppose I could maybe flap disc the roughest areas, but I’m thinking just leave it alone and see if I can “work” the face smoothe? Any suggestions/tips? I did finally grind off most of that issue on the bottom, but it was extremely tough material to grind! It seems like there may be some hollow spaces underneath it, but I couldn’t quite break through it. Quote
kiddcaprix Posted April 24, 2018 Posted April 24, 2018 Yeah, I got pretty lucky finding an anvil in this condition. Most of the "texture" was just dirt and debris. Those were pictures of when I picked it up. Just hammering on it has clean the surface up quite a bit. The scale is a pretty good abrasive and helps clean the dirt off. I would just hammer on it and it will clean up. Anything that has transferred into my work piece I leave because I like the hand worked look of things. Or if making a blade, the texture comes out in the finishing process. My face is pretty smooth so I haven't notice any spots that transfer. -Adam Quote
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