Stubbysteve Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 Unknown anvil with broken horn. It has the hardy hole. And has 196 stamped on it. I don't have the anvil, trying to acquire it, just don't know the value with broken horn. Here are some pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 How much does it currently weigh? What is the result of the bounce test? (asking the value of an anvil without having a bounce test done on it is like asking the value of a used car without checking that the engine runs) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubbysteve Posted May 11, 2018 Author Share Posted May 11, 2018 Ok I have heard of the bounce test. Is there a standard, say type of ball bearing? I'm guessing that there should be to determine an accurate test. And if so what is/are the specs of the ball bearing? As for the weight now, no idea. It's not in my possession. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 generally a 1/2 to 1" real ball bearing; a ruler, and a wire brush if there is any crud on the anvil face. Many people have access to a bathroom scale for weighing anvils and asking for the weight is extremely common. It doesn't look very large wrt things in the background. Damaged anvils *SHOULD* go at a steep discount; but I've seen many a one posted on CL for mint condition prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubbysteve Posted May 11, 2018 Author Share Posted May 11, 2018 So, since my last post I've looked at videos and such on doing rebound testing, the more percentage of rebound is the better anvil Correct? Basically somewhere between 80%-90% rebound is generally what you want correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 well if you don't have an anvil or it's really cheap 70% and up; but the 80+% ones are definitely nicer. Below you are heading into the lost temper anvils or are cast iron ASOs. However any crud on the face or bad pitting can show a lower number than the face really has. Last time I bought a damaged anvil for using---missing the hardy hole and heel it was about 1/3 the going rate for the same anvil in good condition. Long time ago, about 20 years, which is why I stated the discount rather than the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubbysteve Posted May 12, 2018 Author Share Posted May 12, 2018 Again, that just sounds like it should be reasonable. So, correct me if I'm wrong, but typically the 196 was the total weight of the complete anvil? I know it's broke so it won't weigh what it says obviously. But I only have a rr track aso. So either way the broken anvil should be better than what I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 Steve: If it has good rebound, 70% or better and a good price it's a working anvil. Horns are over rated, a bic is easy to make if you need one. Were I in the market I'd rather see the horn gone than the heal and hardy hole. I use the hardy hole a LOT more than the horn. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 I rescued this old anvil from the scrap. At 248# (a bit less without the horn) it would find a permanent place in my smithy if I didn't have an anvil. It sits in our workshop now and still gets occasional use. A hornless anvil is a bit sad to look at, but can still be very functional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 196 would be the weight only for American made anvils (and some swedish anvils made for the American market) as it does not conform to the CWT system. Weighing the anvil is a whole lot faster/more accurate than dithering on the net. A bathroom scale will do for most weights we deal with. CWT: leftmost number hundredweights (112 pounds), Middle number quarter hundredweights so only 0-3 allowed (28 pounds) rightmost 1 or 2 numbers residual pounds (0-27 pounds) Now in modern anvils we do get some stamped in kg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 When I bought my anvil for a guy he had a really old Fisher with 1/3 of the horn broken off. Otherwise it was in great shape. I've been thinking a lot about that anvil as it was a big one. It would make a good workhorse anvil with that thick face plate. I actually think the horn could be reground to somewhat of a point and it wouldn't look too bad. Let's face it, you use the face of the anvil much more than the horn so that Fisher could make a really good anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 Lets face it whether you use the face or the horn more depends on what you are doing! Practical Blacksmithing had a shop where the horn was not to the left or to the right but straight towards the forge---they made rings in a production manner. I'm quite happy with a blunt horn anvil and have made several pieces of hardy hole tooling to do small work on---more convenient height! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 True Thomas! I've seen some smiths that do most of their drawing out fullering on the horn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy03 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Newly acquired anvil! Any history/info about it would be helpful! Looking at some other post with serial #s close to mine, I guess it to be about 1907 for a date of manufacture. Maybe in Ohio? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Looks like you have a nice Trenton there. How is the ring & rebound? What does it weigh? BTW: Welcome to IFI, I always suggest reading this thread to get the best out of the forum. https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/53873-read-this-first/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy03 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Thanks Irondragon! The weight is 84.5. A beautiful ring to it and rebound is about 80% Not bad for a flea market find in my personal opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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