Anthony Bruno Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Hey everyone, I got lucky and had a friend of the family who is a bit of a hoarder who happened to have an anvil sitting in his backyard sinking into the ground. I offered to buy it off him probably 20 years ago when I wanted to try smithing, he said no he wanted to keep it. So here we are 20 years later, as with most hoarders it’s still sitting in exact same spot it was when I asked him to buy it 20 years ago. I haven’t seen the guy in years but was able to confirm a while back that the anvil was still there, it’s been killing me knowing there is an anvil just sinking into the ground never to be worked on again. I have been meaning to contact the guy but it’s not easy to do. Today I just happen to run into the guy and ask him about it and tell him I’ve gotten into smithing and I offered to buy it after I look at it. He says well if it’s for you just go and grab it you can have it. So I finally got this thing after 20 years. It’s in good shape and looks to me to be maybe cast iron with a tool steel face. Face is in beautiful shape, it’s got good rebound but not much ring which I read is another indicator of cast iron steel face. I can not see any makers marks. I think I can barely make out some letters but I can’t actually make them out. It just looks like there may be some letters. I’ll post some pics and maybe one of you guys can help just by looking st shape or some other giveaway. It’s not the anvil on the bottom if that’s not obvious, it’s sitting on top of my hey budden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 You have a genuine TOP anvil there. The one below is a BOTTOM anvil. Others will be along to add more identification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Could they be Siamese twins? I wonder. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 That top anvil is grinning at me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 The dirty lazy one is oppressing the worker one. What else is new Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 I'll bet she cleans up nicely, right angle grinder with a cup brush to clean up the field grime. Hammer hot iron to put a proper shine on her face. NO grinding disks! That would be naughty, very VERY naughty! What's she weigh? Great score but I'm scratching my head over what kind of money management system a person would have to use to take 20 years to save up to Free? Patience has it's rewards eh? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Bruno Posted July 10, 2018 Author Share Posted July 10, 2018 4 hours ago, Frosty said: I'll bet she cleans up nicely, right angle grinder with a cup brush to clean up the field grime. Hammer hot iron to put a proper shine on her face. NO grinding disks! That would be naughty, very VERY naughty! What's she weigh? Great score but I'm scratching my head over what kind of money management system a person would have to use to take 20 years to save up to Free? Patience has it's rewards eh? Frosty The Lucky. I hear you, no grinder action will be taken. No need really anyhow. I hit the face with a worn out flap discs lastnight just to take some of the rust off, the face is in great shape, far better shape than my hey budden that has a good bit of sway and some putting but has still served me well. I have not weighed it yet I don’t have s scale handy I’d say it’s about the same as my budden which seller told me weighed 135. I’m 40 now and I’ve been interested in smithing since I was much younger but I didn’t actually get into it until just recently, I wonder how much better I’d be if he had sold that anvil to me 20 years ago when I asked, oh well everything in its time and everything has a reason. I was stunned when he said I could have it because this guy is not know for being generous, in fact just the opposite. I guess he’s mellowed a lot in his old age. I’m just glad I was able to save it and put it to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 There comes a time when folks start to realize that they may never get around to doing some of the stuff they were planning to years ago. It may result in less hoarding and more sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Frog Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Possibly a Samson. See if there's any stamping on the cutting table, most often it is obliterated from use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 I bet if you showed up to that guy's house with some stuff you made for him as a thank you that he may just find tongs, hammers and other blacksmithing tools he's got in the hoard of stuff he's accumulated. When I bought my Fisher last month the guy said "Hey, here, take these with you too" and he tossed me a nice pair of tongs. Then he takes me in his all terrain vehicle out in some corner of his property, pushes some brush aside and grabs two old metal sleigh runners and gives those to me - have no idea what kind of metal it is. When I get around to making knives I figure I'm going to make one and give it to him. Looks like a Peter Wright look alike. I'd say it weighs more than you think, at least like around 150# or more. Look at all that mass in the waist compared to your Hay Budden. Great score..........so let's see, you paid $0.00 per pound, can't beat that Make sure we see purty pictures of her all cleaned up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Bruno Posted July 11, 2018 Author Share Posted July 11, 2018 8 hours ago, MC Hammer said: I bet if you showed up to that guy's house with some stuff you made for him as a thank you that he may just find tongs, hammers and other blacksmithing tools he's got in the hoard of stuff he's accumulated. When I bought my Fisher last month the guy said "Hey, here, take these with you too" and he tossed me a nice pair of tongs. Then he takes me in his all terrain vehicle out in some corner of his property, pushes some brush aside and grabs two old metal sleigh runners and gives those to me - have no idea what kind of metal it is. When I get around to making knives I figure I'm going to make one and give it to him. Looks like a Peter Wright look alike. I'd say it weighs more than you think, at least like around 150# or more. Look at all that mass in the waist compared to your Hay Budden. Great score..........so let's see, you paid $0.00 per pound, can't beat that Make sure we see purty pictures of her all cleaned up. I was already thinking of something as a thank you project, and I may have been guilty of having some alterior motivation as well...he has an old garage that it just chock full of older, tools I’d love to get a chance to poke around in there.. and I believe you are correct about the weight being more than my budden, I moved it around lastnight and it definitely feels heavier. I took a cup brush to it. There was a stubborn layer on the face that didn’t seem to be bothered by the brush too much so I switched to a semi worn out flap disc and that cleaned the face up nicely without removing any of face material. The rebound increased quite a bit now that the face is clean. It was already good but now it feels as good if not better than my budden, now has a very lively surface when lightly tapping with 28oz ball pein. I know time and hot steel and forge scale would polish the face but I wanted to better be able to see the condition and figured a flap discs wouldn’t hurt anything so I went for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 I'm thinking of doing the same to the face of the Fisher I just bought as a second anvil. I think a little light polishing will improve the rebound because it will be impacting just the metal without any sort of patina on it. I wire cupped it, but would like to see if rebound improves with a similar process. Yes, no material removal on the face is a good thing. No sense reducing the longevity of a good anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 MC Hammer, just start using it, The face will clean up shortly with use.......then test it. You already know Fisher is a good name, so get working. I love my 260# Fisher. The only thing rebound is telling you is how hard the face is. and the face is hardened to make it last longer without deforming - not that it makes the anvil work any better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Affirmative - will do Biggun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanglediver Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Maybe if you plant it in the garden for a decade or two, it will grow baby anvils.... .... Oh, they tried that? Nevermind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 BGD; I disagree I once had to use a 220 pound cast iron ASO. Working coil spring would dent the face under the work piece. If energy is going into denting the face it is NOT going into deforming the work piece! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Bruno Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 Well I have the anvil mounted in place of my hey budden just to give it a go and see what it feels like working on it. I’ll probably end up with both anvils mounted and useable, not sure why, but why not lol. I have not gotten a chance up until now to work on it. This is the busy time of year on my day job so all hobbies tend to get neglected a bit at this time of year. The word has gone out in my circle of friends and family that I’m interstate in anvils and blacksmithing tools and I just had a near connection on another anvil. I missed out but it is a prime example of how once the word spreads you’ll be surprised how you will encounter someone who knows someone who has one tucked away or sitting in a flower bed or left behind by a deceased family member. My mother was just talking to a coworker about me and my hobby and the coworker said oh that’s funny you say that, if you had told me that 5 days ago he could have had first crack at the one that was in my aunts garage that we had just settled her estate. She told my mom it was a big one and it was the first thing to sell when the held the sale it was her uncles that had passed years before. Even tho it was a missed opportunity it really illustrated the importance of getting the word out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Good Morning Anthony, If they had the Anvil, there will be other things/Tools. I would get over there and don't be afraid to look in the corners. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Remember to a non-blacksmith a big anvil can be anything over 9 pounds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Bruno Posted July 16, 2018 Author Share Posted July 16, 2018 11 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: Remember to a non-blacksmith a big anvil can be anything over 9 pounds... good point about the size. And I thought same thing swedefiddle brought up and I asked but the estate has been cleared out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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