bluehawk Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Hey guys, I’ve been on here for many years (2008) but never needed to post...now I finally am making my first post. A buddy of mine got a lead on “some anvil in a barn” from a family member of an elderly gentleman who passed away. They told him it was heavy so I went to help him load it. It ended up being a Firminy four foot “pig” anvil. The scale I have only went to 450lbs and it was a little heavier, maybe 460-470lbs (it didn’t go all the way to zero once past 450). After I got home I was going to look it up in AIA but I can not find my book anywhere. I may have loaned it out and never got it back. For anyone with a copy, can you give me any details about the Firminy anvils? I don’t know anything about them. I’ve searched here and Google but could not really find anything. The anvil was in really great condition, I don’t think it ever saw much use. It had great rebound (around 90-95%), edges where near perfect, face had no sag, and both horns were perfect. With just a little clean up it would look spectacular. The last number for the year and weight was a little worn but it looks like the date is 1914 and the weight is 209kg. I left my phone at the house so I don’t have any pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Would like to see that one. Hasn't your mate got a photo he can send you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatLiner Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Nice find, I would love to find one of those. Upload some pics when you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluehawk Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 I’ll be going over to his house next week and I’ll get some pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BartW Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I've played with a couple of firmingy pigs, general round 450 pounds. The hardie hole is "strange"; it usually isn't all the way through; but there is another hardie hole 90 degrees on it; horizontal from the side.This serves to hammer a wedge in to eject the hardie hole from the top. Or the other way around; so you could have an anvil with a horizontal hardy hole. Not all have this "feature" though, I've found some with the hardie hole on the other side, all the way through. Those with a 2-part hardie system should come with the wegde chisel... it's specific to each anvil. They are IMHO uglier than a square plain block. They aren't called "pigs" for nothing That being said, I've tested 6, they all had a straight face; 4 had a thick faceplate - 30 mm or more. 2 were one piece cast steel (these are also newer). my hardness files said between 50 and 60 HRC. They are good anvils; and the sloping arc gives you plenty of options for hammering. For some reason they also makes less noise than a standard german or london pattern anvil. So; if you can get them - go for it. They are good anvils. Good steel too; made by Bonpertus in the days; with good pure carbon steel for the face; and these guys kept the best steel for these anvils. They were expensive; even in france, even back in the day. mvg; bart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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