Family Heirloom Anvil

[Rhode]

Hey all,

I recently decided that I wanted to learn blacksmithing and started looking for classes in my area. After mentioning this to my mother, she reminded me of a family heirloom that's sitting in her garage. The only thing we know for sure is that it was her grandfather's anvil that was on his farm. I remember sitting on it when I was kid in my grandfather's shop. She took some pictures of it (not very good ones) and I thought I'd post it to see what you all can make of it. I'm going to have it shipped over so I can clean it up and put it to use. She lives on the other side of the country.

I couldn't make out what the markings were and thought I'd better show some people that actually know anvils!

Any ideas? Thanks!

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Welcome to IFI, I suggest reading this to get the best out of the forum. READ THIS FIRST

Where in the world you are located may have something to with identifying your anvil, hence the suggestion to edit your profile to show location. Other good tips about reducing the size of pictures so folks from the 150 different countries who are on dial up or pay for bandwith won't be upset.

Your anvil looks to be in very good shape and only needs a wire brushing to clean it up and hot steel hammered on it to shine the face. I hope you have read about not doing any grinding, milling or welding on the hardened face. Wire brushing with an angle grinder may bring out better markings. I'm sure those who have more experience with anvils will chime in but as it stands we can only guess.

[Rhode]

Thanks, Irondragon! I did read that wire brushing and some oil is all you should really do to an anvil. Glad to know you think it's in good shape! I've been really excited about it ever since my mother reminded me of it. Next step is getting it across the country.

[Rhode]

Once I saw the word "SMITH" something, there was no going back. Now that's all I see. I looked up names of anvil makers of old and didn't see anything with smith. 

[Chelonian]

My tentative guess is that it's a Peter Wright. I think I see flats on the feet, the general proportions seem right, and the font of the stamped text looks just like the text on Peter Wright anvils.

I'm definitely not certain though, since it sure doesn't look the text says anything that is on a Peter Wright.

EDIT: Disregard. Thomas Powers identified it.

[ThomasPowers]

I don't know where you looked it up because on page 75 of Anvils in America (*the* resource for anvil info in the USA) there are two smith brands listed One is Smiths and the other is Smith & O'Leary and mentions that Smith & O'Leary used to rebuild anvils made by other manufacturers and restamp them.

[Rhode]

Chelonian - That's pretty interesting. I would have never considered that because I was hard stuck on Smith. After looking at some images though, I completely see what you mean.

ThomasPowers - I just did a basic Google searching for old anvil makers. The list that I found didn't have anything with Smith on it. I guess it wasn't a very good list!

Just a little more info - My great grandfather was born in 1895 and this was on his farm in Tennessee. I'm not sure if that helps at all. Thanks!

[ThomasPowers]

Is it weight stamped in CWT or Pounds?

And Chelonian; if it's Smith & O'Leary then we BOTH could have named it A S&O'L remake of a PW.

And a computer search is not a search it is only a partial search!  For example if you put the address of my casita in google maps you can't even see it from where google puts you!

[Rhode]

Unfortunately, those are the only pictures my mother took of the anvil. I'm going to see if my brother could head over there and snap some better pictures and maybe shine a little more light on what kind of anvil it could be.

[Rhode]

Well, my brother just told me that it says Switzerland on it.

[MC Hammer]

You have a very nice anvil there.  Smith and O'Leary were out of Chicago and like TP said they rebuilt anvils made by others.  

[Rhode]

Here are some more pictures my mother took along with the measurements. She tried to wipe a rag over the letters but it didn't do much.

Total length - 24 inches

Total height - 10.5 inches

Base - 10 inches

Face - 4 inches wide

 

[Chelonian]

Weight code stamp looks like {1 , 1 , 0} to me. (though the 0 could easily be a 6 or an 8) If it is a 0, the anvil would be 140lbs.

[Rhode]

Thanks Chelonian! Is that a good working weight for a beginner?

[Lou L]

That’s a good weight for anyone’s daily shop anvil.  Some people prefer larger for their own purposes, but yours will likely do everything you ever need.  Just don’t use massive hammers on it and don’t forge heavy work in the hardy hole.  Congrats, BTW, it will feel quite special the first time you use it and every time thereafter to be honest.  It’s an amazing connection to your great grandfather and will mean more than any other tool you use in your shop.

[Rhode]

Thanks, Lou. I find it pretty interesting how excited I find myself getting over having that old rusty piece of metal. I definitely won't use a massive hammer. After reading a bit, I noticed that the 1:40 ratio is what's suggested. So that means nothing heavier than a 3.5lb hammer. I'm not sure if that's correct though. Either way, I can't wait to actually use it and have that connection to my family and to the past. 

[Lou L]

I’ll tell you what.....it seems that you aren’t afraid to do your homework!  The curmudgeons around here probably already appreciate you.  Your skills will grow exponentially because of it as well.

[Frosty]

Sure will, 140 lbs. is a fine weight and it's in excellent condition that fine old lady has generations of good work in her. Try not to miss on the edges, that's where she's vulnerable to chipping as you can see. As suggested already, don't use a sledge hammer on her nor do heavy work in the hardy hole. Save that for later when you have good hammer control and an understanding of how to get what you want from hot steel. Yes?

My daily user is 125 lbs. and I have a 206 lb. anvil less than a pace away and just as close to the forge.

That is one SWEET anvil AND a family heirloom. Can't beat that. No wait, DO beat it! What WAS I thinking? 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Chelonian]

140lbs is a great weight for general forging.

If you're itching to get started forging, you could always go look around at a scrapyard to see if there is a large chunk of steel to use as an anvil until you get this one. It will let you practice your hammer control, and even after you get the real anvil, you will always find uses for a big block of steel that you don't have to be too careful with. Just an idea.