Pair of Anvil ID's

[CyDuck]

So I picked up a couple anvils at an auction the other day, trying to learn a bit more about them before I decide what I'm doing with them. One is marked 1-1-14 (154#) William Foster(?) with a crown stamp on it, I don't think I've ever heard of that kind before. The other's only mark I can make out is the 140 S on the side, it's going to need some cleaning on the opposite side to see if anything legible remains, I don't know if anyone'd be familiar with the shape of it.

The face on the 140 seems to have kinda mushroomed like a punch would after use, I don't think I've seen that

before either.

 

[ThomasPowers]

William Foster was a fairly well known old english anvil maker; look at the date stamp: 184?  I have an 1828 one in very poor shape. WF used low grade wrought iron which paradoxically means they didn't sag as much as the high grade WI ones did.

The other one is a cast anvil and needs to be tested to see what quality, (ring and ball bearing bounce test.)

[CyDuck]

The William Foster date stamp is either 1840 I believe. The other rings well enough, I haven't tried it with the ball bearing test yet. Ideal is 7-10 inch return on a 10 inch drop, right? If it's all cast will the face just continue to mushroom out like that?

[ThomasPowers]

Well if you get a true 10" return from a true 10" drop you have just won the Nobel prize. More return is better and I draw the lower limit at 70%, I prefer working on 80%+ anvils.  I have worked on a cast iron ASO that dented UNDER orange steel!  (Not a hammer overstrike; the shape of the workpiece imprinted into the face of the ASO!)

As for the other question Yes, No, Maybe depending on specifics.  Doing what was done that made it mushroom the first time: Yes. Working real wrought iron at yellow to white heat with a small hammer: No.  Cases in between: Maybe.