paintedshrubbery Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 I acquired this anvil several years ago, and am just now getting around to doing something with it. The guy I got it from said it was a colonial anvil. It's kinda ugly, but was the best and heaviest I could find/afford at the time. It weighs about 140#. I think the rebound is pretty good. I let a 3# hammer swing down from 10 inches and it bounced back up to around 7 inches, and it rings when it gets hit. So,whatcha think? Keep it or just keep it for now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 I would keep it and put it back to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 It does look like a colonial anvil and a pretty heavy one too. I'd use it; but how are we supposed to guess at your plans and needs? If you plan to do a lot of heavy smithing or a lot of ornamental work I would see if there were any historical sites that might be willing to trade an "out of period" anvil for one that is true to their times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus_Aurelius Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 Looks very similar to a colonial I found a while back, but in much better condition. It looks to be in functioning order, I would go for it and use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintedshrubbery Posted October 24, 2019 Author Share Posted October 24, 2019 IronDragon - I think that's what I'll do for now. Thomas - It's about 140#, but I don't know where that falls in the weight range for anvils of this period. Just from lurking, heavy smithing seems to be pretty subjective. As far as trading it out, the guy I got it from said he would take it back at any time and refund how much I paid to go against buying a different anvil from him. I'd just have to pay the difference. So that might be in my future at some point. I'll look into your suggestion too and see which path yields better results. Marcus - Sounds like a plan. From a beginner's standpoint, it serves admirably, but from the little I've done trying to make some tongs, I can already tell that I would like some edges that were a lot less rounded, and a horn that was more rounded. Also, I don't know if it's hammer control I'm lacking or an effect from the sway, but it seems kinda hard to get a solid hit on it, like it's hard to get the metal laying on the anvil face in such a way that it is fully supported and doesn't bounce around when I hit it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanglediver Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 That's a real nice colonial pattern. The feet are similar to Mousehole feet, all pointy and triangular. I'ld say it's a keeper, oil it up and use it till it shines back at you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horse Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 It looks to me that there are plenty of “spots” on that anvil that will serve most any purpose. Find em and use em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 Looks far beyond usable. Ship it to me and I'll save you the heartache of disposing of it Just kidding I like colonial anvils and you have one in good shape. As you said though there's not a sharp corner to be found but you could get around that by welding a plate to a shank for the hardy hole when you need a sharp corner pop it in the hardy hole. It won't work for everything but it'd work for tongs. Have fun with it and take care of it, someone fed their family with it. Probably more than one person fed their family with it in it's lifetime. Pnut is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 If you need a crisper edge: get a block of steel and weld a hardy stem on it---you can even grind each of the 4 edges to a different radius! If you need a "rounder horn": MAKE ONE! See the stake anvil on the left made from a RR spike driving sledge head? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintedshrubbery Posted October 28, 2019 Author Share Posted October 28, 2019 Thank you everyone for the encouragement and suggestions. Sometimes I get too caught up in having things just right that I forget about good ol' fashioned ingenuity. I think I'll dedicate some time this week for making some hardy tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 I spent a bit of time Saturday turning a top tool with a badly damaged striking area into a bottom tool that fits the hardy of my large Trenton, 1 3/8" sq. Heat the affected region, a couple of bumps with my screw press so it drops into the hardy hole and then I redid the heat treat drawing to a blue. (Heat treat took the greater amount of time...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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