TWISTEDWILLOW Posted September 14, 2021 Share Posted September 14, 2021 Ive recently heard a couple stories about anvils being stolen, First was from a relative of mine, my great uncle, he had an anvil in his backyard mounted on a oak stump an one day someone stopped by who had seen it back there, and asked if he could buy it, He said no he didn’t want to sell it and the guy left, next morning He looked out in the backyard and the gates were open and the anvil was missing! the next story came from a customer of mine who mows for an elderly couple over on the Arkansas Oklahoma border, kinda the same story there was an anvil in a fenced an gated yard, this one had been welded onto a heavy steel stand, an someone came in and literally brought a cutting torch to remove the anvil from the stand! one other instance that recently happened to me personally, I had met up with a guy selling his property and he told me he needed to clear out his barns and buildings, there was supposed to be an anvil there that I was going to look at, well we met up and I followed him to the property and when we went in the barn that had the anvil it wasn’t there! He looked all over but it was gone, these stories happened a few hours away from each other so I doubt they were stolen by the same thieves, but I thought I’d share for any of y’all that have outside smithys were people can see your tools! beware anvil nappers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 14, 2021 Share Posted September 14, 2021 I had my first anvil stolen back around 1982 in Oklahoma City. It was in the backyard and we were having roof work being done; a 7 layer tear off as I recall with the lowest layer being wooden shingles. So the yard was about knee deep in shingles and nails. 198# Cast Steel anvil in beautiful condition. I suspected the day labor crew doing the roof; but no way to prove it. With the price of anvils more than doubling; I expect more anvils will be stolen. Just remember here in the USA it is illegal to possibly fatally boobytrap an anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeJustice Posted September 14, 2021 Share Posted September 14, 2021 Non fatal works for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 14, 2021 Share Posted September 14, 2021 Electric Fence charger that connects when the anvil is lifted? Bag of paint in the rafters? Loud Siren? Rabid weasels? Snakes? Or even, shudder, *Curmudgeons*! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted September 14, 2021 Author Share Posted September 14, 2021 Well I guess you could always slick it up with oil or grease under the horn an heel, that way if some try’s to carry it off there’s a high risk of a broken foot! I like the electric fence charger idea! Crumudgeons would work exceptionally well protecting anvils but I gotta wonder how much they cost to feed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 14, 2021 Share Posted September 14, 2021 You can pay them in anvils! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted September 14, 2021 Author Share Posted September 14, 2021 Lol, that kinda defeats the purpose of getting a Crumudgeon for anvil retention.. would have to find another way of keeping one in the smithy to guard the anvils. Besides you still have to feed them! on a more serious note, you said that you think there will be more thefts now that the prices have went up, an that got me thinking of maybe stamping a serial number on the bottom? Or maybe put a makers mark on the bottom? And then keeping pictures of the mark in your records, That way if an anvil or any other tool without a serial number ends up in a flea market or pawn shop it can be positively identified? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 14, 2021 Share Posted September 14, 2021 Placing a unique mark on them that you can document, (Like a photo of the anvil with the mark in the description). Should be not glaringly visible. On the base in the indentation if you have a brand with one; and then another hidden somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted September 14, 2021 Author Share Posted September 14, 2021 That’s what I was thinking, it’s sad that we are even having this conversation… The first two anvils were stolen from elderly people on limited incomes, they may not have had a use for them but they could have used the money for them… and the one that was cut off it’s mounting is just flat ridiculous… they probably stole the torch they used! If someone put that much effort into doing something legally productive they could make more money than what the stolen anvil would bring… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 14, 2021 Share Posted September 14, 2021 How about lojacking your anvil and other equipment? I like dye bombs, many years ago when I was learning to be a sort of responsible adult, I lived in a quanset hut. A pretty nice one, it: didn't leak, well insulated, and wired for power. A good wood stove later coal heater and it was good low budget living. I started getting things stolen while I was out on a field job and my dog loved everybody so he was no help. I figured it was someone I knew so Bolo probably showed them where the good stuff was. A neighbor made sure he was fed and watered and played with him so he wasn't terribly unhappy. He was the last dog I owned till I changed jobs. Anyway, it didn't matter how I locked the place up, they cut the locks, hasps, tore one off with a chain and hook and the cops wouldn't even come look. So I rigged an air horn under the eves above the door but my place was about 800' from the nearest neighbor through the woods so a horn wasn't going to be enough. Soo I made up a little packet filled with 3 bottles of yellow food coloring that fit in the air horn . . . trumpet. I just deleted the part about how I did it, the voices took over for a while there. That's about as much of a booby trap as I'll consider setting up. Fantasize about giant boulders rolling over thieves or Tessla coil discharges, etc. sure but I don't want to hurt anybody, even the bad guys. Of course I haven't caught someone in the act though. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 14, 2021 Share Posted September 14, 2021 Did it work? Were you able to find the yellow bellied thief? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted September 14, 2021 Author Share Posted September 14, 2021 Frosty, you surprise me I figured you would have bear traps in your smithy! I very rarely have any trouble here because I live right next door to we’re I work and I have a pack of mongrels that could wake the dead with their barking…. Which actually gets really old during my busy season because they bark at all the customers that come an go from the shop so it’s all day long… Anyways the only trouble I’ve had here, was three times in eight years, and I’m sure all three of them were on drugs each time ended with the individuals deciding this is probably not the healthiest place to be an they promptly go back in their vehicles an left… I won’t go into what all helped the individuals come to that intelligent decision… but the point is between the mongrels and me, I just don’t have much trouble around here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted September 14, 2021 Share Posted September 14, 2021 Some kind of coloring die would be great. For those that have the anvil as decoration, coating it regularly with antiseize would sure mark the culprit. That stuff spreads everywhere when touched lol. And it would make it a bit slippy to try to carry. Unfortunately we also live in a sue happy world where even criminals can sue property owners when they get injured robbing them. I think marking anvils and documenting it is the best idea. Would help in the police report and proving ownership if located. That and keeping them out of sight if possible in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 14, 2021 Share Posted September 14, 2021 Yes Thomas it did. The neighborhood bad boys got faces full of won't wash off yellow. Put word out and another neighbor had seen one of them so they were IDed. Police were called, my front door and alarm examined and declared to NOT be a booby trap and the perps rounded up. The police investigator got a search warrant and discovered stolen property stashed around both household's property. I didn't get my stuff back though it and other stuff was held as evidence and I never heard if it was released or what. No alarm system is better than the people backing it up. Look how much video there is of criminal activity and how seldom it seems to get an arrest let alone conviction. I didn't live there much longer, I was out of town most of the time so I got a place in town. Running water, thermostats and a landlord to take care of problems was worth having neighbors I could contact by bumping the wall. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted September 15, 2021 Author Share Posted September 15, 2021 There’s a company I found called burglar bombs that sells some inventive products that could give someone a bad day if they broke in the shop, one of their products floods 4000 square foot with oc spray! I might have to get me one of those for my shop! When I was in the navy I had to go through training using oc spray and tear gas and I can say for sure that you won’t be looking around or carrying anything off after you have been covered in that stuff, When I got sprayed I think it was something like 17% oc pepper spray and that stuff burned, but it didn’t burn near as much as when they washed it off! To my understanding some of that stuff is deigned to be water activated so when you try to wash it off it really kicks In! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 Alpine used to make smoke generators for alarms, the problem with setting off a Pepper sparky bomb is the Oliumcapstain gets on everything and being an oil... As to frosty and the bear traps, I think it more likely he just feeds the bears ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 That reminds me. At an auction years ago in a lot of stuff I got a pepper spray bomb door trap. You would screw it to the door or wall and the trigger to the opposite. This was a boxed packaged/sold item at some point. I still have it tucked away somewhere. The reason Charles mentions is why I wouldn't use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 I'll not post any here but in the past I've made some pretty inventive anti theft devices. Ranging from something that would alert the whole neighborhood, just ruin your night, or all the way up to this is your last night on earth. Usually a klaxon and a strobe light is enough to deter any but the most determined thieves. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 Not anvils, but other distinctive metal objects: some years back, someone backed a truck up to the wooden bell frame outside our church (the frame had a set of bronze bells from Russia), sliced the frame top-to-bottom with a chainsaw, loaded the bells in the truck, and drove them to a scrapyard. Fortunately, the yard owner saw a news item about the theft, called the police, and gave them the thief's name and address from the ID he provided at the yard. All well, especially since it was discovered that the old frame was riddled with carpenter bees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted September 15, 2021 Author Share Posted September 15, 2021 Charles, The system I was looking at says it dissipates In 4 hours and leave no residue, but even if it did, personally I’d rather have to clean up a spicy mess then loose tens of thousands of dollars worth of tools that may or may not be retrieved by law enforcement, but that’s just me, i have also thought about rigging up a switch on my shop doors for an old 12v siren and some 12v spot lights that I have laying around, I also have a old steam whistle that could blow your ear drums out but it would take a little more engineering and plumbing to rig it up as a burglar alarm and you have to have some serious air volume to run that dude for more than few seconds but it would definitely wake up half the county if it went off in the middle of the night lol JHCC, I’m glad they were able to retrieve your church’s bell, that sounds like a typical crackhead move, steal something worth a small fortune to sell it for scrap price… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 The only theft deterrent we had was Doolittle our LGD Great Pyrenees Komondor cross, who watched over the place and wouldn't let anyone out of the vehicle until we told him OK. Late one night a guy who I really thought was up to no good, was being chased around his truck, screaming he's trying to kill me. He claimed to be lost and wanted directions. After he passed over the Rainbow Bridge, some miscreant did steal our $800 dollar 12 foot chainsaw limb trimmer, that we had under the Jeep port. Now we have motion detector lights and game cameras set up and everything under lock & key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted September 15, 2021 Author Share Posted September 15, 2021 He looks like he was a beautiful dog Irondragon, judging by the size of his paws compared to the boards I’d bet he was huge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 He could stand flat footed and put his head inside an open car door window, which he loved doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 I've always liked the signs "Please Trespass; it cuts down on the food bills for the dogs!" When I got a job about 3 hours from our house; we rented a casita for me to live in while my wife stayed in our house. We split the pets too; I got the cats who did well indoors and could coast over the weekends and my wife kept our Darling Demon Doggie; (a Scottie with black fur, black eyes, black mouth, white teeth!) My wife's retired and could let it out several times during the day and I thought the presence of a dog was a good thing! I did put up a fence down at the casita so the dog could come visit when my wife did as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 I would leave out "for the dogs" on the sign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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