LTC Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 I have been half heartedly looking for an anvil for a few months. Yesterday I noticed one locally in my price range. It was listed as 120 pounds and unknown manufacturer. I went and looked at the anvil, struck a deal and brought it home. My scale says 121 pounds. After wire wheeling the accumulated rust off it I notice some very vague printing and a figure that appears to be 2 crossed elongated crossed slot shaped images. Think paper clip image, crossed. The only stamping I can make out is below and to the right of the referenced image. What I see is VIL assuming it is the last three letters of ANVIL. Anyone have any idea what I have purchased? It appears to be steel as it throws sparks from the wire wheel cup. It has a nice ring to it and will bonce a 1" ball bearing almost to the height it was dropped from. By way of introduction, I in Warren County in Northwest NJ. LTC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 Pics would be nice, but from the sound of the crossed "hotdogs" as its been called lol, sounds like a Wilkinson anvil. Not many anvils if any I know of stamped anvil. May be part of Wil as in wilkinson? Sounds like a good find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 I agree with Das sounds like a Wilkinson Queens Dudley, but clear pictures will help in confirming that. We won't remember your location once leaving this post, hence the suggestion to add into your profile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTC Posted October 28, 2021 Author Share Posted October 28, 2021 Photo of the anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Griffin Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 Come on dude. We like pictures. Get some good ones. Front, back, sides and top. That one's not very good. Nice looking anvil though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTC Posted October 28, 2021 Author Share Posted October 28, 2021 i found my camera this morning and am posting several views of the anvil. LTC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Griffin Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 That is a very nice anvil. Been well taken care of. A little sway in the sweet spot but that is an advantage. Edges look to be radiused. Congrats on a great find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rojo Pedro Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 Wilkinson. Very nice english anvil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 Wilkinson, Queens Cross, Dudley---hence the crossed "hot dogs". Good old maker of English anvils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTC Posted October 28, 2021 Author Share Posted October 28, 2021 Thank you all for your responses to my inquiry as to my new anvil purchase. I will never make blacksmith, but someone who enjoys the challenge of learning something new. My first anvil is a section of RR rail turned into my idea of an anvil by myself. My forge is made from a disc brake rotor, built a week or so ago by myself. I plan on making improvements to the forge shortly. Hammers were existing in my collection of tools. I discovered the tongs in the bottom of one of my tool boxes. Probably handed down from my Grandfather 50 - 60 years ago. Please disregard the random piles in the garage. I'm looking forward to new challenges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 Excellent starting kit. Keep us posted on your progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 Rotor is good for a forge. Not sure the reason for two T's on the down pipe. You just need one for the air inlet. Improvements would be to make a metal table with fencing on the edges to keep extra fuel on with openings for stock to lay flat in the fire. Also making a weighted flap cap for the ash dump will improve it. I dealt with the screw cap on mine for a while. A flap cap is way easier to deal with. Looks like a good start on the kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTC Posted October 28, 2021 Author Share Posted October 28, 2021 Looking in a copy of Anvils in America under Wilkinson I see the actual trade mark illustrated. As I remember the "HOT DOIGS" were above WILKINSON. WILKINSON and SOLID ANVIL were on a curve up & down respectively. LTC X WILKINSON PATENDED SOLID ANVIL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 These were manually stamped and mistakes and variations are known. I've seen at least one anvil where the logo was stamped upside down. (As well as one where the weight stamp in CWT had a middle number above 3!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTC Posted October 29, 2021 Author Share Posted October 29, 2021 Daswulf, The second T is used to act as a damper to bleed off excess air flow. I am using a shop vac to supply forced air to the forge. I plan on installing a fence on the perimeter of the rotor to increase the capacity. The fence will have penetrations' to allow for the heating of longer stock. I am trying to keep the forge as small as possible at this point. I was also thinking about a solution for replacing the ash dump cap. Everything about the forge is Rev. A. Thank you for your input. LTC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 A blow drier is typically more air than a forge can reasonably use. A clamp on exhaust flap cap makes a nice ash dump. The counter weight keeps it closed and you can reach under with tongs, fire tool, piece of whatever, lift the weight and dump the ash into the bucket under it. If flammable gasses build up and ignite when you give it the blast again the flap cap will prevent the pop from blowing burning coals out of the forge, the pop will open the flap and dump it in the bucket. A flap ash dump is easy to make, I made my first one but DANG an exhaust cap works a treat, is as easy to install as tightening a U clamp and is pretty cheap. My tuyere is all welded semi exhaust pipe, 3" for the vertical and 2" for the horizontal sections. I used a 2" hole saw to make the port for the horizontal and a 3" hole saw to cut the 2" pipe to match the vertical section. I run an oxy propane torch so I mig welded it up from the inside. I would've gas welded it but I haven't run oxy acet in 50 years. Oh well. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTC Posted October 29, 2021 Author Share Posted October 29, 2021 I ordered an exhaust pipe rain cap and should have it tomorrow. a better solution for an ash dump than my Rev. A design. LTC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTC Posted November 3, 2021 Author Share Posted November 3, 2021 I added another piece to the tool kit. i came across a 6.88" jaw, leg vise. It will need some restoration work but is all there and will be fully functional when I'm done with it. LTC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 Very nice. Looks like all the pieces are there, so a bit of wire brushing and some BLO to prevent further rusting, and you should be good to go. The jackhammer bit on the right will come in handy as well. That raised collar is a good head start for making bottom tools to fit in your hardy hole; I've got a number of them that started out that way. Here are four tools that came from one bit: a round punch (shown unhandled), a rounding hammer, a hot-cut, and a doghead hammer: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTC Posted November 9, 2021 Author Share Posted November 9, 2021 (edited) The vise is cleaned up, painted, yes I decided to paint it vs. BLO. Temporally attached to one of my rounds. A question though. Should the jaw faces go square and flat to each other when fully closed or be on a bit of an angle? These jaws are tight at the top, in the center of the jaw, with the remaining top of the jaws being about .040" - .050" open? Anyone wish to venture a guess as to the age of the vise? Yes the spring clamp is too low for the spring. I will make another u type clamp to fit at the top of the spring or fit it to a higher perch for the base. LTC Edited November 9, 2021 by LTC altered message Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 9, 2021 Share Posted November 9, 2021 Leg vise jaws swing in an arc, unlike bench vise jaws which run in a track. The top of the face of the hook jaw (mover) will tilt back as it opens. Having the tops touch sooner without anything in it means they'll be parallel holding something. The right thickness. It's also pretty normal for the jaws not to match left to right either, clamping something hard on one side can twist the jaw so the other side closes more. Guys who work their vises hard will often make spacers so forces are even on both sides. If you squeeze the dickens out of a 1" bar repeatedly the jaws will wrack that way. If on the other hand you put a 1" spacer on the other side it'll stay square. Make sense? Your vise won't care if you find it a taller block, you'd have to hit it harder than most humans could to move it IF that block is solid on the ground. There should be two wedges and a slip in the U clamp which will give you a very wide range of adjustment up or down the heel (fixed) jaw. She'll work just fine the way you've mounted her, the spring only has to open the jaw, it hardly has to push at all, you can make one from mild steel without a problem. She's a beauty, I have no idea of make nor age. Paint's good, I LIKE paint. What color are you thinking of? Mine is Hunter Green and gold. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 9, 2021 Share Posted November 9, 2021 Definitely under 200 years, probably under 150 years, maybe under 100 years. Older postvises had a tenon mounting system and the pivot "bolt" will be wedged rather than have a nut. (They also tend to be lighter for the most part.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 On 11/8/2021 at 8:15 PM, LTC said: I will make another u type clamp to fit at the top of the spring or fit it to a higher perch for the base. I would just shim the mounting bracket with a piece or 2 of 2X6 lag bolted to the stump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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