TWISTEDWILLOW Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 I recently traded a Desmond simplex bench vise for yet another beater anvil, it’s a long story but I don’t have it here yet, I’ll get more pictures posted after it’s here , I traded for it sight unseen, I had a friend look at it and do a ring an rebound test for me, and do the trade for me an pick it up and he’s got it at his shop now I listened over the phone and the ring sounds nice, he didn’t have a ball bearing with him at the time but he said it bounced a hammer pretty well, the hardy hole will apparently need some work because someone jammed or welded a pipe in there for some reason, I don’t have a weight yet but in the picture it’s setting on his 150# anvil, so I’m guessing it’s a comparable weight? No clue who made it but it’s wrought so who knows it’s probably a English import, it’s got some sway and a good size chip but I think it’s gonna work out okay, it’s my first two horn anvil so when I get it here I’ll spend some time working with it to get a feel for that style, it’s not pretty but I don’t really care, every anvil I’ve dragged home was a little on the ruff side and they all seem to work perfectly to me, I probably wouldn’t know what to do if I ever brought home a anvil that didn’t have some issues lol, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 Looks heavier than 150 lbs to me and the chip is easy to work around, plenty of good edges left Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted December 29, 2021 Author Share Posted December 29, 2021 It does kinda look a little heavier than the 150# it’s setting on, but I won’t know till I get it here and weigh it, my buddy said he ain’t gonna move it no more lol, I agree I should be able to work around that chip, all my anvils have chips so I’ve got pretty used to maneuvering around them lol, and I sometimes actually use those chipped out spots when I’m trying to move a piece of metal a certain way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 Oooh, Nice score! I'm thinking it looks to be more than 200lbs. compared to the one it's sitting on. I'll have to stop by if we get in your neighborhood, maybe some of your anvil acquisition luck will rub off! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 Looks like an English Double Pike anvil to me; they were made by a bunch of the English anvil makers. I'd offer a kidney for it but mine aren't nearly up to that level of trade! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted December 29, 2021 Author Share Posted December 29, 2021 Thanks Jerry and Thomas! yall are welcome to come by anytime! And we will go tool hunting! lol I don’t know if I’m really lucky are not, but I do have a little knack for sniffing out rusty old stuff that people don’t want anymore lol I haven’t heard the term double pike used before, I’ll have to look that up Thomas I don’t have a use for slightly used kidneys at the moment but I’ll bet there’s something in your hoard that we could swap on lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 Just curious, what’s the advantages of these two horn anvils over a London pattern? Or is it more of a personal preference type thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Are you familiar with coachmaker's anvils with the side projection for making clips? That one works for a larger range of sizes. It's a preference sort of thing, note the many European double horned anvils with one round and one sq in cross section. Its definitely seen a lot of heavy work over the sweet spot; what's the bounce test result? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 I’ve just seen pictures of the anvils with the clips stick off the side but I’ve never seen one in person or got to work with one, it’s gonna be a bit before I can get over to Fort Gibson to pick it up, and test it myself, but my buddy rang it over the phone for me and it sounded good and he said it bounces a hammer pretty good, It’s got some wear for sure and I’m a little concerned about the hardy hole but I think it’s still got some life left in it, I don’t think it’s gonna be another dead anvil like my William foster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted January 1, 2022 Author Share Posted January 1, 2022 Okay yall, I got a chance to go pick it up today, I couldn’t find a single marker on it so it remains a mystery anvil, but I agree with Thomas it’s prolly a English import, it has a ring from tip of the round horn to tip of the square horn, ball bearing test is average of 60 percent some spots lower some higher, so not great but usable in my opinion, theres most definitely a old pipe broke off in the hardy hole so that’s gonna be fun gettin out… it weighed in at 180 pounds on the bathroom scale, it’s definitely ruff around the edges but I feel it was worth the bench vise I swapped for it, last two pictures are from the top am bottom of the hardy hole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted January 1, 2022 Author Share Posted January 1, 2022 It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was gonna be, 30 minutes with some chisels chipping pieces off and finally the whole pipe broke free and came out, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Hmm that chip to me looks it it was where two pieces of the face plate were welded. If you decide you don't like it; Quad-State is coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted January 2, 2022 Author Share Posted January 2, 2022 Thomas, this is a rare, ancient, antique didn’t ya know!?! I couldn’t bare to part with it at quad state! well that an the the gas money getting there and back would be a lot more then I got in the anvil or what it’s worth lol, I’ll play with it awhile and if I don’t like it I’ll pass it along to someone who doesn’t mind working on a beater anvil like me, On another note, this anvil has been painted and doesn’t seem to have been used in awhile, that combined with the pipe lodged and rusted solid in the hardy hole makes me think someone was using it as a decoration for the last few decades, maybe as a base to hold a small flag pole? l dunno just a guess, but we’re gonna wake it up from its nap and put it back in use! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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