SkyDaddy66 Posted June 15, 2023 Share Posted June 15, 2023 Could you guys possibly help me identify my anvil there's no triangle or other identifying marks except for a one and a six on one side and then on the front is the kind of looks like a equal sign with a line through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyDaddy66 Posted June 15, 2023 Author Share Posted June 15, 2023 I am new to the forum but I bought an anvil recently and all it has is the one and a 16 on one side and there's no other identifying marks except for a equal sign with a line through it on the front can anyone help me to identify and date what year this thing was made possibly? Any and all help is greatly appreciated!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted June 15, 2023 Share Posted June 15, 2023 Photos of all sides and the bottom would give us a place to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 Welcome from the Ozark mountains. Knowing your location will also help. It looks sorta like a colonial anvil. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sails. ~ Semper Paratus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyDaddy66 Posted June 16, 2023 Author Share Posted June 16, 2023 Sorry as you can tell I am completely green and wet behind the ears on this. Hahaha. And I am from High Point North Carolina and the anvil was found by a buddy of mine about 3 mi from my house and the guy said that he actually found it at an old gold mine which is about 5 miles from my house in the woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 With the absence of the pritchel hole, I would say it was made prior to about 1840. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sails. ~ Semper Paratus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyDaddy66 Posted June 16, 2023 Author Share Posted June 16, 2023 Do you know possibly how or where it was made? And I'm trying to find a ball bearing that I can use to test it but all I keep finding are these tiny little bearings and nothing substantial to use And where are my manners, thank you so much for the information you have provided I really appreciate it I'm very grateful that I found this website Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 That looks pretty old that is for sure. No idea myself on anything about it. But if you are looking for a ball bearing try your local transmission shop or heavy line mechanics. It was not uncommon for us to change bearings in stuff that had 1/2" or bigger ball bearings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyDaddy66 Posted June 16, 2023 Author Share Posted June 16, 2023 Is there any way I could put a value on it brother? And I really appreciate the tip man I've got one right in the street from my house I'm going to walk down there in the morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 Older anvil, most likely the numbers are the anvil weight in the "English Hundredweight" system 1-0-16 = 128 lbs. Would be pretty hard to determine a manufacturer, but it certainly has some characteristics of a Mousehole - which are typically thought of a good quality for that time. I expect it is a wrought iron body with a forge welded on top plate of high carbon steel. Typically these plates on older anvils are pretty thin, and the very top surface has been work hardened by a century of hammering. It appears to be in usable condition as is, so I would avoid any surface grinding which will likely remove this hardened layer and lessen the value and usability of the anvil. As for price, that is a tough one. From what I'm seeing the anvil "bubble" has slowed down a bit, but some areas still have crazy prices. If you want to sell quickly, 2 to 3 $/lb should find a buyer pretty quickly. Under ideal conditions you might get 4 to 5 $/lb, but you will likely have to be patient. You say you recently bought it. What did you pay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyDaddy66 Posted June 16, 2023 Author Share Posted June 16, 2023 Actually I didn't buy it I did some bartering and dickering for it and as far as that goes I would say that I paid $47.25!!!!!!! So in the end I don't think I did too bad either way. I always said that once I found an anvil I would build myself a forge and since this is the first annual I've owned I guess it's time for me to start figuring out how to build my first forge to go along with it!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 Welcome aboard, glad to have you. I assume by your question you don't smith yourself or already have all the equipment you need. Not that that makes a difference, I can't help but speculate. Ah HAH, we're typing simultaneously! Cool, stick around we'll help you get set up and working. It doesn't take much but a good hot fire, something to hit with, something to hit on (You've got that covered) and something to hit. Determining a maker will be all but impossible, there were lots of anvil makers, many worked for one long enough to learn the craft of anvil making then opened their own "business" making anvils. Meaning you see similar looking anvils made by other Mousehole, etc. What does it weigh, a bathroom scale will tell you, bear in mind it's not going to weigh today what it did when it was made but it'll help confirm if the numbers on the side were the weight stamp. It looks to be in good working condition, lots of good years left in her, a couple generations easy provided she's not asked to much or otherwise abused. You just posted your last reply so I'll change this a little. Please do NOT try to restore that old lady, she's good as she is. A wire brush on an angle grinder to remove the surface rust is fine if you don't get silly about it. Then a coat of boiled linseed oil (BLO) or my favorite carnuba paste wax applied on a warm anvil. I have a can of "Trewax" I've been using for 30 years. Please do NOT take a grinder to her, any metal you remove is gone forever and represents of useful life. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyDaddy66 Posted June 16, 2023 Author Share Posted June 16, 2023 all I did was a little pickling and wire brush and that's it. And actually I have to get the materials together to build a forge. All I've got is an anvil and a bucket full of really good hammers. It seems like every old building in barn that I ever cleaned out produced One hammerhead for me and so I started making random handles for my hammers and I started what I call my hammer bucket. I've got hammers that have handles made out of everything from good deer antler two table legs! But yeah I have to start gathering my material to make the forge and then I will be sitting pretty. And I saw the pickling technique online and talk to a buddy of mine who does metal work and he said that it would be the best way to clean up that anvil and after I got done pickling it and hit and get with a wire brush it looks like a brand new anvil and I didn't lose any metal from it. With the 1 and the 16 on the front I thought that that was 128 lb One equals a quarter weight which is 26 lb and then you add the six to that and it ends up being about 160 lb I do believe from what I read online but you would know more about that than I do so just let me know and I'm going to see if I can weigh when I get home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 The scale will tell. Does it feel like 160lbs? HECK, zooming for a closer in the only clear number I see is 16 and in that position it'd be the final lbs. The vertical mark on the far left might be a random chisel mark but the 16 isn't regular and may have been made in multiple strokes rather than number punches. Were it mine I'd weigh it can call my curiosity settled. Of course if it were me I'd be thinking up some good stories to tell the spectators if I was using it at a demo. BS doesn't only stand for Black Smith you know. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyDaddy66 Posted June 16, 2023 Author Share Posted June 16, 2023 Well I will be home in about 20 minutes and I'm going to find out exactly how much it weighs! And it actually already has a pretty good backstory so far so I don't even think I will have to redesignate the BS in blacksmith! Hahaha. My buddy lives about 5 miles from me and about 2 mi behind his house in the woods there's an old gold mine next to the river and he found what we believed to be one of those gold separators or either it's a gold smelting device we're not really sure yet. And he also found that anvil out there beside the river near that gold mine. So I think that going from living in the dirt by river to being loved by a new I'll call myself apprentice blacksmith even though I'm not even that far along yet but I digress, being loved by a newish blacksmith enthusiasts is a pretty good story for it! Hell if he hadn't found it it probably would have set out there in the dirt for another God knows how many hundred years possibly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 Not bad, the story needs a little polishing though. Get any pics of the other abandoned stuff? If it was a smelting furnace there's almost certainly sold caught in the nooks and crannies. No matter how hard a person tries spills happen and you NEVER get it all back. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyDaddy66 Posted June 17, 2023 Author Share Posted June 17, 2023 I haven't been down to see the mine myself yet but I am going tomorrow to check it out and to see the smelting furnace that he found. I told him if he ever came across an anvil to bring it over and that's exactly what he did but I told him that I wanted to come and explore down where he lives at and he told me to come on down tomorrow so I'm definitely going to take some pictures of everything! And I actually know a good buddy of mine that has mined professionally up in Alaska and out in Colorado and he's actually on a prospecting trip right now as we speak. And I can tell you this about that Gold fever is real and alive in America today because my buddy Stamper is one Gold fever having SOB!!! But yeah I will definitely post pictures of the furnace and the actual site itself tomorrow at some point bud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 As an old geologist I have encountered some folk that have made a decent living gold mining but it can be VERY hard work and hardly anyone gets rich at it or can make it a long term career. It can be a hobby like blacksmithing where it pays for itself and perhaps puts some extra money in your pocket. Nuggets are worth more for jewelry than their metal weight. Flour or dust gold is often worth less than it's theoretical weight because it can be less than 100% pure. One man mining is usually for alluvial gold which is recovered by panning, sluicing, etc.. Gold ore is too complex to process on that scale unless it is particularly rich where you can crush it and separate the metal mechanically. Stay away from any of the old gold recovery techniques involving mercury. There can sometimes be mercury contamination at old mining or processing sites. Also, some gold recovery processes used cyanide which is not a good thing to be around. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 Great story! Thanks. Hope you put it to use. Every ring from your hammer will fill your heart with the inspiration of the adventures of that smith by the river,,, Bet he made more money working iron than mining for gold. Lol, my family roots are Cripple Creek, Co. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyDaddy66 Posted June 24, 2023 Author Share Posted June 24, 2023 I appreciate all the encouragement y'all! I am getting all the materials together now to build a forge and I can't wait until it is up and running!! Any tips on building the forge would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 Sure. Do NOT wait to get all the materials together before starting. All you need is a container and forced air to make a forge. As has been famous recently all you need is a box of dirt "Just A BOX OF DIRT". You'll be better off working hot steel while you put a nice forge together than you will collecting all the thing you think you need to build the perfect forge. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victorforge Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 I’d say that anvil was made probably between 1800-1830 based on the horn having a table. Probably made in England. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyDaddy66 Posted June 24, 2023 Author Share Posted June 24, 2023 So that thing possibly came over on a boat with some of our ancestors?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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