Paul_Lake_Echo Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 Eight years ago, I bought a Hay-Budden anvil on a local swap shop for "junk weight." The seller was not a blacksmith and only wanted $1 a pound. I grabbed it for $325 CDN. After realizing what brand it was, I read A1?55 as the serial number. I think that dates it to 1918. I weighed it with bathroom scales, and it was 316 pounds. Someone who seems to know their stuff redid the top years ago and didn't put a pritchel hole back in. I lightly cleaned the top with a wood sander using 160 and then 220 grit emery paper to get rid of the surface rust. This thing is a beauty and has served me well. It's stamped 230, and a master blacksmith told me this was the weight in the British hundredweight system. If my math is correct, that's 308 pounds. I think this makes sense with the 316 pounds on the bathroom scales and accounts for the resurfacing work. However, I would have thought a US company out of Brooklyn would use pounds, not the British system. All this preamble to as if anyone knows what Hay-Budden used for the weight stamp. - Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 Welcome from the Ozark Mountains. Sure is a nice looking Hay Budden. As far as I know they were always marked in U.S. pounds, although someone who is more familiar with them may correct me. The discrepancy in weight, probably due to the repairs done. Either way if the ring and rebound are good you have a very good shop anvil. The Hay Budden (my wife's anvil) in our shop is 108 pounds and it's a work horse. Is there evidence of the pritchel hole on the underside? Our Hay Budden seems to have a thinner heel where the hole is so the whole heel may have been replaced. I saw one (can't remember the make) where the repair consisted of a new face & heel were replaced with a solid piece of steel. Looks like your coal forge is a good one. did you build it? I like our coal forge over the propane but Debi likes her propane forge we built, with the help of folks on here (IFI). I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s. Semper Paratus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julianb Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 Hello, it seems as if the whole heel has been broken off and replaced. Weight stamps do not necessarily state the exact weight. Most of the German manufacturers tended to stamp in the weight a little lower than it actually was. They also contracted for +- 10% of weight for the ordered anvil, as during the manufacturing process the final weight couldn't be anticipated precisely. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 Looking at the first picture that is what I thought, also the step at the horn seems to be thicker than ours. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s. Semper Paratus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_Lake_Echo Posted June 10 Author Share Posted June 10 Yes, a lot of rebuilding occurred, including replacing the whole heel. The 230 weight stamp is undoubtedly inaccurate because I'd estimate 15-20% of the anvil has been restored. Someone welded a small horseshoe underneath and back of the hardy hole. It rings nicely. After the restoration, the hardy hole looks to have been cut with a torch. Whoever rebuilt it knew their stuff, and they likely had a Hay-Budden in hard shape to work with. Either way, it's a great anvil. I made a jig to go in the hardy hole that contains a pritchel hole, so it's fully functional. Even with all the rebuilding, I appreciate the legacy and often wonder what stories this anvil could tell if she could talk. - Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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