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has anyone ever seen one like this? Price is $50.00 what do you think. It is hollow and not solid. The seller said there is no lettering.
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Anvil advise
- Thread starter Richard King 2
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Every decent anvil I've ever seen has been solid cast steel that will bounce a ball bearing. Personally, I would pass. For most uses in a non- blacksmith or non-knifemaker's shopI think a piece of mild steel bar would work just as well as an anvil.
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I'm guessing that it may be part of a defunct anvil/vise, better than nothing, but not much more, and too pricey for what it is.
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Up until the late 19th century, anvils were made by forge welding wrought iron to make up the body of the anvil and a tool steel top face was forge welded to the body. The steel face was similar in composition to W1 and about a half inch thick on anvils in the 100 to 200 lb. wt. Many of these anvils, notably Peter Wright, Trenton and Hay Budden, are highly prized today.
This method of anvil construction was used at a time when tool steel was expensive and labor was cheap. Wrought iron largely went out of production in the 1890's and the price of steel became competitive, making forged steel and cast steel anvils practical.
This method of anvil construction was used at a time when tool steel was expensive and labor was cheap. Wrought iron largely went out of production in the 1890's and the price of steel became competitive, making forged steel and cast steel anvils practical.
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I had one of those vise anvils and benmychree is right. But I'd go so far as to say it was totally worthless is it performed neither as a vise nor an anvil with any reliability. It was a novel design but crap execution because the iron was so soft. The back jaw curled around the sides of the anvil top and had teeth that fit into it. It was spring loaded to stay in the teeth and you could move it by pushing down on the jaw then sliding it back or forward. Mine came with the two teeth broken out in the normal first position. That's why I gave him $20. I drilled though the "anvil" and put 3/4" grade 8 bolt through it as a stop for the jaw. But I knew it was a waste of time because the iron was so thin and so soft. I know I could have broken mine with my 4lb hammer. It was not worth $20 and it wasn't even rusty. I left it in one of our many moves.
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Here is my little anvil, a Columbian made sometime in the early 1900's, actually. It is cast steel with a 1/2" thick forge welded top and will bounce a ball bearing 2 feet high. The really good ones were made much earlier and are getting harder to find and very expensive when you do. Unless you are forging a lot of steel I think a hunk of flat mild steel will work just as well for general shop use where we pound on lots of stuff that is not heated to a soft state.
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Thanks everyone...I'll pass....
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FWIW, new quality anvils go for $5 - $7 per lb. Centaur Forge in Burlington, WI was at one time and probably still is the largest purveyor of anvils in the US. https://www.centaurforge.com/Anvils/departments/141/ Bill Pieh was the founder and owner of Centaur Forge. I first met him when I was a member of the Upper Midwest Blacksmith's Assn. in the '80's. Here is an interview with Bill by Anvil magazine. https://piehtoolco.com/PDF_Files/Anvil Interview with Bill Pieh.pdf
An interesting story about Bill. In addition to his love for blacksmithing and horseshoeing, he was also a private pilot. He had a twin engine plane, Beechcrft, as I recall, and would fly a plane full of supplies to trade shows around the country. On one occasion he had a load of anvils in the back of the plane. As it turned out, he hadn't bothered to secure them properly and when he hit some turbulence, they shifted forward, upsetting the plane's trim in the process. He managed to correct the issue and make an emergency landing. I imagine it took a few years off his life though. He told yus that he would never again fly with unsecured cargo.
Used anvils typically go from $3/lb and up depending upon condition. Pristine used anvils can exceed $10/lb. Occasionlly, anvils can be found for around $1/lb., usually some farm auction or a widow cleaning out the shed. If the anvil can be identified as a quality brand and is in decent condition, it would be a steal.
Most of the used anvils show evidence of heavy use. Edges are broken, hardy holes have chipped edges, the face is swaybacked, etc. This doesn't mean that the anvil be used can't do quality work. Edges can be repaired by welding. The edge should be pre-heated before welding. I forge welded a new steel face on an early 19th century Mouse Hole anvil, using a piece of semi leaf spring for the face. The anvil also had a broken horn and I fashioned a new horn and welded it to the anvil body. I use that anvil to this day .
As to the original post, I believe this is what the article looks like. https://www.ebay.com/itm/No-380A-Bl...321224?hash=item1cd26b2408:g:dIEAAOSwn4Fc8vAC As to a choice of tools, my preference is not to try to combine tools as some of the utility of each is lost. Also, an anvil's utility comes from its mass. Aside from just dinking around, my preference would be an anvil in the 100+ lb. range. Something that I'm not afraid of damaging using a 4 lb. hammer or 10 lb. sledge on.
An interesting story about Bill. In addition to his love for blacksmithing and horseshoeing, he was also a private pilot. He had a twin engine plane, Beechcrft, as I recall, and would fly a plane full of supplies to trade shows around the country. On one occasion he had a load of anvils in the back of the plane. As it turned out, he hadn't bothered to secure them properly and when he hit some turbulence, they shifted forward, upsetting the plane's trim in the process. He managed to correct the issue and make an emergency landing. I imagine it took a few years off his life though. He told yus that he would never again fly with unsecured cargo.
Used anvils typically go from $3/lb and up depending upon condition. Pristine used anvils can exceed $10/lb. Occasionlly, anvils can be found for around $1/lb., usually some farm auction or a widow cleaning out the shed. If the anvil can be identified as a quality brand and is in decent condition, it would be a steal.
Most of the used anvils show evidence of heavy use. Edges are broken, hardy holes have chipped edges, the face is swaybacked, etc. This doesn't mean that the anvil be used can't do quality work. Edges can be repaired by welding. The edge should be pre-heated before welding. I forge welded a new steel face on an early 19th century Mouse Hole anvil, using a piece of semi leaf spring for the face. The anvil also had a broken horn and I fashioned a new horn and welded it to the anvil body. I use that anvil to this day .
As to the original post, I believe this is what the article looks like. https://www.ebay.com/itm/No-380A-Bl...321224?hash=item1cd26b2408:g:dIEAAOSwn4Fc8vAC As to a choice of tools, my preference is not to try to combine tools as some of the utility of each is lost. Also, an anvil's utility comes from its mass. Aside from just dinking around, my preference would be an anvil in the 100+ lb. range. Something that I'm not afraid of damaging using a 4 lb. hammer or 10 lb. sledge on.