Anvil question

[Rusty McDonald]

I have a question about anvils
How do you know what kind of anvil you have? (as in who made it.)

and what do the markings on the sides mean?

Mine is a big ol'Beast of an anvil 250 or 260lbs, havent had it on a scale cuz I realy dont care about 10 lbs that much. I have smaller anvils, one 110lbs one about 90 lbs
anyone know of a site that explains this?

 

[riposte]

I found alot of info in http://www.anvilfire.com/FAQs/

 

[happycat]

Anvilfire is a great resorce as is iforgeiron.com
there is a great book ot there by Richard Postman called Anvls in america. It is pretty much the difinitive gide to identifying anvils.
I have a copy. If you can describe the markings on the side, I may be able to help you figre out what you've got. Pictures would be helpfl too.
Ed

 

[Reg ELLERY]

the short answer is a lot of anvils were weighed inthe old hundred weight system. 112 lb to a hundred weight. 28 lb to a quart an lbs

3 sets of numbers were stamped in a horizontal line across the side of the anvil. 2 1 0 for example

2 x 112 Hw 224lbs

+
1x 28 quart 28

+
0x lbs 0 lbs total 252 lbs

if it was 260 lbs it would be marked 2 1 8

if ti was 250 it would be 2 0 26

naturally the last set of numbers would range from 0 to 27

Hope that helps someone.