Bought a Anvil

BA_Colt

BA_Colt

Don't make me slap you the kielbasa.
Joined
Oct 15, 2008
Messages
14,169
Hi people here. My first post in the BladeSmith part of this fine wepsight.

So my buddy was looking for wrought iron railings. Went to a local scrapyard. I found this for $100:
IMG_2067.jpeg

A little clean up:IMG_2083.jpegIMG_2092.jpeg
Just sharing. I will admit not knowing much about anvils. Any advice will be welcomed. I did take metal sculpture in college and sometimes make metal sculpture.

Thanks all
BA
 
Awesome score! Are there any markings?

A couple things to check:
Rebound - get a ball bearing and drop it from about a foot right on the face. If it bounces to your hand, that's very nice. 75%-50%, not so bad. Less rebound than that is less desirable.
Flat - get a straight edge and check the flatness of the face. From the fotos it looks wonderfully flat.

Ideally, one would want the edges of the face to be unchipped. Very unlikely in an old anvil. If you want to re-start "pristine" with an old anvil, you take it to a machine shop for a haircut on a re-face and re-radiusing the edges and getting rid of the chips. That'd likely cost more than the anvil did, though, so...

I think I'd run with this sweet piece as is. Nice find!
 
NIce!!! Good on you!
On the bottom pic, I'd consider that a new. pristine edge. I round all my edges, (except for the heel and shelf) and if I were to work on that one, when finished, you'd never know there were any chips....
 
The date's in the 1850s!! Or is that just the Patent date? Regardless, great find. Doesn't it make you wish you knew it's provenance?
 
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Yes it does. There is a museum for the Fisher & Norris. They have a contact email for identifying anvils.
 
I am think of buying an oxy acetylene kit with a rose tip. Mind you friends this is for medal sculpture. Perhaps some he he he knife making just for giggles for me.

So to this end, I need smithing tools. I thought I had a cross pin hammer from my undergrad B.F.A days. If one can give me advice on a basic kit I would appreciate ti.I have done bronze and aluminum casting by investment, shell and green sand molding.

I had an oxy acetylene kit until I lent it out. I don't know I have an anvil and want to use it. I also liked brazing, mig, and stick. TIG not a lot of that.
 
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Beth,
If you put a real location in your info we would know where you live and someone close may offer you some tools and help.
 
BA_Colt said:
I am think of buying an oxy acetylene kit with a rose tip. Mind you friends this is for medal sculpture. Perhaps some he he he knife making just for giggles for me.

So to this end, I need smithing tools. I thought I had a cross pin hammer from my undergrad B.F.A days. If one can give me advice on a basic kit I would appreciate ti.I have done bronze and aluminum casting by investment, shell and green sand molding.

I had an oxy acetylene kit until I lent it out. I don't know I have an anvil and want to use it. I also liked brazing, mig, and stick. TIG not a lot of that.
Click to expand...

That will go through oxygen at a fast rate, O2 is pretty expensive here.
Look at the HF weed burner.
Propane only, no rental bottles, no oxygen needed, huge heat.
 
You can build a simple forge for less than you would spend on setting up a rosebud torch system. I would say $100 will make a workable forge, less if you have good salvaging abilities. The only thing you need to get that isn't free or easily sourced at a hardware store is a piece of Inswool and a bag of satanite refractory. Those will run you less than $50 total with shipping. Check out "high temp tools and refractory". They have all the supplies and also have forge building kits. It will also be much cheaper to run. There are plug-and-play forges that are quite affordable and can be used for other crafts like glass and metal sculpture.
Take a look at the Atlas forges if you don't want to build one yourself. A local pottery supply shop may also carry inswool and satanite.

Note:
I checked HTT&R's site out and see some of the stuff they sold isn't available. Anyone order from them lately? I sent them an email checking on their status.
 
Ya I need to figure it out. I want to get an oxy acetylene for welding and brazing to do arty fartsy. I had a kit that was borrowed and went gone.

I do have a fire pit. I also have had these given to me which have been moved around for a while.
Which I need to clean up and make a table or something.

IMG_2102.jpeg
 
I am in western MA. There is a guy who is a pipe fitter but does wright iron work the next town over. I want to have a metal meeting with him.

Backstory on me. I have two fine arts degrees in paint and sculpture. I was the student director at the university sculpture foundry. I want to get back into hot sweaty metals.

My BFA theses was "Frolicking Free in The Foundry"
 
Unfortunately, no. Too busy with family and work.

I will see if I can flip over the top over as it is bolted down. If not I think I will take a belt sander to even off the top.
 
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