Questions on an anvil I just picked up.

Matt Rochester

Matt Rochester

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Nov 28, 2014
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So after looking all over the place and bothering everyone I know I finally picked up an anvil today. It appears to be a 118 lbs Hay Budden. From what I can tell it is in pretty good shape. It has pretty good rebound as a ball bearing will return about 80% and has good ring. My questions are 1: Is that a crack above the "118" or is this where it was put together from 2 pieces? 2: If it is a crack will it hurt anything? 3: should I worry with the chipped spot on the front of the one side or just stay away from it? Thanks.
 
I think the "crack" is a parting line where the forged body was joined with the wrought iron base. I wouldn't worry about the chipped face. I'd only avoid it when you need a sharp corner.
 
kuraki said:
I think the "crack" is a parting line where the forged body was joined with the wrought iron base. I wouldn't worry about the chipped face. I'd only avoid it when you need a sharp corner.
Click to expand...

Thanks buddy. I figured as it does not really look like a crack. I believe it's from the 20's and does have a wrought base. I picked it up for $300 so I figured I could get my money out of it for an antique at the least.
 
Less than $3/lb for an anvil over 100lb with good rebound and mostly square corners on the face, you'll never lose money on it.
 
That is the line where it was forge welded together. It is a wrought iron base with solid steel above the forge weld. My HB has the same forge welded line.
 
That looks good overall !
The "line" is evidence of a forgeweld. Anvils like yours are assembled of pieces. Usually its Body, Foot, Face & Horn are forgewelded together. Its working surface is hicarbon steel, normally around .3" thick, its horn wont have steel surface.
 
Thanks for the responses. I just need to buy or build a forge, get some tings and get to swinging! I have done stock removal for a few years now and am looking forward to getting into forging. I may try to take a class or just learn on the go.
 
Layering up wood is common when a chunk of log is not available.
Just like a natural log, Better construction is layered up vertical, horiziontal layering is less effective.
 
2x12s standing straight up that are glued and screwed together is a great base that you can do in about an hour.
 
Nice score! I troll Craigs List but haven't found anything halfway reasonable
 
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