Anvil Questions

[Jlott]

as im about to move into my new shop, i wanted to get
a couple of anvils.. i found a nice big one. and also i found
this really cool little one its pretty old.. its made of what looks like cast iron,
its about a foot across.. and about 5 or 6 inches wide..
looks just like a classic shaped anvil, but on its lower butt end
it has a flat channel shaft sticking out about 4 inches.. obiviously to slid it onto something to hold it.. as it was obviously portable..
the anvil is HOLLOW INSIDE! it has mounting holes on its base..
so.. im going to have the shaft cut off its lower base..
and im going to have it resurfaced at the machine shop and a
fitted piece of hardned steel with a precision machined flat face welded to it for better striking surface.. WHAT I WANT TO DO
IS FILL THE HOLLOW CAVITY UNDERNEATH WITH LEAD..SO THAT
WHEN I TURN IT BACK OVER AND MOUNT IT TO A SOLID SURFACE
IT WILL BE FAIRLY HEAVY AND SOLID.. AND IT WONT RING LIKE THE LIBERTY BELL! does this sound like a good plan ?

[Raymond Richard]

Haven't heard any good things about cast iron anvils. Not sure if you'll be able to weld a steel plate onto it either and have it stay there for any length of time. As for filling it up with lead, maybe concrete would work just as well. I hate to have to try to move it filled with lead. How heavy is it now?

Maybe Bogiron will see this and chime in.........

[Jlott]

it weighs about 25lbs, id think that the concrete would crumble
after some pounding.. the idea of the lead is twofold..one
to dull the ring..and the other to give it some weight that adds
to being solid when hit.. it looks like its had quite a bit of
hard use i think its from railroad repairs type work.. its pretty
solid.. it just rings!

[Dana Acker]

Howdy James. Older anvils used to have holes in the bottom, and people use to (still do in places) pack them with gun powder and "Shoot" the anvils up into the air. Don't know the design/engineering significance of it though. I don't think lead would hurt it, and you could always remove it later if you wanted to.

[Jlott]

that was probably how they "dropped in" on bad neighbors..heheeh..kinda sounds like fun! ha!
i took some pics..ill have a link to them shortly..jim

[Jlott]

http://www.twocraftsman.com/forsale1.html

OH..ITS STEEL..NOT CAST IRON..
maby i shouldnt cut the tail off it.. what do you think ??

[Dana Acker]

Just me, personally, I wouldn't alter an anvil. If it didn't serve the purpose I needed it to, then I'd get a different one. But that's just me. Maybe I'm a bit sentimental about them. In the end, you have to do whatever works the best for your purposes.

[Dana Acker]

The pictures are cool. Thanks for posting them. I hope Gene Chapman gives us his 2 cents worth on them. He might know what type it is and what the extras are for. Might ruin any value if you change it. Looks to be very special purpose.

[MaxTheKnife]

If it rings it's probably cast steel, not cast iron. Big diffeence! I'd just leave it like it is and use it for a demo anvil if I had it. But since it's yours you should do what you want with it. Filling it with lead ain't such a bad idea though. It would give it more 'ump' but make it that much more difficult to keep it portable. You can weld a plate to cast steel but you have to ask yourself if it's worth it. Building it up with special welding rods would be an option. If I remember right you don't have to heat treat it when you're done. It work hardens. Have fun anyway.

[DiamondG Knives]

Im kind of the same mind as Dana, that looks to be a specialty type anvil and could quite possibly be worth some $$.
But hey if its what you need, its what you need! You didn't mention what you paid for it, but If it were me Id do some checking before I modified it in any way, just my $0.02 worth.

Mike

[Gene Chapman]

That is curious, wondering if it was part of a anvil/vise setup, might make a nice small demo anvil as Max sugested, bake bread in it??

[Raymond Richard]

Bake bread in it. That was a good one, Gene.

Maybe a meatloaf.

[Jlott]

for all the input.. i got it at the antique store for $20..
i think ill have the surface machined flat agian
fill it with lead..and mount it on a big ole stump section i got, and use it..someone said it might be a horse shoein anvil..and the
tail would let you slide it onto a bolted down bar mounted to the
bumper of your truck or trailer... well..now its a knifemakin anvil..
jl

[nifeman]

Hi James, hey I'm inclined to agree with Gene. I saw one on eBay a while back and it was attached to a vise. I was going to bid on it, but it seemed a bit pricey for my likein. $20.00 seems like a pretty good deal. I don't believe I'd alter it, but I see no reason for not usein it...Bud

[keeptryin]

that is one half of a bench vise setup.

You can see where the pipe holder used to be on the back of the anvil and the extension is the track where the jaw would ride.

As for filling with lead, you would have to heat the whole thing to make the lead stick (kinduv solder it). If you pour lead in that cavity, you would most likely make lead ingots which would fall out when you turned it over. Make a plate to fit the bottom with a one or two inch whole and then mount the plate and pour lead in through the hole.

If you bolt it to a stump, that might kill some of the ring itself.

Just some ideas.

Brandon