Anvil Advice

Bro. Dave said:
Regarding an Anvil Shoot:
Since the 11th of November 1918 the city of Hamilton, Texas has had an anvil shoot. The story is that when the telegram announcing the armistice arrived (5a.m Texas time) they used an anvil shoot to notify/celebrate everyone.

Since then, the local American Legion Post has had an anvil shoot each Veteran's Day at 5 a.m.

They use two anvils with a black powder charge on top of one and the second anvil placed on top. Using a long rod heated red hot in a fire, they touch off the charge. Over the years it has become a treasured tradition and an opportunity for a fund-raising breakfast. Trust me, there are weirder "festivals" celebrated in Texas than this charming tradition.
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I believe that the finesse in competitive anvil shooting revolves around leveling your anvil as best as you can in order that it lands as close as possible to it's launch point. Straight up and down wins the day, it's not as easy as it looks.
 
G-Mac said:
I buy, sell, and collect a few anvils. $300 for 225lbs. is cheap as long as it's got good rebound. You won't get hurt on that deal. I've sold anvils at $5.00 a pound but they were Peter Wright, Kohlswa, etc.
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I did buy it as it had good rebound no cracks that I could see. I do have a section of railroad railing but it is pitted and very rough. I have been looking for a while. One member posted buying anvils for a dollar a pound you wont do that around here ever. As others have said the going rate here is three dollars a pound and up, and the three dollars ones aren't much to look at. I am going to see if I can find any makers marks on it, but not holding out too much hope.
 
A few pictures after a scrub down with a wire brush no indication who made it. I do know which side the individual who used it the most stood evidenced by the marks made testing things he made. There are two ovsl or circular marks on the edge of two of the feet can be seen in photo.
 

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G-Mac said:
I buy, sell, and collect a few anvils. $300 for 225lbs. is cheap as long as it's got good rebound. You won't get hurt on that deal. I've sold anvils at $5.00 a pound but they were Peter Wright, Kohlswa, etc.
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I attended an auction last winter in Fort Smith, Ar and a 250lb anvil sold for $2,600. It was in real good shape but without a
name or makers mark I could find. One of the bidders was sure
it was a Fisher anvil, he dropped out of the bidding around $1,600. You can buy a brand new forged German anvil for that
price.
 
Last edited:
merl67 said:
Thinking propane as finding coal in my area seems to be a problem.
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I have never used a propane forge but know several knife makers that use only propane as they can soak the steel without it burning up.
I am more of a traditional smith and use coal or charcoal with a
hand cranked blower on the forge. Not any better, just my way
of doing things. There is an excellent book on traditional blacksmithing by Alex Bealer. I bought a copy from a used book
store about 25+ years ago for $6.00. That was before everyone
jumped on the wagon.
Tractor Supply sells coal in 50 lb bags but it is hard coal and
is hard to keep lit.
If you are trying to refurbish your anvil, shy away from grinding
as that is work surface you can never get back.
 
merl67 said:
A few pictures after a scrub down with a wire brush no indication who made it. I do know which side the individual who used it the most stood evidenced by the marks made testing things he made. There are two ovsl or circular marks on the edge of two of the feet can be seen in photo.
Click to expand...

Obviously from the Acme Company. No markings on any of their products, as shown in hundreds of Roadrunner cartoons. Anvils, rocket packs, artillery pieces, all shipped to Wile E. Coyote in a big truck, and always arriving a couple of minutes prior to the disaster (from which Roadrunner always cruised away unscathed).

Unfortunately, this is what amounts to history classes for today's public school students.
 
Old Arkansawyer said:
If you are trying to refurbish your anvil, shy away from grinding
as that is work surface you can never get back.
Click to expand...
Anything I do will be minor I assure you it has some weld splatter I am going to remove. A straight edge laid across it end to end shows about 1/8"-3/16" wear. For my purposes it will be just fine as is pretty much.
 
merl67 said:
Anything I do will be minor I assure you it has some weld splatter I am going to remove. A straight edge laid across it end to end shows about 1/8"-3/16" wear. For my purposes it will be just fine as is pretty much.
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I agree. About 20 years ago I bought 5 anvils from a vo tech school that was doing away with there metals shop. One is a
Peter Wright that someone ground about a 1/4 inch off of the
face to make it flat, a mistake. I still have the anvil, it weighs
110 pounds and I use it sometimes on small work.
Again, I think you got a good buy on your anvil and looking at
the latest pictures you posted, you may have a forged anvil
as the holes shown my be where the forger used tongs to lift
the anvil. Forged anvils are the best in my humble opinion.
 
I dropped one on my toe when I was 12 years old. I don't remember what I was doing with it but I do remember that it hurt. That was about 61 years ago. It doesn't hurt or cause any pain now but the toe in question still has a flattened appearance to it and the toe nail continues to grow back with a scar down the middle of it. A friend of mine knows that I do a lot of junk hunting and asked me to find a nice anvil for him. I don't know anything about them other than that they are heavy and if you drop one on your toe it hurts. I found several and most didn't have a makers mark. They were priced in the $1 to $5 per pound price range. I never found one he was satisfied with so I quit looking. Most of the folks I know that use one, including myself, use a piece of railroad rail. The newer pieces of "ribbon rail" work very good. I've got a piece of that and I also have an old vice that came off of an old power company truck with an anvil of sorts on one end that works good for the few times I need to hammer something. While looking for an anvil for my friend I found out that there a lot of folks who collect such things. I'm not knocking them for this but I prefer for my collections of steel to not weigh quite so much. It's also hard to put an anvil in a holster and carry it around.
 
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