Old Anvil (PIC'S)

[BobbyK]

It's a tool.
Got this Peter Wright Anvil for $50.00
It's 12" high, 27.5" long and has a 5" face
Weight is 202lb's

















The 1 3 6 =202lb or 96kg.
I don't know what the "R" stands for.





This is supposed to read.
Peter
Wright
Patent
England

"Solid Wrought" around the 3.






I'm also not sure what these stamped markings mean.









Anyone know anything else about this type of anvil?





.

 

[G20-Budo]

Wow!! That beast is huge.. Very cool!

 

[Mohawk Dave]

Way cool. IDK what the markings mean, but IMO, if you could find the same stamp set I think it'd be cool to re-stamp the Peter Wright Patent England.

Good find!

 

[TwoInch]

twisted wire cup on a die grinder? watch that one. surely doubling(or more) the max rpm rating.

 

[JonesForge]

You wouldn't happen to be selling this this anvil through a friend would you? I just found these pictures used in a hell of a deal on Facebook and wanted to know for sure whether it was a scam or not. Thanks in advance.

 

[Shiftless]

Sounds a lot like a scammer. Be super careful.

 

[Shiftless]

I would expect an asking price of about $1000 for that anvil.

 

[ObnoxiousFumes]

Yup around here any anvil is at least $400-500. ***** cuz I’d like to have one but definitely not at that price, I’ll have to settle for railroad track I guess...

 

[Shiftless]

Nothing really wrong with sections of RR track. I have 2 pieces. I sincerely believe that it is impossible to break a piece of RR track. I have walloped one of mine with a 10 pound sledge hammer and it keep coming back for more punishment.

I bet railroad box cars or hopper cars are loaded with at least 100 tons of cargo so what punishment does the track feel with steel wheels slamming over them at speed?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Sounds a lot like a scammer. Be super careful.

From what I read I think he already owns it.

 

[ObnoxiousFumes]

Nothing really wrong with sections of RR track. I have 2 pieces. I sincerely believe that it is impossible to break a piece of RR track. I have walloped one of mine with a 10 pound sledge hammer and it keep coming back for more punishment.

I bet railroad box cars or hopper cars are loaded with at least 100 tons of cargo so what punishment does the track feel with steel wheels slamming over them at speed?

Yeah I know but it’s not nearly as cool and nostalgic as a real anvil with history. Think of how many old codgers bent iron on those things, that’s cool.
Although now that I think about it lots of rail track is too, if you think about all the passengers and freight it’s carried over the years. A lot of the track through my small town is over 100 years old.

 

[dr_clyde]

There’s a pretty big difference between a traditional blacksmiths anvil and a surface to just wallop stuff on.

RR track is fine if you just want to pound on stuff, but if you actually want to do anything smithing work, you’ll probably want an actual anvil. The design and shape of an actual smiths anvil is pretty important, and has a lot of features that aren’t obvious at first glance.


The Hardy and Pritchel holes are extremely important, it’s hard to do much forging without stakes, punches, chisels, swages, hold downs and dogs. The horn shape allows curves and scroll shapes, as well as working cones or bowl shapes. My anvil has an upset shelf down at the base for making bar upsets. The drop table between the face and horn allows for offsetting bars, and working irregular shapes.

I would argue that most old anvils like the OP’s are pretty darn wore out. The edges are completely obliterated, the transitions between surfaces no longer sharp or defined. That face isn’t even close to flat, and I think it would be a struggle to forge flat shapes on a surface like that. Even saying that, $50 is still a great deal and probably worth at least double that as a “beater” anvil. That ol girl has seen a hard life.

In case you didn’t know, anvils are designed to forge HOT work, and can be damaged if you try to just pound on cold metal. If you just want a dense metal surface to use as a beating block, get a chunk of RR track or just a decent size block of steel.

 

[ecotec]

There’s a pretty big difference between a traditional blacksmiths anvil and a surface to just wallop stuff on.

RR track is fine if you just want to pound on stuff, but if you actually want to do anything smithing work, you’ll probably want an actual anvil. The design and shape of an actual smiths anvil is pretty important, and has a lot of features that aren’t obvious at first glance.


The Hardy and Pritchel holes are extremely important, it’s hard to do much forging without stakes, punches, chisels, swages, hold downs and dogs. The horn shape allows curves and scroll shapes, as well as working cones or bowl shapes. My anvil has an upset shelf down at the base for making bar upsets. The drop table between the face and horn allows for offsetting bars, and working irregular shapes.

I would argue that most old anvils like the OP’s are pretty darn wore out. The edges are completely obliterated, the transitions between surfaces no longer sharp or defined. That face isn’t even close to flat, and I think it would be a struggle to forge flat shapes on a surface like that. Even saying that, $50 is still a great deal and probably worth at least double that as a “beater” anvil. That ol girl has seen a hard life.

In case you didn’t know, anvils are designed to forge HOT work, and can be damaged if you try to just pound on cold metal. If you just want a dense metal surface to use as a beating block, get a chunk of RR track or just a decent size block of steel.

Great post.

I use castoffs of round stock as bench anvils. I have not found a piece of railroad track yet… it is on my list of things to look for at estate/garage sales.

I try to stay away from the edges of my bench anvil. I doubt that you would have to be careful with a piece of railroad track.

 

[frankthezapper]

I found some track at the side of the line....had to lift the fence a little to slide it out, very early on a Sunday morning, not many people about.

 

[ecotec]

I found some track at the side of the line....had to lift the fence a little to slide it out, very early on a Sunday morning, not many people about.

How did you cut it? Angle grinder?

 

[ObnoxiousFumes]

How did you cut it? Angle grinder?

 

[uart]

Great video. I was surprised that he was able to machine that section of RR track as easily as he did, but he did have some pretty good tooling.

Just curious if anyone else has worked with track like that. Without a band saw, is it possible to cut off a section like that with just a basic angle grinder and cut off discs? If so, roughly how long would you expect it take?

Also curious if anyone else has drilled RR track on a drill press like in the video. It looked like he was only using HSS bits.

 

[BobbyK]

You wouldn't happen to be selling this this anvil through a friend would you? I just found these pictures used in a hell of a deal on Facebook and wanted to know for sure whether it was a scam or not. Thanks in advance.

Nope

 

[BobbyK]

I would expect an asking price of about $1000 for that anvil.

Hmm...maybe I should sell it!
I found it on my local Buy-N-Sell. I was in my truck going to get it 5min. after I talked to the guy. He was an older guy, moving/downsizing. I knew it was a good deal.

 

[Shiftless]

Hmm...maybe I should sell it!
I found it on my local Buy-N-Sell. I was in my truck going to get it 5min. after I talked to the guy. He was an older guy, moving/downsizing. I knew it was a good deal.

Allow me to award you a “you ****”… the compliment here on GJ for such amazing scores.

 

[2oolhound]

Here ya go guys:



These "anvils" are available at Princess Auto in Canada (where's HF?), on sale now for $99 cnd. One benefit is they come with a flattened top. On the box it says "iron". Made by Evergear Automotive which appears to be Chinese company founded in 1995 and who specializes in L.E.D. lighting.

It's probably a real POS but here's your chance to support China's plan for world **********, link to the product (photo in this ad makes them look short but they are 24" long):

Rail Anvil

On a positive note check out these 18" and 20" chunks I picked up on the weekend for $20.



Algoma Steel is a Canadian company that makes steel products including rail track.


ALGOMA STEEL

A good anvil is worth it's weight in sweat. I took up blacksmithing as a hobby about a year ago. My 1st anvil was a heavy counter weight and I pounded and pounded on red hot steel only to have to do it again the next day to get it to shape. Then I picked up a 4"x4"x24" piece of a steel key that was used as a retainer for the pads in a ball mill (for crushing ore in a mining operation). Now when I pound on red hot metal I can actually see it changing shape. A good anvil does not absorb shock so the red hot metal gets all the force of your blow.

That Peter Wright anvil needs to have hard surface rod welded on the top deck and ground flat or better yet, a piece of tool steel forge welded to it (by an expert), then it will be worth a lot of $$$.