Vise and Anvil

[twertsy]

I posted this in the "show your vises" thread but thought it may warrant a new thread.

So unfortunately, due to my Grandma passing, I had to grab what I could from my grandpa's garage this weekend. He passed some time ago. I grabbed the vise and anvil seen in the pics. Any ideas on what they are? I can't find any markings on either one. Anvil is pretty cool since someone broke it in half and repaired it at some time.

 

[ken w.]

The vise is a post vise. They are pretty cool and getting quite collectable and pricey. They take a bit too much room for me.

 

[drivesitfar]

any idea if your Gramp's old anvil has a rebound and a ring when you tap the top of it with a ball peen hammer? interesting fix and definitely a keeper even if the rebound is gone you can use it for cold steel.

I've also seen a lot of Blacksmith vises, but don't know much about them other than it looks like yours has all its parts. it also looks fairly heavy and old. any idea how much it weighs?

good save of the family's history to maybe pass on to your grand kids.

i'll be watching to see if anybody on here might know, but you might have to go over to one of the vintage forums or the anvil forum for answers.

 

[twertsy]

I'd say the vise weighs about 60 - 70 ish lbs. Anvil is 93 I know.

 

[m.b.0331]

Nice vise. I have one like it but it's missing the spring and mounting plate. They're supposed to be mounted so the bottom part of the leg sits solidly on a stout piece of lumber or something similar on the ground, so it won't move at all when you beat on it and the force goes through the leg into the ground.

 

[twertsy]

Bumping this 'cuz I'd really like to find out some more info on these........Thanks in advance!

 

[Seppala]

The anvil appears to have a worn, "dished", face. Edges are rounded. Although the anvil is worn it is not worn out. You can work around those defects.
I've never seen an anvil repaired such as yours. Does it rebound a hammer blow?
If there are no marks on the anvil or post vise it will be hard to indentify the manufacturers.
The post vise appears to be complete. Is the screw worn? Is the screw box cracked? Are the vise jaws worn; do they align?
The going price for a post vise on Long Island starts at $150 and up.

 

[twertsy]

The anvil appears to have a worn, "dished", face. Edges are rounded. Although the anvil is worn it is not worn out. You can work around those defects.
I've never seen an anvil repaired such as yours. Does it rebound a hammer blow?
If there are no marks on the anvil or post vise it will be hard to indentify the manufacturers.
The post vise appears to be complete. Is the screw worn? Is the screw box cracked? Are the vise jaws worn; do they align?
The going price for a post vise on Long Island starts at $150 and up.

Yes, the anvil rebounds and rings nicely. Given the type of bolts/nuts used, that repair is very old. The vise is complete and the screw is nice. No crack in the screw box. The jaws are worn, and slightly misaligned (about 3/4").

 

[twertsy]

The anvil has the appearance of a Hay Budden but only paint removal and a through brushing would tell for sure. Are there numbers stamped into the front of the foot?

It would apprear that the anvil was broken at the waist and that someone strapped/bolted it back together. I've seen them welded back together but never a repair like that.

Exactly. I too have seen them welded but never strapped like that. That's what I thought was so "cool" about it. I will say that the repair is incredibly solid. It doesn't wobble at all when pounded on. I'll post a better pic when I get to the shop later but those bolts go all the way through the body. I'll also check the foot for any stampings.

 

[drivesitfar]

Twertsy: Just an FYI. if the anvil still has rebound and a ring don't hit on it with cold steel. that's how many, many, many anvils have been used and that's why you see so many with their nice square edges damaged or chipped off. Anvils are meant for hot metal to be pounded on and use an old chunk of RR track for cold steel.

good luck in your searching and yes i agree for a damaged anvil your Gramp's anvil does have the cool look with that old school repair.

 

[twertsy]

The only "cold steel" I pound on is automotive sheet metal so it's not really "pounding" right? Although, the rounded sides on the anvil aren't great for sheet metal anyway. I just thought it looked cool.

 

[drivesitfar]

Twertsy: it's your anvil and since it's damaged already use is as you and maybe your Gramps would. i didn't find that anvils shouldn't be hit with cold steel until i was almost 60 years old and just trying to get the word out so maybe these old anvils might have something left on them to use for our grandkids and their grandkids.

I've seen a big band saw's cast frame bolted back together like your Gramp's anvil so it was the fix of the day if you weren't a welder. agreed that it does have that cool look and i'd leave the patina instead of trying to clean if up and find a name if it was mine.

 

[twertsy]

Thanks drive. Here are some close ups of the repair. There may be writing between the straps?

 

[drivesitfar]

Twertsy: even on nice anvils the names are hard to see. if i didn't know that this was a Peter Wright i'd probably be asking same questions you are.

by the way Blacksmith vises like you now own are meant to be hit on with something in their jaws if set up correctly. i'm not an expert on those by any means and just learning about them so read up and mount that old girl and it looks like all it needs is a little grease on the main screw.

 

[Seppala]

If you mount this vise to a bench the jaws might come into alignment when you tighten everything up.
Another possibility is that the screw and/or screw box are not original to this vise. If the box does not seat tightly chances are this is a substitute screw and screw box assembly. If so, you could carefully shim the box to align it.
Vise jaws that don't line up are a pain in the **** to work with.

 

[twertsy]

I think it weighs around a bill right now. A lot of pitting under that paint though so she's likely lost some weight over the years. I'd put it in my blast cabinet and go at it if it weren't an HF model......likely collapse the whole thing!!

 

[drivesitfar]

Co-Pilot: i totally agree with your process in removing the old paint and putting on a few coats of boiled linseed oil except his Grand dad might have put on all those coats of paint.

his cool looking old damage anvil now so his choice but i might leave it as is unless the paint chips are causing a problem.

 

[drivesitfar]

Co-Pilot: i agree with what you said and just letting twertsy know it was ok to leave it as is too if his Gramps did paint it. i'd probably put it in an electrolysis tank, but i haven't heard if that is ok for anvils yet like it is for vises and other rusty tools. clean it up and boiled linseed like you said on everything except the top that i'd hit with a deburring wheel and make that shine.

 

[Black Frog]

I don't know if you'll find any markings on the side with that heavy of pitting. Your best bet is to wire-wheel the front of the foot under the horn and look for serial numbers and/or possible weight stamps.

My guess is Trenton as they seem to have the most cases of broken at the waist. But could very well be Hay Budden as well.... Tip it over and take some pictures of the underside of the anvil too, that sometimes can help identify the maker.

I don't like bead blasting anvils, they look all matte finish battleship grey. Yuck.

I think old repairs like that are cool as hell. That's a really neat piece! That thing would look great stripped and wire wheeled.

 

[Sluicebox]

Pretty sure that is a Hay Budden. It looks like it broke right at the seam. Later Buddens were made with two pieces like that and forge welded together. The earlier Buddens had a tool steel top plate. This design is better that is a nice anvil, pass it on to your Grand kids and tell them to do the same.

My first post here, I saw this forum as I am searching for how to fix an anvil with that same problem. It was repaired the same way pretty much. Will get a pic up in here tomorrow hopefully. So sorry for your loss OP however congrats on having something as timeless as that to pass down. I would be honored to get my G.G.Grandpa's anvil. Don't ever sell it, learn how to get her hot and pound her hard. Best to you all.. I do have a link on the right rods to use to fix that if your interested.

 

[drivesitfar]

Sluice: welcome to the forum and thanks for posting some great information. if you are going to do a repair on your broken anvil can you start a thread with plenty of pictures and explanation on how you are doing the fix?

i don't remember seeing a thread on GJ for fixing or repairing an anvil and i'm sure there are more members that would like to see how that is done.

 

[rapid robert]

Makes me happy to see old tools being used!

 

[Sluicebox]

Here is that one I have hopefully pic loads up. I have asked several people on this one and the majority say to weld up where it was ground and leave the bolt in place as it is quite unique. Do a search on anvil repair Gunther method, that's loaded with advice.

 

[twertsy]

Ok, I lightly blasted the referenced areas and here's what I found. There's certainly some writing on the side and 797? on the front of the foot.

 

[twertsy]

A little more blasting.......there's certainly a "Wy...." above the crack. Any clues? Or is it a "Wr"

 

[Black Frog]

Is there any numbers on the front foot on the left side of the square handling hole?