What kind of Anvil?

[John Barney]

I picked up a anvil that I thought someone might know about. It has K J FRICKE stamped in the side(possibly a former owner). The only forge marks I can see are GC2 about half way down and the state of Oklahoma at the bottom. Weighs about 80lbs, has a long narrow face with two pritchel holes, and a clip starter on both sides of the horn. It has a very nice ring. Been sitting in a barn so any advice on dressing it up would be helpful. Thanks

JB

[Mike Ferrara]

There are a couple of books that guys use to track down information on old anvils. One title that comes to mind is "Anvils of America" by Richard Postman.

You your local ABA.. (artist blacksmith association....something) chapter may be able to help.

As far as dressing...it depends how bad it is and how the anvil is made. If it's flat I'd leave it alone. If sags or dings aren't too deep you can grind a little off the face but if you take off too much you won't have any hard steel left.

There is a process for resurfacing with hard surfacing rod. It involves preheating the anvil, laying down a cushioning layer and then the hard layer and grinding. If you do a goole search on anvil repair you'll come up with a bunch of stuff. I just got a good price on a 170 pound Peter Wright that had a sag in it. I took it to a machine shop to get the face ground. Some guys do it with a hand held 90 deg grinder but I'm not that good with one.

[Bill Adams]

Hey John,
To grind on the face, use a hard, cupped grinding wheel on an angle grinder, keeping it flat (letting the whole wheel touch) and moving in figure eight strokes.

I'll bet if you drop that baby on your toe, you'll call it a "fricken'" anvil for sure.
Bill

[Jason Maki]

I gave my teacher a 155+ lbs Haybudden I found in a garage around the corner from my house( actully, it found me. I was set up under the tree, assaulting innocent steel, when the older gentleman stopped and informed me he had one of those in his garage! I bought it for $150 :D ) when I passed my last CJF test. He filled the wrinkles and edges with a hard surface rod, then worked it flat in exactly the way bill describes. He also worked the horn a little rounder. This thing is a beauty! When I moved into my house here, and set up a shop, I asked to borrow one of his Haybudden collection until I bought a shop anvil. He gave the anvil and the stump back to me, reworked and ready to roll! I love the thump on the old girl. I may put her back in my trailer; even old beauties need some lovin to feel pretty! :o
Chris Gregory told me years ago, whatever the shape of the anvil, its worht a buck a pound minimum. As usual, he was correct!
Jason