Etching anvils

[old heller]

I have seen a few farriers with ruler markings etched on their anvils.Of course I forget to ask them how or whom or where they got it done.I always remember later.Does anyone know how this is done ?dont want to destroy my anvil thanks

[Gary Hill]

You can use a file on edge ,to make measured marks on your anvil. Or a triangled files have a sharp edge to them. Find a spot on your anvil that is handy to you either the horn or the heel (back edge). Good Luck! Gary

[old heller]

Thanks Gary.I will give it a try

[Derin Foor]

Old Heller,

I have 4 marks on the horn of my anvil 1/2 " apart....they correspond to marks on my hoof knife and I use them to get a 'width' on the foot that I am about to shoe......this location on the anvil works well since you can butt one edge of the shoe against the step-up

I used a hack saw and a steady hand when I marked mine

hope this helps,

Derin

[cowboy_bc]

Hi all,

I used a zip blade on a grinder free hand but It wouldn't hurt to clamp a piece of bar stock as a guide. Having said that I never use the marks on the anvil or the measuring marks I burned on my knives because I always have a hoof evener rule in my back pocket I use for measuring!

Kevin

[Ronald Aalders]

Same here Kevin. I always wondered why you would want anything on your anvil or knives you don't need. Buy a cheap short steel ruler at the local hardware store. Keep it in your apron's knife pocket. Sure beats markings on your anvils and knives. And more precise too!


Ronald Aalders

[Gary Hill]

Knowing your anvil helps too! For instance the measurement from my prichel hole to the heel is 4 1/2 inches so when I have a hot shoe, it comes in handy for a quick measure. The face of my anvil is 4 inches wide. I also have a steel ruler on my anvil stand for a quick look. Never hurts to have lots of help and marking a anvil isn't going to hurt it abit. Good Luck! Gary

[cowboy_bc]

Hi all,

This is what I did with my 75 lb anvil.

Kevin

[old heller]

thank you to all that responded ,i had forgotten about my hoof evener,thanks for the reminder.i need all the help i can get as making symetrical?? shoes is a real challenge

[Bill Adams]

I think that using a ruller or ruinning, I mean marking a anvil will slow down the training of your eye's ability to "measure" on it's own. The same with hoof gages. I learned this in my former life as a fab/welder.
In a show horse barn I use the deviders and gages for the hoeses that "must be exact" but it's fun to trim a horse in front of a trainer and say that that's close enough, to which he says I have to measure and get them the same. So I do, and they are, and he gets to hear me brag for the rest of the day or 'till the next horse that dosen't come out perfect (which dosen't often take a whole day to get to).
It is a very satisfying thing to make a pair of shoes, burn 'em, grind 'em, and as your going to nail 'em, you notice that they match exactly.
Having said all that, I keep the little hoof evener, a Wbrand shoe ruller, deviders and soapstone to mark my anvil, but very seldom.
I was at a clinic two weeks ago and saw Cris Gegory trim a foot and say that he would not measure the foot for steel. He figured by eye that it would be such and such a lenght then measured it for the croud, adn it came within a sixteenth or so.
My $0.02,
Bill