My favorite antique tool.

Patina is a wonderful thing. Dabbler, I think that anvil is well beyond "patina." Do what makes you happy... Nice anvil!
 
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Were that anvil being sold here (CA) today would have been more like 4X that price, for one in sometimes fair shape and that one looks excellent in terms of edges and face in the photos. Getting it onto a nice solid base (in my opinion wood) and at the right height for you is critical, I certainly would not attempt to use it on sawhorses! There is a lot of magic in a fine anvil like that!
 
FOMOGO said:
You got a hell of a deal on that one. Seems to me back in the 70's you could find them dirt cheap or free. There popularity sure has soared, along with the price. I have one form my dad's shop, that my ignoramis younger brother took a carbon arch torch to. When I get a little time, I need to try and repair it. Mike
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I've repaired a few anvils, including making a new bick and welding a new face. For anvils with damaged edges, hard facing rod does a decent job. The anvil is preheated to around 300ºF and the weld on stitched rather than a continuous bead to avoid localized overheating..

For refacing an anvil, I used a piece of semi leaf spring. I removed the old face by road grinding. A jig was made to mount the anvil to the 3 pt hitch on my Ford 8N tractor and I dragged the anvil up and down our country road several times. It was an interesting sight as I left a trail of sparks behind. I finished with an angle grinder, flattened the spring and removed all the scale and welded the perimeter to exclude any air. (I didn't have a mill at the time) The face was forged welded at an anvil rebuilding workshop with the help of an assistant. A couple of lengths of pipe were bolted to the anvil to create a carrier and the anvil was heated to welding temperature in a coal forge. The assistant and I the forge welded the face in two heats using 8 lb. sledges. Later, I ground off the perimeter weld and bored out the hardy hile and pritchel hole. When I got my mill drill, I faced the top and cleaned up the hardy hole, finishing the corners with a file. I never hardened the face as I feared heating the face to a hardening temperature and chilling might introduce a stress crack in the body but I have been using that anvil for forty years with no deterioration of the face so I guess it's OK.

Should I ever get the bug again, I have a half dozen anvils in my barn in various states of disrepair.
 
the only down side here is that this project used the last of my Jasco Prep & Prime which was seriously good stuff. too bad it was discontinued. was the best metal conditioner I've found.
 
That's a really nice anvil you got Yota and a smokin deal as well. I have one that I think is similar in size to yours, may be slightly smaller. The coolest thing about mine is that I have a photo of my great grandfather standing near it in his blacksmith shop in 1927 in Cedarville, Ca. I don't use it a lot, but it will be with me until they pick me up and put me in the pine box.

Ted
 
Ted that's awesome. I have my grandfathers old double barrel shotgun and I feel the same way. I have a photo of him standing next to one of his bird dogs holding it.
 
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