![]() At those events, you will see beat up anvils with swaybacked and chipped faces being sold off tailgates for some substantial prices. As for how sought after it might be, just go to any sort of blacksmith s event (look up ABANA or "Art Blacksmiths" or check the "Anvilfire" website). If you have one whose working face isn't worn like a swaybacked horse and whose edges aren't chipped too badly, you have a really good anvil. They simply are a good looking anvil, known as a "London Pattern" anvil. IMO, one of theother attractions to a Peter wright anvil are the shape and proportions. Both are fine anvils with a reasonable ring to them. His dad had been a working smith who died in 1952 or so, and that Peter Wright anvil came from his dad's shop. The other Peter Wright came from a friend who got it from his dad. ![]() She sold me a mess of tools with the anvil for 25 bucks. I was a kid of 14, so the widow treated me right. The older of the two I got in 1964, from a quarry blacksmith's widow, and it was old then. I have two Peter Wright Anvils in my shop. The round hole is the "pritchel" hole- used for punching nail holes thru on horsehoes for themost part. Other tools for forming such as "swages" (for forming round work) or "fullers" (for necking and grooving or reducing the size of stock), or flatters, bending forks and anything else the smith needed to shape or cut the work were made up to fit into that hardy hole. The "triangular piece" you mention is likely a hardy or cutoff tool that fits in that hole. Anvil tools with square tapered shanks fit into that hole. The square hole you name on the anvil is the "hardy hole". For this reason, a good quality old anvil in reasonable shape is sought after. In reality, there are few remaining anvilmakers and the prices charged for a new anvil are astronomical. They are, IMO, a sought-after anvil by today's blacksmiths. They were popular with blacksmiths of all types as well as farriers (horsehoers). Peter Wright anvils were made in England and imported into the USA in large numbers. This was a popular weight of anvil for horsehoers and light-to-medium smithing. So, the weight of your anvil then = 110 lbs + 11 lb + 1 lb, or 122 lbs. The next "1" is the weight in tenths of a hundredweight, or 11 lbs, and the last "1" = the todd pounds, or 1 lb. 1 hundredweight = 120 lbs (if I remember right). The first "1" = the weight in "hundredweights". The 1-1-1 on the anvil is the weight of the anvil in an old system of units. This is a system using 112 pounds as the primary unit, then quarter hundredweights (28 pounds or two stone), and common pounds for parts of a hundred weight below 1/4.Peter Wright Anvils are some of the finest quality anvils. This is something overlooked by crooks making forgeries of Peter Wright tools (buyer beware). The serifs on the hand cut letter dies are very clear. Scott caught them very well in the photograph. The markings on this anvil are clear and crisp. PETER WRIGHT, PATENT, Solid Wrought, 1 0 18 It was compensation for what was inevitably going to happen. The crown was often 1/16" or more high in the center and was definitely NOT a flat surface. ![]() Peter Wright addressed the sway problem in later years by crowning their anvils and sloping the horn upward. This scrap would often have steel and cast iron bits in it as well as not being so laminar as is good new wrought iron. The rest of the industry used scrap or "best selected scrap". They used only new high grade wrought iron for the body of their anvils. The reason for this was in their advertisements. While Peter Wrights are one of the better made more popular anvils of their time they also become swayed more than other anvils. If you have to put a straight edge on the anvil to see the sway, there is none. It is not a granite flat or a milling machine table. I told him to leave it alone! An anvil is NOT a precision reference surface. Scott asked me about machining the sway (1/16" on one side and 1/32" on the other (1.6 and 0.8 mm). While bigger is better it is also nice to be able to move your tools when needed. The "portability" range where a man can easily move an anvil is 100 to 140 pounds, thus the most common weight anvil. The weight is in the very common portable anvil range used by farriers, farmers and in small shops. It is in very good condition with minor edge chipping, a little sway, the original finish and no signs of repair. This is a perfect example of a Peter Wright anvil.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |