This one is 15 x 15 x 41/2 inches

and a rare (at least to me and several other people) Tong from the Rotary Linch Tong co. I have tried this jewel out and it is astounding how well it works.

The company now makes oilfield tools to retrieve broken and or lost bits in drill holes.

Well to add to that insult here is the injury.

There is at least one individual who is importing blacksmithing equipment including swedge blocks and tools from China and at least one guy who buys it from him for resell.

Ok thats not the problem, other then the bad metal these things are made with, its how they are selling this stuff.

This guy brings in it into the country, it sits out in the weather to AGE it, he beats on it too make it look old then He has a buddy wonder into the holding area so a claim that this stuff came from an old barn etc. can be made and he changes this story often.

How much does he have in a swage block before he sells it on Ebay for top dollar? less then $ 80 usd.

It isn't so much the China made stuff which is a hazard in it self when playing with white hot metal ---- he has to present this stuff as old and well made which it isn't.

So buyer beware and ask the seller about the item before you buy it.

Its the same old game ---- just a different day is all.

Whilst not a hugely popular topic and for all intents and purposes seems not something to talk about in polite company according to authors and others who believe a antique should remain as it is.

Me? I believe if your looking to collect things then thats what you should do.

But I would caution about collecting anvils.

One, Their not something that will fit nicely in a cupboard or album,

Two, Usually heavy and guarantied to leap out at toes at shins or unsuspecting visitors.

Three, They Will Not pay back the investment with much if any increase over the purchase price.

Anvil's are something unique in many ways due to there being pivotal points in history. Some where in all the worlds civilizations and mankind's endeavors the lowly anvil has played an important part.

An item of everyday life, and yet they remain obscure and taken for granted. Possible because even in todays modern world there are anvils all around us.

{ Who hasn't heard of Acme Anvils and a certain coyote? }

So, all that being said lets get down to the hard facts shall we?

Is the anvil your looking to repair worth the time and money ...... to you that is as I don't mean as a antique or door stop.

Mine was!!

So I went looking for info and found very little on the web.

Oh I ran into the bit about pre-heating the anvil and using stick welding rod and even that wasn't easy to find.

Then I found the article below by Ernie Leimkuhler and things fell into place.

I owe him a large Thank You!! and have told him so several times.

Using his methods I have repaired my anvil with great success and while not a bell ringer, the Wilkinson brand never was, it has a sweet tone from the tip of the horn to the tail!

Once again this anvil that was so badly abused then for over 70 years written off as a yard ornament used to crack nuts for squirrels is doing what it was made to do, work.

My anvil was made sometime between 1780 and 1830 by the Wilkinson Forge at Queens Cross in Dudley England.

After checking the Anvils in America book by Richard Postman I've found it has the characteristics of the middle years of the foundry, somewhere around the 1800 mark but NO later then 1830.

Its a large 400 lb Blacksmithing anvil of the London pattern and has been abused at times in its life.

Meg and I drove to Nebraska in her Jeep Wrangler to pick it up after seeing it for sale on Ebay.

Loading it was really up to us but the man who had it listed through his shop did his best to help us including using a 2 wheel dolly in the rain soaked sponge of a back yard and up a 20 foot ramp.

The man who had owned it that my wife and i bought it from claimed it had been owned by a Railroad company and used in the Interurban train car building some time around 1910.

He said he had gotten it from a man who had worked there until the yard was shut down

The info was more then alittle vague and as we find out more I'll add it to this post.

I do know it spent the last 40 - 60 + years slowly sinking into this guys yard and only being used to crack nuts on for the yard squirrels.

Not certain if the red carpet was to neal on as the nuts were cracked or where they were placed, also I have no freaking idea why it was painted red, now a faded pink!!

This old anvil has now been very successfully repaired. The how to is under another post about Anvil Repair.

We have started the paperwork to register ours which is (|), The ( represents Craftworks and the |) is for Duncan