However, there are situations when the anvil requires a good amount of repair, including welding. In most cases, welding is not really necessary. To put it mildly, the vast majority of people I see online have mediocre welding skills. Since most people reading this article probably plan to use it as a working anvil, the repairing process should be much more carefully done. The most important thing here is that the collection of decorative anvils should look visually appealing, not necessarily functional. Of course, if it is completely cracked, you may as well pass it on. So, if you find some old anvil that might be interesting to collectors, depending on the condition, it may need some minor restoration work or not at all. The decorative or collective anvil doesn’t necessarily require repair. If the anvil is not severely damaged and has a flat face, start working and see how it goes. If an anvil is in terrible condition, meaning it has a lot of cracks, dents, and chips, and it is intended to be a functional tool, it should be repaired. Repairing an anvil generally depends on the current condition and the purpose for which it is intended. On the other hand, the horn is where most bending takes place. The face is by far the most used part for general work. The main parts where many smiths may be worried are the face and the anvil’s horn. So, if the anvil is severely worn and damaged, meaning it has a lot of cracks, chips and dents, repairing is a must to be usable as a working tool. It must be in decent condition to be usable as a working anvil. On the other hand, if you intend to use that anvil for blacksmithing work, make sure to do it right. If you intend to use the anvil only as a collection or decoration item but nothing else, you may only need some grinding and basic welding, sometimes not even that. Usually, people use anvils for two primary reasons: So, before you start, ask yourself one simple question What do I intend to do with this anvil? It's fascinating history, even if it seems trivial compared to other historic events.Knowing why you want to repair the anvil greatly determines how you should repair it or even should you in the first place. I don't know how long the business lasted, or exactly how old the anvil is. William's son Henry is listed as a "clark" in the business - an administrator. The foudry which made the 12 ton anchors for the Titanic was in Dudley, too. Dudley foundries were known for their products world-wide, among them Peter Wright and Wilkinson. The mean age of death was 16 years at that time. By 1867 Dudley was so crowded that recurring epidemics wiped out a large portion of the population. Dudley is in the heart of "Black Country", one of the hubs of the Industrial Revolution due to its rich mineral deposits: iron ore and coal. By 1881 William employed 194 men and 45 boys at his foundry, making anvils and vises. Through the internet I was able to find out more about Wilkinson - the first to make anvils was born in 1827, possibly related to John Wilkinson who built a famous bridge across the river Severn. Nobody seems to know what they mean, but it could refer to the CROSS in QUEEN'S CROSS. It is two crossed ovals, very faint, but once I took a brass wire wheel to it, it became visible. The clue is the cross above the name, which I thought was just a random mark. The letters are actually a partial Q, not an A, and the ending is correct EENS as in QUEENS. I spoke with another old-timer yesterday who gave me another clue, and thanks to the internet I was able to identify this anvil: it was made by William Wilkinson and Son at Queen's Cross, in Dudley, Worcestershire. IIRC Dudley, England is the city where Peter Wright anvils were made. If it's 1 1 10, that would make it a 150 pound anvil. If it's English, it would make sense to have it marked in hundred weights. There is also the number 10 stamped below on the base. Beneath the word DUDLEY is clearly visible. The last three letters are definitely ENS. The next letter could be an E, a B, maybe an F or R. Then there are two, maybe three spaces where the original casting has an indent and the lettering did not take. The first letter looks like an A, but could be a J. Does anyone know what it is? It doesn't really matter so much as it seems like a good anvil, and does what it's supposed to do. The other has me stumped: It's stamped with the following (partial) inscription. One is a Peter Wright, probably 1860's, definitely pre-1900. They're both 175lbs (although one seems more like 150, I still need to weigh it). I ended up buying both - just in case - at $125 each. I've been looking for a decent anvil for over a year now, with no results and then suddenly I get two calls from a couple of blacksmiths offering to sell me an anvil.
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