Featured Is this anvil a good deal or not please?

Heres a 32” long anvil, face is 5.5” wide, wt is 350 lbs, no marks, has a “mouse hole” axially. One edge of face is better (sharper) than other. Owner wants $400. and I’m tempted but I prefer buying antiques that are worth more than the price. Is this one worth $450. Or more? I don’t know much about these. Only found one “comparable” on Eboo sold listings: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Blacksmith...329373?hash=item4b3508ff9d:g:qZIAAOSwjytaYUhU

Oh, it is a local pickup for me so shipping cost is only about $10. For fuel.

Thanks!

 

You might ask on this forum ..... https://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?/forum/4-tools-and-tool-making/& They know a bit about anvils.

 

As long as there're no hidden cracks/damage, that's a decent price. I'd say on the low end it should be worth at least 650-700.

 

Thx, I read the tutorial there and how to test an anvil, so I can go back and test it. But the owner does metal working so I’ll just ask him if it’ll pass the test and save myself a couple of hours if he knows it won’t pass. I also have an antique English (?) anvil which I’ll test later today; never knew how to field-test an anvil before. If you are curious, you drop a ball bearing on the anvil’s “sweet spot” and it should rebound to almost the height from which it was dropped. Guess I’ll test the Russian steel anvil we used to shoot up in the air, while I’m at it.

 

Easily worth the asking price. In my neighborhood it'd bring around $2/lb, perhaps more. People like anvils, especially big ones.

Some anvils are solid cast iron with no steel face. Some users prefer a 'dead-blow' anvil. Non-ringing anvils are also sometimes used in urban shops, so as not to annoy the neighbors.

Kinda curious if yours has a wrought iron waist. Can you tell?

 

I can’t see any difference in material of one part vs another. Now that I’ve picked it up, there are some marks, the three-part hundredweight numbers are there, not sure what else, needs a close look.

 

What precisely do you have in mind for this thing? Going to make your own cannon parts? Drop it on the feet of door to door salesmen?

 

No plans yet! Just looked like a good thing to buy now. It’ll make a very efficient door stop if nothing else.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anvil_firing

 

Thx, I’m a former anvil shooter, I used a 110 lb. Russian anvil which got to 500 ft. Altitude when blasted upward by 2 lbs. of FFFG black powder. One of the you-tube videos is “Anvil in Orbit 2.” I’m almost always behind the camera in my you-tube videos, the “actor” in them is usually a friend “Mr. Ed.”

 

Looking the anvil over carefully I did find some markings regarding weight. The three sets of numbers are in the old “hundredweight” system. Marks are 3, 2, 21.



So weight is

(3 x 112) = 336

+ ( 2 x 28) =56

+21
—————————-
413 lbs.

 

It does look like a wrought iron waist to me. if you didn't mind the nick, you could spark test it.

Is the face level? Many old anvils have a little sway in the center, where they were struck the most. I always thought it was due to loss of material, but have heard it said that it's actually due to the wrought iron under the face giving slightly over the years. Even with the little chip, that really is an excellent face for an old anvil.

I've weighed a number of anvils marked with the English stone weight system. I've never had one weigh exactly, or even within a pound or two what it was marked. Been told they had to be within 10% of what they were marked. Got a big scale handy?

Looks like a Peter Wright anvil to me, but there are some quite similar. The slightest scrap of a mark would be a useful clue. Normally found above the weight marks.

 

Weight? Yes I’ll use the digital crane scale this week. Thanks for the input. I can just about make out a line of text but may have to make a rubbing to tell.

 

This photo makes it look like the horn could have been a separate piece. ??

 

Chipped area.

 

Misc photos of it, both sides

 

More

 

Here’s a Peter Wright anvil with exactly the same weight marks as mine:

https://www.ebay.com/i/253536781911...3D711-117182-37290-0%26rvr_id%3D1492010364421

 

Text? Opposite side from weight marks.

 

“5”