Thought I had an anvil!

eoghan_mw · Post by **eoghan_mw** » Mon May 09, 2005 8:29 am

Got word from my gal's mom that there was a large anvil at a garage sale this weekend. I was excited. I get there and its big, maybe 150# (guessing). When I got to it, I could see that the tail end was cracked off at the hardy, the horn was used for cutting (a trough had been cut into it by cutting chisels) and the face looked like a saddle. I didn't even ask what they wanted for it, didn't want them to think it had any value other than scrap. Very sad...

Ceramite · Post by **Ceramite** » Mon May 09, 2005 9:08 am

Those bastards! :evil:

that sucks :cry:

Rytelinski · Post by **Rytelinski** » Mon May 09, 2005 9:14 am

theres a flea market 20 minutes from my house that always has a half dozen or so anvils of all sizes for pretty cheap.

eoghan_mw · Post by **eoghan_mw** » Mon May 09, 2005 9:55 am

Rytelinski wrote:theres a flea market 20 minutes from my house that always has a half dozen or so anvils of all sizes for pretty cheap.

Heh, used to see them at auctions a lot when I was a kid, most of the old farms around here have been cleaned out. Though I still find a few treasures now and then at the junk yard, but they know the value of anvils there and sell them for what they're worth (they're just not worth that much to ME!). I found one about sixty miles from where I live sitting in a garden, as a decoration, with a thick coat of paint, nice horn, etc. They're not interested in selling. Ahwell, I have a good, heavy, flat piece of steel, and a good, heavy bickhorn, I really should try to overcome this desire for a "real" anvil!

AND:

Ever notice how hammer heads cost 25 cents each at garage sales, but cost $4 no matter what condition its in as long as it has a handle. It pays to scrounge.

Thomas Powers · Post by **Thomas Powers** » Mon May 09, 2005 9:55 am

A nice trough sounds like a good armouring anvil. I've bought ones that were in much worse condition than that and got good use out of it for the price ($5 for an 1828 william foster anvil missing the heel and 90 % of the face!)

Thomas

eoghan_mw · Post by **eoghan_mw** » Mon May 09, 2005 10:57 am

Thomas Powers wrote:A nice trough sounds like a good armouring anvil. I've bought ones that were in much worse condition than that and got good use out of it for the price ($5 for an 1828 william foster anvil missing the heel and 90 % of the face!)

Thomas

What would you offer for an anvil, est. weight 150#, with the hardy cracked off, chipped edges, troughed out horn, and saddled face? Yes, one could take a grinder to it and smooth such areas out to make an armouring anvil. I was in the anvil-for-blacksmithing mode and was going to offer $1 a pound if it was in anvil-for-blacksmithing condition. I wasn't thinking of it as a stake for armouring. The anvil as it sits has as far as I know, little to no resale value to anyone locally. Maybe I'll offer them 10 cents a pound and see where it gets me. I don't think its worth more than that to me.

RalphS · Post by **RalphS** » Mon May 09, 2005 2:27 pm

Some years ago I ran into a beaten up and worn out anvil, perhaps 200-250 pounds, at a local auction. I got it for the equivalent of about US$80.

After rounding off the broken horn, it was just perfect for armouring and hot raising. The surface is so uneven that I can find nearly any curvature I want, somewhere on the anvil. There are even a few flat sections. I use it a lot for blacksmithing, and even more for armouring.

I have two other anvils to choose between, one 550 pound monster, a bit soft on the surface but in great shape, and a cast steel portable one about 120 pounds. I mainly use the monster and the worn out 200-pounder, about equally much.

Thomas Powers · Post by **Thomas Powers** » Mon May 09, 2005 2:41 pm

Who made it? How much use could I get out of it?

I bought the WF for a couple of reasons---one is that I plan to chisel off that last but of the face and have some authentic 1828 steel (blister or shear?) to make a couple of blades from to a high degree of authenticity of the period.

The other is that I've always wanted to try refacing an anvil the traditional way; I talked with Postman and he said the WF were not the best grade wrought iron and suggested I weld the steel face onto a piece of WI and then do a WI-WI weld.

I still use it to forge on sometimes to show folks that you don't need to spend a lot of money on a fancy anvil to do good work.

I did buy another anvil, about 120# with no heel and a bit rough horn. However the face is in good smooth shape and I use it as my loaner/outdoor anvil as it doesn't walk off as easily as a nice PW or HB...paid $40 for it IIRC.

SO if I was anvil poor I might offer $50 for that one and would be happy either way it went.

Thomas

eoghan_mw · Post by **eoghan_mw** » Tue May 10, 2005 8:18 am

I made an offer for $35 for it. They said they'd think about it.

Gerhard von Liebau · Post by **Gerhard von Liebau** » Tue May 10, 2005 8:54 am

I got lucky... My dad was buying farm equipment from a guy, and he threw a 155# into the lot for free... Mine, now!

I'd like a larger one, eventually. I think I'm going to mount this one on a stump, if I ever find a good stump!

-Gregory-

Ceramite · Post by **Ceramite** » Tue May 10, 2005 10:31 am

All i have is a 15 pound i nailed down to a stump, it woks but a real anvil would be very very nice!

Thomas Powers · Post by **Thomas Powers** » Tue May 10, 2005 10:36 am

You can make your own stump out of scrap wood. Having the bords oriented vertically takes some of the bounce out of it. You can also do a hollow center to make it more portable if necessary.

Thomas

MigueldZ · Post by **MigueldZ** » Tue May 10, 2005 2:51 pm

Yeah, what Thomas said. My anvil stand was 6 pieces of 2x6, two pieces of all thread, four nuts and four washers. I've since bolted a single stake plate to it and it's an awesome portable stump/stake plate. Gonna pimp it this weekend and add hammer and stake holders to the sides. I've always wanted to make armour at events.

RalphS · Post by **RalphS** » Tue May 10, 2005 2:56 pm

If you're making a dedicated stump/stand, you could put a reinforcing band around it, and give the stand a nice flared shape. Here are some pictures which show the reinforced stands, though I'm pretty sure that both anvils are mounted into the stand, as opposed to onto it.

Thomas Powers · Post by **Thomas Powers** » Tue May 10, 2005 3:22 pm

That bottom one looks like one I got for events where I get to go medieval/renaissance!

Saw a nice version of it in one of the Venus at the forge of Vulcan pictures.

Thomas

RalphS · Post by **RalphS** » Tue May 10, 2005 4:15 pm

This one is from around 1500, in the armymuseum in Delft, the Netherlands. I missed buying one of these models a few months ago at an online marketplace, someone else beat me to it

The top picture shows Gotscha getting ready for the ceremonial finishing touch, before a new armour of his was taken up in the museum collection ( http://www.gotscha.nl/uk-boyarmour.htm ). I have no idea how old the anvil is he was using, but I like it!

eoghan_mw · Post by **eoghan_mw** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 2:58 pm

Sometimes you find great deals where you'd not really expect to find them. I was in town the other day visiting a friend and we went out for a walk to look at a woodstove I had spotted in someone's driveway. It was for sale but he had just decided to give it to a friend, it was a nice stove, I could have used it in the shop. I half jokingly asked the guy if he had an anvil that he'd like to sell. He motioned for me to follow him into his garage. He had a 94# Peter Wright and said he had paid $25 for it years ago and never used it and was getting tired of moving it around in his garage. He said he'd let me take it home for $25 just to get it out of his way.

Thomas H · Post by **Thomas H** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 3:31 pm

I got an anvil straight from the blacksmith who had ithidden under his wrokbench for the best part of his career. All rusty but that soon brushed off. Must be about 200lbs, double horned and VERY sturdy. a little saddled on the face but not bad at the equivelant of $100. Only took 3 of us to get it into the car :-)

Thomas, i'm looking for a stump anvil to place outside for heavyweight armouring/smithing, do you have any recommendations on weight, size etc?

KerryStagmer · Post by **KerryStagmer** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 6:00 pm

if your just looking for a flat surface to forge on....

try taking that screwed up anvil and flipping it over, I'll bet the bottom is dead flat.

if its cheap enough I'll bet it works just fine. It may not be dressed nice but if the top is saddled too bad it might be easier

(I'm joking, but I will look over a couple of my scrap anvils!!)

Thomas Powers · Post by **Thomas Powers** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 6:22 pm

Thinking of building a stump anvil? Take a couple of fork lift tines, and weld them back to back and do some creative cutting torch work---try to keep the "face" cool. though.

Thomas