Anvil asking price..

[ADSR]

...............

 

[mechanicalmoron]

I would try to find more about the brand - when it was made, it's materials and method of manufacture.

I googled the stuff on the bottom, couldn't find anything.

If it's a forged anvil, considering the condition it looks to be in, it MIGHT only be like 200 high. If it's cast iron, it's 550 high. Cast hardened steel, somewhere in between.

It's possible it's worth that much, depending on the area and potential buyers (how desperate or rich you are) All the surfaces look reasonably good, but I think I'd expect a better face for that price, maybe it's just the pictures. And paint is not a positive thing on an anvil. And "no weld" makes it sound like it was in a rough environment, more likely to have people stupid enough to weld on an anvil that didn't say not to, beating cold stuff on it and that sort of thing.

 

[Davefr]

Down here in the US I'd estimate market prices to be around $3-4/lb for decent anvils from the highly regarded manufacturers.

That anvil looks to be in great shape but you'll have to research that made in Canada brand to see if it's decent. If so I'd say around $500 would be fair based on US prices.

 

[neophyte]

Good used anvils have gotten expensive and much harder to find. Many of the current anvils you find are actually cast iron paperweights. The Ridgid Peddinghaus number 9 German made anvils weigh about 165lbs. and cost between $900 and $1000 if you price them on line. The anvil in the ad is rusty, but otherwise looks clean. I know nothing about the brand though, so I have no way of knowing if it was a quality anvil or just a giant cast iron paperweight. You would have to go out with a ball bearing and do a drop test to tell what the quality might be. Anvil prices might be higher in Canada tan in the USA. If you needed an anvil, and it turned out to be a quality one, and you were local, the savings on shipping might be worth the price. If it's not well hardened though, you would be seriously getting hosed.

 

[nine4gmc]

Down here in the US I'd estimate market prices to be around $3-4/lb for decent anvils from the highly regarded manufacturers.

That anvil looks to be in great shape but you'll have to research that made in Canada brand to see if it's decent. If so I'd say around $500 would be fair based on US prices.

This is what I see around here usually too($3-4/lb), but I just got lucky on a 260# Hay Budden for $180 though so if you are like me and NOT rich, keep looking and one will eventually turn up.

 

[bczygan]

WCBG is Western Canadian Blacksmiths Guild. Sounds like they had them made.
they still exist:
http://www3.telus.net/public/wcbg/index.html

 

[Davefr]

This is what I see around here usually too($3-4/lb), but I just got lucky on a 260# Hay Budden for $180 though so if you are like me and NOT rich, keep looking and one will eventually turn up.

Yes and that find was 100% pure SUCKAGE!!! ($.75/lb for a highly regarded anvil).

 

[ADSR]

Going to feel him out.

Thanks guys

 

[Mr. Brooks]

since he is moving, buy the table and vise thats on it as well....bundle price...

 

[mechanicalmoron]

How much did you pay for your worn out anvil this anvil will replace?
I sure wouldn't pay much more than scrap if your current one is still useable.
If you're buying it as a novelty or doorstop price it at entertainment value.

Why do you have such a poor opinion of this anvil?

I'm not stepping up to defend it's quality (which I know nothing of), but you seem to have such a negative view of... anvils in general?

You do understand that anvils really do wear out, right? And that even if they don't, there are all sorts of benefits to having different ones - you might want a different horn shape, different step or hardy or pritchel location or size or shape, different shape/size face, or if none of that matters for the task at hand, the one with the best possible rebound. You might want a portable one, a spare one for when your go-to decides to take a **** and have the heel shatter off while you're working on a hardy, sometimes horns take a **** too.... sometimes for no apparent reason (though I'd guess, insufficient heat at the time of the pouring of the rest of the anvil to it, or, at the time of forge welding, depending on design) a piece of face can spall off - and of course, if it can, it will do it right where you don't want it, in the sweet spot over the foot where you actually forge. And, some anvils just have a better design, or that one just turned out better than the rest, and have better rebound than other substantially heavier anvils.

I mean, other than the price, I can't imagine why you'd only want, or only use, one anvil. Do you also think blacksmiths only need one hammer? Additional tongs would surely just be paperweights, ehh?

Sort of like saying that after your first, any ratchets you buy are just paperweights. Sometimes you need two just to get a nut off a bolt - think of anvils the same way as any other tool - in a practical sense, it's very hard for an individual to have more than they can use.

I think the problem with this one is it looks like it was used very disrespectfully, really wailed on - again, in the kind of setting with retards running wild, who need their anvils to TELL them to not weld on them. The face looks marred - a good anvil should be just fine to dry-hit (within reason), it should bounce a full sized hammer without doing any damage - if it's dinged up it was EITHER abused, OR is not hard enough.

If you have a reason for thinking so badly of this anvil, I'm sure that those of us who like anvils, would like to know what is or is not wrong with it, to help us in our own purchases.

 

[RivennHewn]

Going to feel him out.

Thanks guys

Hmm… I wonder if that means the same thing in Canada as it does in the US

 

[mechanicalmoron]

I didn't question the tool.
I questioned the price and how that price is subject to it being a viable tool that is used so frequently as to have actual not "imagined" value, or as a novelty because you just have to ride the bandwagon.

Priceless as the perfect tool for the job.
Valueless as a conversation piece.

The value of most anvils, unless owned by professional smiths, will NEVER be recuperated, in any type of monetary fashion.

All you get is the joy of using a great anvil, as opposed to the frustration of using a **** anvil. For most of us who play with blacksmithing or forging of any type, it's only for the fun we'll get out of it.

But, if you accept that you're talking to someone who wants to forge on it because they love to, the value question is answered. Given the nature of anvils, and of how hard it is to find a good one, it's pretty safe to assume that someone asking this question does NOT have a dozen spares, they probably don't even have one really nice one. So, I don't think the "need" is even a concern.

Do you really think anyone is asking about buying a 650 dollar anvil, just to make the yard look rustic? Or just because they think their big brand new peddinghaus might not be enough? If he's asking, and considering it, he needs it.



On a somewhat related note, for a few years I've wondered how the counterweight from a forklift would do - or even just a small piece of it, maybe with a small tool steel face welded on. I saw an electric geo metro build thread where someone bought a scrap forklift for the motors, and they said it was like 18k lbs, and started to sink into their driveway before the scrap man showed up - 18k lb anvil, you say?

 

[ADSR]

Hmm… I wonder if that means the same thing in Canada as it does in the US

LOL, i knew someone would say something about the wording

 

[drivesitfar]

MM: great posts and all makes perfect sense. your last line reminded me of a guy i know that had me help him buy some forks off a fork lift so he could make his own anvil for his knifemaking hobby. i did manage to help him get them, but unfortunately he got cancer and has been on chemo for several years now. that said he was convinced it would work and had other knife maker friends that had actually made them so you might look it up if you are interested.

now as far as the value of the anvil that Diesel posted it almost looks too clean and the do not weld ink on the side leads me to wonder if it is in a good shop with people that know how to use one. before i met the knife maker i had no idea that you shouldn't hit cold steel on an anvil or shouldn't for more than a few blows and that should be done on a RR tie.

I've acquired a nice Peter Wright 140 pound anvil not too long ago and even though i would love to be the one banging hot metal on it I'm a newbie and maybe a few years from even starting to use it. i'd consider selling it for the price that the other anvil owner is asking and PM'd diesel to give him a choice since we are only about a 3 hour drive and a boat ride from each other.

pictures of my Peter Wright 140 pounder for you anvil enthusiast and please let me know if you like or don't like either in a PM or post here if Diesel doesn't mind.

 

[Foose911]

Have a look at this one in Alberta. $0.75 - $10.75/lb is quite the price range!