anvil pricing

[warmpancakes]

Im looking at a used anvil, whats the going rate for older USA made anvils? I know with vises 1.00 per lb is good but whats the rate for anvils? Its about 100-110 lbs the only marking he can find is a raised 18 on it

 

[justanengineer]

$1/lb on anvils, but not on ASOs (anvil shaped objects). Dont let the prices online fool you. Vises are $0.50/lb until you get up to 100+ lbs, then they go up to ~$1/lb.

 

[RivennHewn]

$1/lbs was going rate for a long time.

It seems to have gone up considerably in the last few years.

I'm seeing them go for up to $3/lb. in my area.

I also watch Ebay & CL for anvil prices.

 

[Packard V8]

The dollar-a-pound anvil is ancient history.

One might find an anvil-shaped-object for $1# or might find a seller who hasn't educated himself on the current market, but the going price for a USA/Brit anvil with the maker's name on it is from $2 to $3 a pound these days.

JMHO, but since vises can vary so much in condition and are much more subject to wear and abuse than are anvils, the price-per-pound for vises isn't as applicable as it is to anvils.

jack vines

 

[warmpancakes]

Its a older anvil about 125 lbs square hole on top I have pics on phone but can't get them here

 

[PsRumors]

If it has a nice "ping" to it any where from $1.5 to $4 seems to be the going rate. I picked up one this past weekend, no name but rings like I have never heard. Paid $2.75 a lb.

 

[hofferwood]

Good Luck,
Down here (a little south of ya), folks think they are made of gold. I saw one at the flea at Middlebelt and Pennsylvania a few weeks ago. Maybe 100lbs or a touch more, junkass homemade stand= $250.00
Well smartass me say's "Ya only have one? Damn I need two. Have to pass"

Chuck

 

[bluebolt]

Are you buying it to resell or for personal use? Are you willing to wait four or five years for the great deal or do you want one now? You can spend a lot of gas money running around trying to find an anvil. Hard to price something we can't see. The raised "18" lettering means it is at least partially cast. Make sure it's not an ASO lol! If it has a nice ring but no other markings I would probably pay up to $150 for that anvil. Last anvil I saw sold went for $250, probably about a 150 pound anvil. Found an English "Mousehole" anvil at a garage sale a few moths ago but guy wouldn't sell it, it was a family heirloom from their old farm.

Emerson Horseshoe Supply is a bout five miles from me and sells new anvils. 100 lbs $585, 150 lbs $795, 200 lbs $1060.

 

[warmpancakes]

good friend restores cars and he needs it for metal fad work , Its been in a building sitting unused for 30 years on a pallet covered with grease (good thing) it has no rust Ill be hauling it home tonight hopefully I can get it out of the car and begin the cleaning

 

[T VETTE]

A few weeks ago I was at an estate sale up in the mountains and saw a an old named brand that was chipped up a bit and it went for about $250 and I think it was about 150lb. I thought about it for a second and a guy came up and said it just sold. Didn't really need it for me.

 

[warmpancakes]

crappy cell phone pic thats a lawn mower off to the side to help judge the size

 

[mikevango]

I just bought one a couple months ago. It a 100lb 1912 fisher with an Erie tool works vise. It is bad ***. I posted about it on the other forum.

Here's a pic of it eating my pos Chinese vise

 

[bluebolt]

OK do the steel ball rebound test and report back!

 

[Jack Olsen]

Is it American-made? Odd if there isn't a manufacturer's name on it.

 

[warmpancakes]

OK do the steel ball rebound test and report back!

uh : sure once i figure out what that is

 

[warmpancakes]

Is it American-made? Odd if there isn't a manufacturer's name on it.

dont know, its older guy said its been sitting for 30 ish years since they moved to this building, all of the other stuff is old and good quality so i think its a 60% chance of being american made

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

shoe a horse lately ?

 

[warmpancakes]

shoe a horse lately ?

Im going to use it to keep the car in the garage inline

 

[Jack Olsen]

I am not an anvil expert. But did any American anvil company make unmarked anvils?

 

[warmpancakes]

im going by what the guys sees they are closing shop and its headed to scrap, 220.00 a ton right now so worst case if its junk im not out much

 

[back2class]

i sold one recently 135lb. Got $125 for it. Old american iron, but the hammering surface had some good size chips in it, and if yoy looked real close the surface had some tiny cracks in it. Think it "rung" a little off in center where the hairline cracks exsted. Proly should have kept it, but some guy was here buying a bunch of other stuff and asked me about it. I rarely used it so I quoted him $100 because of the condition. Not sure if I sold it for too much or too little. Maybe ya'll can tell me.

 

[mngundog]

Could someone explain the "ring" thing to me?

 

[warmpancakes]

I had to google it too, seems "good" anvils will sing like a crystal glass does, where a lesser quality one will thud when you allow a hammer to fall onto it

 

[bluebolt]

I had to google it too, seems "good" anvils will sing like a crystal glass does, where a lesser quality one will thud when you allow a hammer to fall onto it

And rebound is the other sign of a good anvil. Drop a steel ball bearing about 1 inch on it from 10 inches high and see how much it rebounds. Some of the best anvils rebound 9 inches! Or use a hammer. From Anvil Fire site "Set it upright. Hold a 3lb or less, ball peen or smithing hammer, handle parallel to the face, over the center of the anvil with both hands, the tips of the fingers acting like pivots at the end of the handle the other hand supporting the head. Use the flat face of the hammers not the peen! About 8 to 10 inches height will do. THEN Drop the head and observe how far the hammer rebounds. It should rebound about 1/3 the height dropped, then 1/3 of that and so on. On a cast iron anvil it will bounce about 1/10 the initial distance or less. With a hard hammer on a really hard (smaller) anvil the rebound may be as much as 1/2!"

 

[otisdog]

I am not an anvil expert. But did any American anvil company make unmarked anvils?

Yup...some of the huge ones left the factory without ID of any kind.

 

[otisdog]

Not all "good" anvils ring. Some are cast with a tool steel face plate (Fisher is the most common). They thud when struck, put pass the rebound test with flying colors. Smiths who are trying to remain on good terms with their neighbors prefer such an anvil.
Some "good" anvils that are supposed to ring don't...that indicates a separation or crack...such an anvil would have poor rebound characteristics.
A great website for anvil info is I forge Iron, aka IFI.
Warning: Collecting anvils can be dangerous...

 

[warmpancakes]

can you tell anything about that anvil from the crappy pic and minimal description, Luckly enough its at a machine shop so its in the solvent tank right now so it will be nice and clean when I pick it up tonight. oh did I mention the price 50.00. it weighs in at an estimated 140lbs on the old bathroom scale they have there

 

[otisdog]

Whoops, back to the original question. Seems that the cheapest anvils are to be had around the Ohio River valley, the hotbed of the industrial revolution. Once you cross the Mississippi prices take off, and finding a large, old anvil on the west coast is a very difficult undertaking...and if you find one, be prepared to pay. I recently hit the mother lode, one that I think is 450 pounds in perfect shape, residing as a lawn ornament at 8,000 feet elevation in the Sierras.

 

[RivennHewn]

I thought the test for how good an anvil is, is how high will it go when you 'blow the anvil'

 

[shanker]

I thought the test for how good an anvil is, is how high will it go when you 'blow the anvil'

I came here to post that but you beat me to it

 

[kxxr]

anvil magazine buyer guide link:
http://www.anvilmag.com/comment/tm97is.htm

 

[bluebolt]

can you tell anything about that anvil from the crappy pic and minimal description, Luckly enough its at a machine shop so its in the solvent tank right now so it will be nice and clean when I pick it up tonight. oh did I mention the price 50.00. it weighs in at an estimated 140lbs on the old bathroom scale they have there

$50! You ****!

 

[warmpancakes]

Its a peter wright 130 lb anvil. More pics coming

 

[disaster1277]

i came across aprox 50lbs anvil no brand name on it but had a Z on one side and on the side U.S. any one have any info ?

 

[bas157]

Bit of an older post here that I'm bringing up......but does the price per pound get higher and higher as you get heavier? There is a 451(!!!) pound Paragon Anvil (swedish made in 1923) at an auction I'm going to tomorrow. Don't have a real immediate need for it, but if it goes cheap enough, I may just bid some on it. Any idea what the going price on something that size would be?

 

[kindyr]

I would think the price per pound would hit a "saturation point" where the price per pound goes over a certain weight, simply because the individuals who need an anvil that large go down, so demand will go down. I think a 450 lb anvil would be past most peoples need, so the price per pound would be less than a 250 or so anvil.

I wouldn't even guess what it might go for at the auction, because it will all depend on who shows up and how deep their pockets are.

 

[bas157]

It went for $4180 after the 10% buyers premium($3800 was the bid). I heard some guy ask the winning bidder about it and he said he's seen one go for $5000 that wasn't as big, so I think he was bidding to resell it. There were a bunch of bidders on it until it got over ~$2500

 

[kc-steve]

I had to google it too, seems "good" anvils will sing like a crystal glass does, where a lesser quality one will thud when you allow a hammer to fall onto it

FWIW, I have heard that "ring" when tossing a bunch of quality vintage wrenches into a box. I rarely hear that with other lesser quality tools.

Steve