Bought my First Anvil!

[dobsalot]

I am new to this forum and need some info on the anvil I purchased at an auction. It has vul5can in raised letters on one end of the base and I I & B Co on the other. I thought it might be Hay and Buddin but don't really know. I'll try to post some pics.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by dobsalot

I am new to this forum and need some info on the anvil I purchased at an auction. It has vul5can in raised letters on one end of the base and I I & B Co on the other. I thought it might be Hay and Buddin but don't really know. I'll try to post some pics.

It's a . . . Vulcan, says so right on the label.

Welcome aboard.

If you go to the top of the page, click on "user cp" and edit your profile to say where you live you might find smiths living near you and you'd be able to get together for help, tips, etc.

Frosty

[forgeman]

nice find Gauge, mouseholes are good anvils. welcome aboard Forgeman

[Quenchcrack]

I've been looking for a 100# anvil for over a year. I know some local smiths who claim to have over a dozen anvils. No danged wonder I can't find one! Has it occured to us that the reason anvils are so rare and expensive is that our brother smiths are hoarding them? C'mon guys, share the bounty! Well, the heck with it. I just bought a new TFS 100# Blacksmith anvil from my local farrier suppy. I plan to be buried with it!

[steveh]

hi Quenchcrack.i was looking at the smithy special by Delta and was wondering how you like your new anvil and would you recommend them?

[yesteryearforge]

I have 42 anvils ranging from 20 lbs to 1243 lbs.
At every meeting that we have there are anvils for sale and i usually hold back and give the people that are in need of one first chance at a deal / sometimes they are still there at the end of the meeting.
Quadstate is a different story ( if you want that anvil and i want that anvil you had better get to it before me
I meet people everyday that have looked everywhere for an anvil and cant find one / that usually translates into they have been to a coulpe flea markets and asked a few friends and hope to find something real cheap or for free.
I just seem to fall over them everywhere i go and no i dont buy them all.
We went to hatteras on vacation last summer and i ran across 5 anvils on the way down there ( bought a pre 1790 colonial pattern ) was the best deal of the bunch because it didnt look like the rest of them. Left the other 4 for others. If i return and they are still there i may have another look at them.
When i first started out i waited around for the deal of the century too ( i just knew that once people knew that i was a blacksmith ) they would love for me to take all of this junk off of their hands for free or real cheap.
Some people collect knives , guns , belt buckles etc. i just like to collect anvils.
Its not like they dont still make new anvils everyday.
Are they high priced Yes
they still make new guns everyday
Are they high priced Yes and an old one in good shape will fetch a premium price too.
The high prices on ebay are not the sellers fault ( the high price comes from people bidding the price higher and higher ) SUPRISE

Try the Thomas Powers approach i hear it works.
Anvils are pretty plentiful around here so i havent had a need to try his method.
According to my wife my method is working too well now

Mike Tanner

[dablacksmith]

I have to agree about finding anvils ... the price has gone up but they are available .I had one come to me in my shop.... the guy stopped by about a month befor saying he had a anvil for sale and wondered if I was interested.at the time i had 4 and wasnt looking so i took his card to pass on to someone looking .I gave the card to a guy who seemed to be seriously looking but apperently not cause the guy inded up bringing the anvil by. he said he would give me a good deal on it or it was gona end up a lawn ornament in his son in laws yard!!! I bought it even tho I really didnt have the money ..
Turened it in less than a week and doubled my money ...the goy who got it was real happy with the deal he got! if you are really looking and your in america try craigs list ..

[Quenchcrack]

Yep, I guess some guys live in the right locations to find anvils under every rock. Trust me, Craigs list in Houston has not had an anvil for sale since I moved here. Antique shops and eBay think anvils are made of gold or blacksmiths are all illiterate. I have asked all the folks in my smithing org. and nobody has one for sale or knows of one for sale. I have never seen one at a garage sale or estate sale. I think all the anvils down south got melted into canon balls and shot back north!!!

[Quenchcrack]

Steve, the new anvil had to be ordered and is not here yet. Full report when I get a chance to use it.

[philip in china]

Yesteryear, could you tell us about your 1,243 pound anvil?