Up swing to high fuel costs.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by Dan OHare

Are you sure that was a typo?

Good point. No, I'm not sure at all now.

Frosty

[JohnW]

Watching the impact of high fuel costs on our economy, could be interesting, that is, if I didn't live here, but, I would think, that if you actually do have any money, the cost of tools, such as anvils, would be falling.

[solvarr]

Not sure I am understanding you.

transportation and energy costs are increasing
steel and scrap steel prices are increasing
The dollar is slowly being devalued

Why would anvils decrease in price?

[matt87]

Many people who own anvils have them as garden ornaments; quaint flowerpot stands etc.Very few 'normal' people know about scrapyards. If you're a little strapped for cash due to fuel costs etc., that nice man covered in coal dust and with burn-holes in his shirt offering a few hundred cash-in-hand for your flowerpot stand will be mighty tempting.

[jayco]

I know of a guy who had to relocate to a new job. He sold his nice house to one of my cousins.He had an iron pot, an old wagon wheel, and a little farrier's anvil on the porch.
Part of 'the rustic look'.........He placed no particular value on these things...........and just left them!

There's no moral here, but my cousin has a free anvil!

Funny things happen when money gets tight.

An old man I once knew(speaking of the 1930's depression) said... "Stuff was cheap!.........But nobody had any money!"

[JohnW]

Solvar, I was just thinking about anvil sales on ebay. I'm thinking that most people who buy anvils, do it for their hobby, blacksmithing or collecting. And some of the ebay sellers hold out speculating for higher prices. As more (if?) buyers deferr for a future year, demand will fall and sellers are less likely to believe that higher sales prices are just around the corner.

I never thought about new anvil sales. As costs go up, one or two of the top two anvil companies could drop out of the market. That might have a pretty bad imact on all anvil prices.

As Matt and Jayco point out, a lot of anvils are sold by people you just happen to have one. You don't know what they're going to do.

[solvarr]

New anvils was what I was thinking about.
The used anvil market tends to be rather random.
The ebay market seems to be going at arround 2 dollars a pound in North Carolina.

If there is a shakedown in the anvil makers I hope the best ones win.
Who knows, with the current market we may end up seeing decent anvils from china some day.

[Ten Hammers]

One of the issues with increasing fuel costs is the price of LP for gas forges. Maintaining product prices ( with steel up as well ) is more than a challenge. Passing the whole of the increases on to customers is not possible. Maintaining volume with decreased precentage is a highway towards eventual failure and I don't have any other way to describe it. Last year a 100 lb bottle was roughly 30 bucks to fill ( 23 gallon ). This year it is over 60 bucks. This of course is not including the price of Natural gas to heat the house in the winter. Wood heat will be the only answer. BTW a friend from Civil War is set up next to me at the County Fair this year and he asked me how big of a carbon footprint I make ( laughing ). I said I AM a carbon footprint. If we do not start producing oil in this country immediately we are in a death spiral. Some do not like to hear these facts but they are the facts. Currently 63º F on a nice July morning in Midwest USA. Climates cycle and change as time goes by. 25 years ago the talking heads were worrying about a new ice age. Many have fallen into the current rage about warming. Sorry for the rant but these foolish thoughts will be our economic downfall.

[jimmy seale]

were drilling for gas, but, sometimes it has oil in it-but were working on it! and i have to pay like ya'll do, that just don't seem right(big smile) but we'll do what we gotta do. but, tough times bring on new ideas and inventiveness. we'll get throught this too. jimmy

[jayco]

One upshot to the current high fuel prices is that if you have been needing a truck to move blacksmithing equipment, to haul coal, or go to the scrap yard, this is a good time for buyers.

Around here there are lots of full-size pickups and 1 ton trucks for sale.