falsevacuum

The coloring on the edge looks a little off. Is it possible this anvil was welded up? Or am I mis-seeing things?

From my perception of prices in the states, $800 is a bit pricy relative to market price. But if it's a Hay Budden in mint condition, it may well be worth it to you. On the other hand, if it's got a huge crack, it probably isn't worth more than $100. But, as previously mentioned, if you can afford it and to you it's worth it, go for it.

The usual question asked is "where do you live?" Since prices vary greatly depending on where you live.

Oh, wow. That's pretty impressive! That must have been a heck of a lot of welding. Thanks!

It looks like you welded the outside of the top plate. So there would be a gap between the plate and the body. Is that right? Are you worried about that?

That's awesome! Is the entire thing tool steel or did you weld a face on? Edit: derp didn't see build page link

That feels almost criminal. I take it this is what face delamination is? Ha, I'd almost be tempted to seem super interest, then show up and test the rebound and offer scrap price.

An ASO will have almost no rebound. I can full force smack my ASO and I get no kick back, it just leaves a dent instead. If it's got very little rebound, it MIGHT have been through a house fire, but that's doubtful. Someone other than me would know better. If you can dribble your hammer on the anvil, I think it's probably fine. (If you hold the hammer loosely and let it drop from maybe 2", does it bounce a couple of times?)

I'm a beginner, so go find your salt shaker and get a few grains. I do read a lot, but reading is no substitute for experience. > TPAAAT Since it's not sure easy to find exact details of it, the two minute version is ask everyone you know to ask around. Talk to the cab driver, the wait staff, go to the flea market and talk to the tool or antique dealers there and let them know what you're looking for. Get the word out: AuburnMind is looking for an anvil. Most people who work at it succeed within a week to a month, from what I've read. Hammer you can get from a hardware store for a bit of money, if you don't want to search too hard. I bought a 2lb cross peen from Amazon for $20, then ground it to an acceptable face. The forged one I bought used at a conference is much better, but buying blacksmithing equipment can be difficult and often expensive outside of a blacksmith group. Depends on if the convenience is worth it to you. A forge can be built, but many beginner forges have flaws. So base your design off a commercial forge is the advice I've been given. As mentioned above, a forge can be a hole in the ground with air blown into it. But if you can get a raised one, I'm sure your back will thank you later. There are lots of examples of makeshift anvils that work quite well. Railroad anvils (set tall, not wide), forklift tine anvils, etc. Google is your friend here. If you drop by your local scrapyard, they may have what you're looking for. TPAAAT is an option for a more "traditional" anvil. In the states, we have ABANA affiliates: local blacksmithing groups. I assume there's something similar in the UK? If so, that's a good bet.

I've read the ductile iron anvils make fine anvils. They do a special heat treatment that brings them up to good anvil hardness. I wouldn't suggest discounting them without looking into it more. I recall reading some reviews of them from very satisfied smiths.

I won't be using more than an 8lb sledge, and probably not too agressively either (swinging from the side, not over the head). If I end up going heavier, I'd go find myself a steel block to use. Hopefully nothing bad happens! Thanks for the info! That's pretty exciting and I'll do my best to take care of and put to work this piece of history. Yes, that was one of my first reactions seeing that: little need to worry about taking off the heel! I think I should still be careful around the horn though.

The pritchel hole is SO much cleaner than the hardy hole. The hardy hole is an uneven mess inside, the pritchel hole is quite straight and clean. So my guess is: yeah, it was drilled.

Bought this anvil this morning. 113# per a scale, $300. I don't see any marks aside from the V shape on the side. It looks old though! Now I just need to whip up a stand! I plan to use this anvil for striking, since I already have an anvil I use for 1 person forging.

I've only been forging for a short while, so I don't have the experience a lot of folks do, but I forge in a t shirt with pants and boots. If I use tennis shoes, I can scale burns in them, and I bet dropping steel would be bad. I find gloves are only necessary for twisting (scale falls on your hands) I find a jacket is nice if you're welding but otherwise unnecessary. I used hearing protection before I put about 6 hard disk magnets on it. Now I don't use hearing protection. Something to protect your eyes is thr only thing I can definitively say is a must.

Thanks. I agree I overstepped my bounds, my mistake. Apologies for that as well. I think you do have something useful to add: better information.