navasky

Thanks for the input everyone. Fatfudd, I saw that anvil earlier, it's actually selling for $350.

I haven't seen it in person, and the ad doesn't mention any writing. I definitely plan to do the bearing test before handing over any money.

This just popped up in my (very anvil poor) area. It's 78 pounds. The owner is asking $300 which is too much imo. I was thinking of offering him $200. Does that sound about right? Can anyone identify the brand? Thanks.

I would think electroplating would work without changing the size too much. Be aware that cold blue is poisonous, I would be wary of having it in constant contact with my skin.

Thanks DSW that's exactly the information I needed, I guess I'll be skipping the steel.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I actually have the sledge head attached to some large pieces of steel that go all the way to the bottom of the form so as to take some of the load off the concrete. I was debating whether to coat all of that with silicone caulk like >this guy did in order to reduce vibration. Now back to the original question, I know that adding weight to the concrete won't be the same as having a heavier anvil, but even if it only helps 1% I'd still like to do it. Can anyone weigh in on how big I can go with the steel "aggregate" without making the concrete weaker? Thanks.

I'm planning to sink a sledgehammer head into concrete to make an anvil. I'd like to increase the density of the concrete by adding steel scrap. What I'm wondering is how big the pieces of scrap can get before the strength of the concrete starts to become compromised. Ideally I would just toss a ton of railroad spikes in with the concrete but I have a feeling they might weaken it. Does anyone have any experience with something like this?

I'm in northern California, where anvils are few, far between, and seem to hover around $4/lb

Yeah I wasn't sure about the tiny step but I looked at a bunch of pictures of the bigger vulcans and it seems like a lot of them have a pretty small step. Not sure if they were originally that way or if they're refaced though. I don't suppose anyone can confirm or deny whether any vulcans came like this from the factory? Anyway I'm an anvil newb so all your advice is very much appreciated. A few examples of vulcans with smallish steps:

This is a 250 lb Vulcan, I'm pretty tempted drive out and buy it tonight, my only concern is the face. What do you guys think?

Mark Lee Express Blue

Is that a metal-handled hammer next to it?

Thanks guys, I talked to the seller and it is indeed a 120# Vulcan.

This just popped up on craigslist but he doesn't give the brand or weight and it's a bit of a drive for me. Any help would be appreciated.