Hi, back again! I have been sorta looking at an anvil that is currently sort of in use at a local scrapyard. I may have a chance to buy it, if I wave some hundred doller bills around. I am guessing at the weight, but It has to be somewhere between 350 and 500 pounds, it is huge. it has a really nice face & horn, useable as-is. it originally came from a railroad shop. NOW, the problem---it is solidly welded all around the base to a home made steel pedestal. the welds are at the base only. has this anvil been ruined by the welding??? otherwise it is in fantastic shape. wanted to get some opinions from the humungous knowledge base here before I pursue this any further.. it will be a challenge if I pursue it & there will be greenbacks involved. thanks for your time, Andy

take it with the stand, check for cracks and rebound before you decide.

I doubt that the heat from welding it to the base reached the upper part of the anvil.

No problem the lower part of nearly every anvil is low carbon and so welds don't cause problems. You can grind off the welds or take it complete your pick.

My RR shop anvil was a FISHER used as part of a Blacker powerhammer and so is a bit odd in shape and has 2 1.5" hardy holes---I keep one shimmed to a more "common" size and leave the other one for the larger tooling I am slowly accruing.
Fishers are non-ringing anvils---but of high quality. I love mine!

thanks for the information! my guess was also that since the welding was done only at the very bottom of the base, the upper portion is still good to go. I know how to grind & scarf out welds. good point about checking for cracks, thanks. I was just so taken by the size of the thing that I forgot all of my basic knowledge! I didn't want to direct any interest towards the anvil just yet, but when I can, I will look for markings and any signs of damage. what it might be worth is a whole thread in itself, and I don't have a maker or anything yet--- I am gonna try for around $400 - 450. based on the crazy prices I have seen online, I shouldn't be taking too big of a chance for five hundred bucks or less. one last thing, can anyone think of anything else to look for? I will do the rebound test, & if it "feels dead", I will leave it be. xxxx, even if it were too jacked up to use, it would make an impressive yard ornament!!! thanks for your time, Andy

Look for weight stamp and maker's markings, possible serial numbers, etc. It is quite easy to guess the weight wrong by a 100 pounds or more as the configurations of anvils can be quite different---like the thick waists on some English anvils vs the extended horn and heel on American ones, etc.

scrap yards seem to be getting about $1.00/pound here locally for anvils. I've talked them down on one but they have a ready made group of buyers especially one dufus who is making a wall of anvils in his man room. He buys any and all. Kind of a shame too because I heard he bought five including a 500+ lb one. If its a good one a $1/lb is a a deal.