I answered an ad for blacksmith tools today:

 

200 lb anvil (pics look like a 100 lb, not in bad shape)  says cast iron on the back, 31inchs from heel to the point

 

post vise, condition unknown

 

melting pot??

 

tongs, number and condition unknown

 

Price  $475--

 

If it is 200 lbs....is this a reasonable price??

 

Thanks Larry

For Cast iron I would keep looking.

Melting pot, most likely no use to you, Post vice if good worth around 150-250

Tongs - About 20 bucks each.

SO you will be paying around $250 for the anvil.

If it was a steel faced one or entirely steel then all good and well, But cast will not have a great rebound and will most likely not be in great shape if it has actually been used.

So i guess it depends on your cash flow and how desperate you are.

Not knowing where you live makes it hard though. How long you been looking for an anvil?

Have a read, every second post is about buying anvils on here lol

31 inches from the tip of the horn to the base of the heel would indeed be a 200+ pound cast anvil. Never seen a knock-off el cheapo cast iron Anvil Shaped Object (ASO) that big, they tend to max out around 100 pounds. So there is a possibility that it actually is a quality anvil at a reasonable price.

 

But without pictures/link/name brands, as the say in Down East Maine: "Hard sayin', not knowin' ".

all sounds ok. if you don't have anything then go for it. if you have stuff you can always use more, you can always turn it over later if you want to get ride of it. that big of an anvil could be a fisher or a vulcan. or it could be cast steel with a face plate. could be forged steel... most people that are not in the business can't tell any difference. you can always make an offer. if you have a forge then you will have a good shop start. if you have two forges you will have a good demo start.

Just say no to the aso.....Btw, If you listed your general location you might get some feedback on where to get a decent one..... :)

thanks everyone for the replies!! I thought it was over priced. There is a Peter Wright  103 lb anvil about an Hr away in Whitesboro, NY for 325, I may make an offer on it.

 

Thanks again

Larry

I'd hold.  Being in the northeast, there are always anvils popping up around you on ebay and craigslist.  I use searchtempest.com to search the region

Thanks Vaughn

 

Search Tempest is new to me, turned up quite a few anvils to my surprise. I may go look at the originsl anvil I was talking about, just to see what it is. I really want a 2-300 pounder. If I go I'll take alot of pics, weather I get it or not

 

Larry

I once had to buy a 100 Kilo Cast Iron ASO  after my 200# *real* anvil got stolen a couple of days before I had to do a day long demo at a museum.  I used it that *1* time and then never again and finally sold it years later at a steep discount to a fellow who swore that he would never try smithing on it.

 

It was dead soft and would dent *under* red hot coil spring being hammered.

 

So you want a big anvil---why the heck would you buy a cast iron ASO and not save the money to *buy* a real anvil the size you want?

I've seen ASO's in the #220 + range... Always test rebound... Always avoid the ASO...