How does this look for $350

[navasky]

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?

 

 

 

 

[Jim Coke]

Greetings Nav,

 

Whoooh ....  It looks to me like the whole face is missing... Normally you can see a deeper step... Be sure to test the top for softness...  and take a ball bearing and a small ball peen...  Proceed with caution....

 

Jim

[101 H-B]

Agree, looks like better to pass. Not sure where you're located, but given a little time I'm sure you can do better. You'll be glad you looked a little more in the long run even though it's no fun to wait.

[navasky]

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: 

 

 

 

[DanielC]

The face appears to have been milled down. The plate will probably end around where the step begins.

[Glenn]

navasky, add your location to your profile and we may be able to assist you in locating an anvil in your area.

[navasky]

navasky, add your location to your profile and we may be able to assist you in locating an anvil in your area.

 

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

[Timothy Miller]

I would rate it 3.5 out of 10. 

[srwimmer]

I sold my Vulcan Anvil with the Arm & Hammer Logo, 150 lbs. on craigslist for $300 ($2/lb).  As you can see from the link, all Vulcan anvils have a very small step.  That was the main reasons I sold it, i did not like the smaller step.   I have a smaller Hay Budden anvil that I like much better because it has a much larger step.  The larger step is much easier for me to use and easier to work the metal.

 

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/atq/3835566177.html

[Dale M.]

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

Come inland.... We have a group up  here in MARIPOSA and anvils come up quite often... Wife got me a excellent Vulcan 100lb for $200...

 

Dale

[ThomasPowers]

Yes Vulcans do have a quite shallow step; but that one shows that at least half the face has been removed.  As Vulcans often have a fairly soft face someone probably thought they were increasing it's value.  In such cases I generally tell the seller that its a shame that a *previous* owner had ground down/milled the face as it ruined the worth of the anvil.  (May very well have been done by *them*; but you want to educate them to not do it again rather than make them mad.)

 

Defintely an under US$1 a pound anvil *now*!

 

I keep a Vulcan with the face plate worn through and the horn broken off to show folks how they were made and the issues they can have.

[Everything Mac]

Personally I'd pass. But if you can afford it and don't have an anvil then there are worse ones out there.

Go have a look at it. Talk them down on the price.

Andy

[Bentiron1946]

Personally I wouldn't pay a dollar a pound for it in that condition but there are those who would. We had some folks move in the area from Tennessee and they had a really beat up Vulcan and it sold for about $2.25/# and it wasn't worth that much, more like $0.25/# because so much of the face chipped off, just gone, but anvils are in short supply here in AZ.

[101 H-B]

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

Nav, Check your PM, I sent you a N. California contact to try for anvils.

[Everything Mac]

Out of interest why are they considered to be "bad"?

[John McPherson]

EMac,

 

Vulcans were cheapest "real" American made mass market anvils in their day. Some will argue the fine points of order, but: early 20th century available anvil models were either solid cast Swedish steel (imported), wrought iron with a tool steel face (imported and domestic), or cast iron with a tool steel face (domestic). Then, as now, there were cast iron ASO's available. The difference was, merchants priced them according to their merits.

 

Fishers were the best of the bunch, and the only ones considered to be good enough to be used in a production shop on a daily basis. Vulcans sat at the lower end of cast iron/steel face anvils, sold mostly to farmers and other occasional users and bargain hunters. The faces were often thin to begin with, and I have never seen one without problems. We have one as a school anvil, and had to build up a new face by welding E7018 over nickle rod. It is still soft, but can be ground down with a flap wheel when needed.

[ThomasPowers]

It's sort of like buying tires where Vulcans are like tires good for 12,000 miles and a Hey Budden are tires good for 60,000+ miles.

 

Unfortunately many a person will try to sell you 12,000 tires for the 60,000 tire price!.

 

The face is half or less in thickness than a high grade anvil, often softer than a high grade anvil and I have seen some tremendously bad casting flaws in them---things that should NEVER have been let out of the factory.  The one I keep as a display piece has a line of casting voids you could stick pencils in between the horn and body---where it broke while a fellow was setting a rivet!  There are more voids peaking out from under the face slab on the horn too and I have seen several other Vulcans with the same voids visible at the horn slabs interface.

 

BTAIM if you live in places where you have to be quiet and you can pick up one where the already thin face hasn't been thinned more and you can get them for the price of a Ford Escort instead of a Mercedes Benz; they make an OK anvil to start with.

[Everything Mac]

Cheers John. Much appreciated.