resurfaced anvil?

[ausfire]

I saw this anvil for sale. Seems quite a reasonable size (700mm)and in pretty good shape. No indication of weight. It looks to have been resurfaced - and no identifying marks. It's an online photo - sorry for poor quality. Any comments?

[VaughnT]

Hard to say for sure, but the top and cutting table both look immaculate.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does seem a bit off considering the condition of the sides.  It doesn't look like the face was milled down, but welded up.  

 

On the other hand..... when folks weld up the worn face, the don't usually bother with the cutting table because it's almost never used.

 

All told, the super shiny finish and crisp clean edges give me pause.  The anvil could be new old stock; something that's never been touched by a hammer.   I'd certainly consider the purchase if the price was right and I could do a tap test before shelling out the money.  If you can't do an onsite inspection, I'd pass.

[ausfire]

Thanks Vaughn. It's in Brisbane - 1000km away from me, but I could arrange pick up. No chance of testing it. It just looks a 100% better than my well-shouldered anvil I use at home. The guy says it does have a maker's name but, as is often the case, it's hard to decipher. Says it looks a bit like ELIS???

[VaughnT]

Looking at it again, I'm leaning towards it being either really well cared for, or new old stock.  When you blow the photo up you can see that the paint on the side hasn't been messed with around the top.  If someone had welded up the face and then ground/milled it flat, you'd expect to see some grind marks or heat discoloration in the grey paint on the side.  There's nothing.

 

If the face, horn and cutting table were welded up decades ago, why isn't there any damage from post-welding work?  The horn looks very good and you can see remnants of paint on the underside.  To have paint on the horn after welding up any dings and cuts???  I just don't see that happening.  An abused anvil that needs welding up wouldn't have remnants of paint on the horn after all that welding, grinding and sanding.  

 

The paint on the main body shows an even distribution of wear, indicating that the anvil is old, but not heavily used or abused.

 

I can't speak for the maker, but I feel confident that the top hasn't been welding on.  More photos would definitely be nice.

[Anachronist58]

I am inclined to second VaughnT's assessment -  It looks like new old stock - though a clearer image would be helpful.  7.29 KB is not a lot of pixels.  Were i in your position, and all the numbers look right, I would probably be fool enough to throw the dice on that one,  and hope that I weren't wearing beer goggles.

 

Robert Taylor

[ianinsa]

It's all price dependent isn't it? It might be a crap shoot but at least your going to be rolling the dice, and it looks Good! If you get it at a good price and it doesn't turn out great you could just flip it? Right?

 

I recon I'd take a chance , well $ dependent of course!

Ian

[ironwolfforgeca]

looks like a Peter Wright ? /style anvil to me ?????

[metal99]

Looks darn good, I'd grab it if the price is fair.

[ausfire]

Well, I missed out on the anvil.

It was on eBay and I pulled out after $600. Should have gone a bit more, because it went for $630. Still, you have to draw the line somewhere. :(

[VaughnT]

...you have to draw the line somewhere. 

Every time I bid on something, the bidding war goes through the roof until I reach my max.  As soon as I drop out, the bidding will stop $5 over whatever my max was.  And if I don't bid on something because I "know" it's just gonna go for crazy money....  the final bid will be a pittance.  It's enough to make a grown man cry.