May 25, 201412 yr Hello, I'm new to smithing. So far, I've been using an old I-beam as a makeshift anvil. This just came up for sale in my area at $150. Do you think this is usable, or potentially an ASO? Thank you! I appreciate your expertise!
May 25, 201412 yr Looks usable to me. My first anvil was a huge deck cleat for tying off docking ships. Dave
May 25, 201412 yr My two bits: looks very cast iron ASO to me. That said, I made enough money to buy a real anvil, tooling and a bunch of other stuff using a cast iron ASO, 2 lb sledge, and an oxy/acetylene rig. I was given the ASO so it didn't cost me anything. Not sure if I would spend $150 on something I was pretty sure was junk. I used what I had available, until something better came along. Mark
May 25, 201412 yr There are bound to be far better anvils in the Philly area. Rather than risk getting a lemon, shop around the scrap yards for any large chunk of iron. Heck. a 20lb sledge would be just as good as that thing, and a whole lot cheaper than it, too.
May 25, 201412 yr Overpriced by about $149. You can see the dents in the face in the second photo. And no, it is not worth bolting a face plate on to it, or building it up with welding rod, it is the wrong grade of cast iron to begin with. Seriously, I put the folks who continue to put this kind of junk on the market to pick the pockets of the un-informed on the level of Internet scammers.
May 25, 201412 yr Author Thank you so much for your help, everyone! The info was really valuable. -Alex
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