Hey guys, i have an oportunity to buy this anvil but i need an advise. Weight is something between - 65-70kg, price 100 € +-(its important to say am just beginner and amateur blacksmith) .check the picture wheres the anvil from the side, i have a suspiction of damaged hanging end/heel. What do u think? is this just an surface defect or something more serious? ( is it possible to weld it? or somehow repair if its truly damaged?) 

 

the second part of topic is oriented about anvils face. its little damaged but i think its not that huge mistake. (maybe welder and angle grinder should help).

 

Anyway am going to check this anvil at saturday.

 

Thanks for advises. Buy or not? How to repair face properly?

 

 

Viktor (Slovakia)

Take a ball bearing or small hammer.  Check for rebound/ring.  If your ball bearing doesn't bounce or the hammer leaves dents walk away.  The price doesn't seem too bad, I'm no expert by no means but that anvil looks ancient.  If it could tell stories...  I wouldn't worry to much, remember the small pits and imperfections don't mean a whole lot if your hammer marks are deeper.  I'm sure one of our more experienced anvil guru's will spot that one right away.  (I'm betting it's eastern Europe, Polish maybe?).  :rolleyes:

If it passes the ball bearing test, see anvilfire.com for it's definition and values expected, I'd be very happy to buy it at that price!

 

Note I would do no grinding or welding on it without *first* doing the same to your own face.  A good wire brushing and pounding hot steel on it should be all it needs!

That's a great anvil. It is in very good condition. 

Keep your grinder far away from the face, it needs no "repair". 

 

Oh, great deal too. Snap it up. 

That is a buy and use as is anvil - looks very usable to me,

if the ball doenst bounces it means the face is too soft? :) 

I think it looks like a bargain Viktor. The few dings I see are shallow chips on the edges so the face is reasonably hard. Drop a ball bearing and see how close to all the way back up it bounces. You can do the same with a smooth face hammer but ball bearings are more consistent themselves and fit a pocket nicely.

 

What you're looking for with a rebound (ball bearing) test is to determine how much rebound it has, the more the better. The anvil resists the force of the hammer blow by not wanting to move, the shock wave travels into the steel compressing it momentarily. The harder the steel is the less it compresses and the faster the shock wave travels, when it gets to the bottom it rebounds and actually returns energy to the bottom of the piece you're working on while the hammer is still traveling downwards. The better the rebound the sooner and harder the anvil strikes back from below.

 

Once you have an idea of what the rebound is, test the entire face a little at a time. This will tell you if there is a weld failure between the face and the body. These are invisible unless they're really bad but the bearing will not bounce well at all over a delaminated area of the face. It will sound and bounce poorly, thunk thud. This is known as a dead spot.

 

Do NOT try repairing with a welder or prettying her up with a grinder!!!! There is not a thing wrong with that grand old lady greater than cosmetic. What damage you see only counts for looks it won't effect her utility a bit. A wire brush and start forging hot iron/steel on her and she'll be more beautiful every day.

 

Were it available to me and passed the rebound test I'd have it in my shop by now but that's me.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

That's probably a pretty old anvil and I'd love to have it in my smithy.  You should buy it and then mail it to me as a sign of international goodwill.  

hey, am afraid little bit of this damaged place in middle of the face. Is it too serious? Yesterday ill try "ball bearing test", i have an ball from homokinetic axle. Thank you so much for help and advises. 

Buy the anvil.  Use the anvil.  It's a very good anvil with a lot of life left in her.  Don't worry about the little bit of damage on the face.  That's meaningless in the big picture.

 

If it has good rebound, buy it.

Reminds me of the anvils used in the Schmirler shop in Vienna, Austria. Go for it!

 

Reference the book, "Werk und Werkzeug des Kunstschmieds"

that anvil is quite old, I have one like that but in much worse condition, same feet, similar angled shelf on one side but not the church window cut outs on mine

Hard to find a prettier anvil than that style, I'd love to own one.

ok ive talked with a anvil owner an he said its 75 kg heavy anvil, just for 100 €, it seems like quite good price :) 

if the ball bearing bounces well that is a very good price, I paid about the same for mine and it is a wreck I will restore one day

Hey guys, thanks for your advices, today I got the anvil, you can watch a video of reboun test, later i upload more videos and photos, anvil is quite good. The oldman (80 years old +-) said me that his grandfather was  doing blacksmith with this anvil. :) it means it is more than 100 years old.

 

rebound test:

Great bounce!  Great price!   you are making us all green with envy!  The bounce indicates that it has a hardened face and so is a "real" anvil and not a cast iron copy of one or an anvil that has been softened in a fire.  

 

The edge damage in the middle is often due to people working horse shoes cold there...

That was quite a find.  A lively anvil, take care of it and it will out last you. B)

second rebound test: 

 

These are promised photos  :) and me and my girlfriend :) 

That is a beautiful anvil, AND girlfriend!

yesterday ive finished anvil stand for this anvil. Nothing difficult, barel cut off in a half with angle grinder, wooden cube made from 11x13cm beams (wooden cube is 42cm long, 35wide, 30tall) buried in sand from all sides. Its pretty much stable, weight of anvil stand is cca 80kg. :)  

 

Viktor :) 

Hi Viktor!

 

I've just noticed your topic but if I saw it earlier I'd said only supportive things about that anvil.

It is a very good one, perfect size, nice old piece and the price you paid is unbelievable.  (You paid 1,33 €/kg. In Hungary the common pricing is 1000 HUF/3.3 € for a kg. My anvil of the same style costed 1,8 €/kg - so you beat me :) )

 

Congratulations on the purchase and I wish you lot of great time working on it!

 

Those chips on the edges will not bother your work. It's pretty easy to learn how to use a bit flawed anvil. In the first times I marked  the intact spots on the edge of the anvil, now I just know how to work on it.

 

Can you read any sign or letters on the side? 

 

Happy hammering and if you ever come to East-Hungary you are welcome to my workshop!

 

Gergely

Looks like a lovely anvil Viktor, I'm glad you bought it. I'm sure it will serve you well for many years.

All the best
Andy

Thank you guys for your advice and answers. My first job on anvil was damask :) Have nice day and lot of luck with smithing :)

 

Viktor