MacBell Avils - Any good?

[Ian Sayers]

I recently came across a MacBell 100# anvil. I don't really know anything about MacBell, or how their anvils stack up. Anyone have one? Does anyone have a copy of AIA they could look it up in?

[Bo T]

If you are referring to the one on CL around Portland Oregon, I would not pay the price listed for it and the stand. It appears to be cast and in good shape. If I needed an anvil and it had good rebound - $450.

[Ian Sayers]

That was the one I was looking at and he said he'd sell it for $500 without the stand. He claims it is not cast and has a good ring. I got a copy of anvils in america since the last post, but no mention of macbell anywhere.

[Bo T]

I paid a little over $300 for a Hay Budden that weighed a little less than 100#. That seems to the going rate around here. There weren't any added expenses except maybe a half hour of my time. The MacBell looks to be in better shape. Right now there appears to be a lack of good anvils for sale in the PNW. You might look at what new farriers anvils in the same weight range are going for.

[Ian Sayers]

I know anvil prices, and what I should pay for an anvil of a given quality and weight, but I I can't find any info about MacBell anvils or when and how they were made, which is what I'm after. They look decent, and the pattern is nearly identical to a Trenton swelled-face ferrier anvil, so maybe they were made by someone who started out at Trenton and struck out on their own... or they might just be a cheap copy...