Tacuff1414 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 I found this anvil for sale local, but the owner knows no details about it. They just say it's been in the family for over 100 years. Before I decide to go look at it, can you tell anything from the picture? Was it painted red for some reason or even painted at all? It's over 100 pounds as well. What would the value be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 With the flats on the feet I would say a Peter Wright.Paint can hide old repairs. You will need to clean the top off, and also check for rebound/deadness to see if it has been softened, or delaminated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacuff1414 Posted October 10, 2015 Author Share Posted October 10, 2015 What would you say the value of it would be? The lady said she will not take lower than $200 for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony San Miguel Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Also looks like a Peter Wright to me. If rebound is good and it really is over 100 lbs then $200 is a good price. I wouldn't let it get away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozenforge Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 That looks like a heavy layer of paint so it might affect getting a good feel for how much rebound it has. You may not be able to see the weight markings so bring a bathroom scale. People almost always overestimate the weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Taking a scale is good advice. The edges look pretty well chipped, so they will need to be dressed up. $200 isn't bad if it is 100#. More than I pay, but far less then others pay. Average is around $3 a pound here in the States. I recently bought a 138# PW for $100 that appears to be in better shape than that one. One thing about PW anvils that I have read is that due to their soft wrought iron bodies the tops tend to get a dip in them. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, just something to be aware of. The only advice I can offer is pay what you can afford, not what others can. If it checks out, and you can lay the cash down without hurting, do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 The paint is going to affect the rebound, expect muffled dead. A larger hammer may be in order. You can still judge if a spot on the anvil is dead, it'll have less rebound. Rebound will taper off as you move towards the horn and heal ends so don't let that scare you.Looks pretty good for what can be seen. Unless there's something serious wrong, $200.00 is pretty good.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Hello guys I need help identifying the age and material that this anvil is made of. I picked it up at a barn sale for a pretty good price, its got some damage on the face and sides and I was wondering what I could do to fix it up. How deep are these old anvils hardened? I need to take off a good 1/4" from the face to clean it up, could I get it milled down? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Johan: If you've been reading Iforge much at all you'd know we NEVER recommend "repairing" anvils. Especially ones in such apparent good condition. Grinding off 1/4" of face is destroying possibly a century of life without benefit. Marks on the side are completely irrelevant barring stamped in obscenities.A wire brush and PERHAPS a coat of polymerizing oil, hard wax, etc. to prevent further rust is about all the "fixing" an anvil requires.There isn't a big chunk knocked out of the face and what little wear I can see on the edge isn't something to "fix."Please, it's a common mistake for folk new to a craft to think perfect tools do better work but it's just not true. It's the craftsman who does the work and unless you have years of experience you can't know what needs attention and what's just for looks. More good tools of all kinds have been ruined by new folk "repairing" them. Milling the face of this anvil flat and smooth is tantamount to tossing it in a scrap bin. Please don't.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Hello Frosty, thank you very much for your wisdom I'm going to heed your advice and just work on it how it is. I think there is a couple of decent flat spots on the anvil that I could use. Do you have any idea the age of this anvil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 (edited) Peter Wright started putting England on their anvils around 1890-1910 due to export laws at the time. Yours is missing that, so pre 1910 at least.The bodies are made of relatively soft wrought iron and have a hardened steel plate welded onto the top. The plates are not that thick, so many PW's have some curve in the top . Milling 1/4" off would effectively remove most of it. Most hammering is done across the face, not along it, so side to side it should be pretty flat. Some curve is helpful when straightening a bent part, as it allows the part to bend beyond its yield point. Edited October 10, 2015 by BIGGUNDOCTOR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Alright thanks for the info biggun, I'm going to just use it as is and I think I can work around the bad parts, I just hope the chipping doesn't get any worse. Should get a chance to try it out soon but I gotta wait until I get some fuel to burn in my forge, seriously can't wait Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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