Coleman6488 Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 So there is an estate sale very near my house starting tomorrow at 8am. They have an anvil in the garage, looks like a german style from the picture but hard to tell. Anyway I'm looking for my first anvil and I wanted to make sure that I don't waste the money I put back. I don't have a ball peen hammer or anything, can you use a carpenter's hammer for a bounce test? I also included a picture below, you can't really tell anything but I figured somebody that knows more than I do might spot a red flag. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wicon Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Definitely North German Style. There seems to be a welding line at the waist. It could be a Peddinghaus of at least 50kg. Look for "Peddinghaus" or "PFP" on the side of the anvil. You can use any (hardened) hammer to test the rebound. If it is a Peddinghaus, it rings like a bell. Willy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kozzy Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Yes, even with a nail hammer you can clearly see if it's got good rebound--just let the hammer "fall" against the surface you can really feel it bounce like a rubber ball when the surface is good. It's subjective so harder to tell how good but it'll weed out the worst quickly. "Ring" is not really anything to put much weight in: even a crappy old steel pipe will make a nice ring sound if you hang it right. It's more an issue that lack of any ring can (not does) imply problems rather than whether the ring sounds nice enough to please you. I'd scramble and find a ball bearing, though. It'd be a much better test to reassure you that it's decent. At the very worst end of that you can buy sling shot balls at the local wal mart and get a reasonable approximation of a "ball bearing". Remember, there is always another anvil out there waiting for you---don't get so itchy that you pay sterling prices because the owner saw a tv show about smithing and knows it's a hot subject now. The only thing lost by passing on bad pricing is time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 And remember that paint on the face of an anvil throws off the test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coleman6488 Posted March 17, 2016 Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 Okay awesome thank you guys that is extremely helpful. I'll post an update tomorrow with the final word. Its a pretty big estate sale so maybe I'll get a good deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coleman6488 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 Well shoot, it appears I'm not the only guy on the block looking for an anvil. I got there at 8am on the nose and there were already three guys standing around talking about how they were disappointed that it was gone. There is another listing on my local craigslist. I have a tendency of making impulse buys after a disappointment and they generally end up biting me in the butt. craigliste link removed, please follow posting guidelines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JME1149 Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 Columbian has a reputation to be a good make, hard to tell from the photo but looks usable. Price is what I would consider to be low in today's market. My guess is that since it was posted 7 days ago, it's already long gone. My experience is that good deals don't last long. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 In my experience the half life of a good anvil advertised at a good price is measured in minutes to hours. Why if you are in the market for such a beast you'd better have the cash on hand and be ready to drop everything and run look at them. One reason I like using the TPAAAT instead, you are generally not competing with the rest of the anvil craving world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coleman6488 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 Sorry for the noobie knowledge level, I'm not sure what the TPAAAT is, though it sounds like a resource I would be interested in! I do also have cash on hand I read that in another thread, I believe it said "a name brand 300 pound anvil for $150 isn't a good deal if you only have $90 in your pocket". Took that one to heart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumbojak Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 It's the Thomas Powers Applied Anvil Acquisition Technique. At the very least, you will find anvils using it. Whether they are for sale is another matter entirely.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coleman6488 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 As in the Thomas Powers above? Oh man that's cool. I did put out some feelers online and have asked around a little, but I'll step my game up and start asking everybody. I read a thread on it and that's essentially how to start right? Ask around everywhere always and it will start to hone your instincts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 yup if only 1 in 1000 people know of an anvil that might be available and you ask 7000 people....if you are reading the threads I don't have to bore the rest of the folks with my stories again; but every one of them is true. I decided to turn off my anvil hunt as I have a gracious plenty of them and a lot of folks wanting to get into smithing can't find them. So if I accidentally turn up an anvil I will send the info out to the local folks hunting one...I also point out that a london pattern anvil is not required to start smithing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coleman6488 Posted March 19, 2016 Author Share Posted March 19, 2016 Yeah I have been considering just paying $40 for an old hunk of railroad track so that I can get my hands dirty. I'll give the TPAAAP a try for a couple of weeks and see where my luck leads me. Thank you all so much for the advice it was invaluable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 I've found 2 anvils just announcing I was hunting one at the after service coffee hour at church, (2 different churches---one where my house is and the other where I work to pay for that house). One was given to me. The other one I let my pastor have dibs on as he is one of my students, his wife too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Test? I am relatively new to smithing but I will add this. Anvil ring? That is 1/4 of a complete test. My broken trenton rings like bell when not bolted tight. Myinexpensive solid steel anvils ring like that. Most do when not bolted tight. So I got this 1.5" ball bearing. I drop it onto my solid steel anvils (about three and half foot drop) it bounces decent but dents them. Do that on a Trenton and there is no dent and bounces about same I say or just a hair higher. Folks may get ticked you going about hitting or denting an anvil. I would ask prior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Your solid steel anvils dent? Are these anvils you purchased or made? If you bought them I'd be thinking they're either not steel or haven't been hardened. If they're home made then lighten up em will ya? 1.5" from 3.5'? Holy COW! Better hope there isn't a surface imperfection of grain of sand or siilar to deflect that bearing into your . . . In-seam. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 Well. . . . . .LOL Yeah. I clean them off. For sure. I will give you the name brand of my solid steel anvils and you decide. It doesn't hurt them in my opinion. I would not want that on my big Trenton or Black Jack anvils. Cliff Carroll's Larkspur Colo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 Definitely not junk anvils then, they're heat treated to not be hard enough to chip easily. The dents will work out over time with normal forging. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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