ThomasPowers Posted August 24, 2016 Author Share Posted August 24, 2016 I used to tell my students to look for damaged anvils as they were often still good and priced much cheaper! (Say $40 for a 120# anvil with a flat hard face and a decent horn), Nowadays they are asking more than an unbroken anvil will sell for at times... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bo T Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 As noted, new anvils are becoming a good deal; the farrier anvils, Rhino, etc.. A person can get a good 70# anvil for @ $300 shipped to their door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 And despite that insanity, a student just brought in an anvil to donate to the school club, and set it in my office floor. Said it was just rusting away in his barn. If you will excuse me, I have to get a wire wheel on a grinder and get covered in filth. Pictures later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 Please not pictures of you covered in filth---this is not that kind of site! Now we would like to see the anvil once it has been cleaned up...(and ones "abandoned" in barns can be pretty mucky...I'm going to have to put chicken wire in my gables as a dove is trying to nest in the roof truss right in the middle of my shop and making a mess of things.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everything Mac Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 On 24/08/2016 at 0:47 AM, ThomasPowers said: Do you in the UK have the tale about two farmers getting rich selling the same mule back and forth between them? If folks don't overpay for trash anvils the price most likely would be better for anvils in general. Why I'm suggesting other solutions than the London Pattern anvils too. We may have that story but it's not one I've heard. Trouble is folks are going to pay what they have to if all they can find is trash and aren't patient enough to wait for something decent or something decent simply isn't attainable for what ever reason. As I say, the market has changed. Moaning about it changes nothing. - you can't possibly educated every single potential buyer out there. They "need" an anvil and they'll pay what they have to. How many folks do we see on here that have just bought something and want to "repair" it? When 5 minutes on google would show they should do nothing to it. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Some people out there(especially collectors) are just willing to pay more..More and more gus are just saying "screw it, I want it" and coughing up the money..I also wonder why more people just don't buy new anvils..Ive been wanting a 400 pounder for a long time and when I finally break down and buy it Ill probably just buy new..The used big anvils are already approaching the same price as new.. Ive got some of those "found this for a steal price" stories too..Super nice $1 a pound anvils but you know what? that don't mean a thing anymore..Those are far few and between now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaudry Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 It would be interesting to see what a good anvil or power hammer cost a few hundred years ago in comparison to the average wages of a working blacksmith of the time. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were quite expensive and represented a substantial capital investment . The fact that so many have had working lives spanning generations shows that they were considered to be valuable tools , to be used hard but well worth taking care of. Good tools have always cost real money. I bet that tools and equipment are in many ways cheaper and more easily available now to the average person than at any previous time in history. Metalwork is expensive and always has been . It takes a real commitment and investment of time, effort and cash to play the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Its funny you mention that, look at what a power cost was relative to then and now.Its an eye opener. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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