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Anvil Identification (help)


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First of all, I'm a long time lurker, but just join this awesome forum in order to seek some help.

I'm interested in this anvil but not 100% sure who was the maker, since  the marking is kind of rub off.

My initial guess is a 147 lbs Peter Wright. I'm not not too sure what is the age and fair value of the anvil. I'm located in Alberta, Canada.

So I would appreciate some help from more knowledgeable members of this forum.

Thanks in advanced.

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If you will add your location in your profile you might be surprised how many members are near you, and we probably won't remember you are in Alberta ten min from now.:)

BTW: welcome to the forum. That looks like a nice anvil, depending upon the cost, I would get it if it was close to me.

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BigGunDoctor: I can't see any England word based on the photos. All I can see is just "Made   ". 

ThomasPowers: Unfortunately the anvil is about 600 miles from where I live, so I couldn't check it in person.

Irondragon: Thanks for the warm welcome. I've updated the location in my profile.

After spending more time comparing the anvil with other PW photos on the Internet, I have a few concerns:

1. The whole stamp is not centered

2. There is word "Made" on the marking. I have not seen any PW with "Made" marking

3. There is no "Solid Wrought" circle around the middle weight number 

But again, I'm just a newbie here so my concerns should not be a concern at all.

 

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Wow, thanks for the information/concerns on the anvil. Now I can see that the face lines seem to be disjointed. I think I'll pass on that one.

On the side note, there is another PW appeared in local ads. I'm a bit hesitate on this one too, since the asking price is around 4/lb and I think the face edges need some repairs.

Weight is 105 lbs (0 3 21).

What do you guys think ? Any advise for this newbie would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advanced.

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Good Morning Tagheuer,

Look at the price of new Anvils. If someone is asking new price for an old Anvil, buy the NEW Anvil. When you buy an old Anvil, you won't necessarily be spending your money wisely. If you buy a NEW Anvil, it will be good to go, without doing any manicuring. If you put lipstick on a PIG, it is still a PIG.

An Anvil could be anything Large and Lumpy, it doesn't have to be the "Road-Runner" shape. Sawyer Anvils are like thick square (ish) blocks. Depending on where you are in Alberta, check out old Sawmills, Machine Shops, Welding Shops, Farm Sales. It is amazing what you will find when you poke around the bushes, Look in the cluttered rooms, against the back walls, etc. Ask questions, but don't pester. Half of the fun is the Hunt!! When you add up your fuel bill for the Hunt, a NEW Anvil isn't that expensive.

Welcome to our World!! Only in Canada, eh. Pity!!  There are quite a few Blacksmith's in your part of the Country. Let me know with a PM and I will try to hook you up.

Enjoy,

Neil

 

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Swedefiddle: Thank you for your advise. Initially I was looking at spending much lesser, but apparently I got carried away a bit. I'm kind of liking the old anvils as they have characters and history. But if things didn't turn out the way I hope, then new anvil will be in my radar.

Biggundoctor: I will definitely look into Anvil Brand when I'm going to new anvil route.

 

If you guys don't mind, I would like to ask about this anvil. From my newbie eyes, it looks pretty good. It's PW with 166 lbs in weight. 

Thanks a bunch.

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It is hard to say from that, or any photo. 

What is the asking price? Are you able to obtain photos emphasising the condition of the face? 

Without testing it out in person it is not possible to say how much rebound is left on the face.

That being said, PWs are good anvils and 75kg will certainly be sufficient, so if the price is right and there is enough life left in it, it could suit you well. 

 

 

 

 

 

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At the upper limit for one man carry; perhaps I should say over the limit for sane OMC!

You need to know if it rings when tapped---if it doesn't and it's not clamped down or with stuff on the face or in the hardy or pritchel holes then there is a hidden issue---could even do that by phone!  The other test is a rebound test to show if it's lost it's hardness in a structure fire. Seeing how a light hammer bounces on the face is usually a yes/no test; dropping a ball bearing from 20-30 cm and seeing how high it bounces back is a better one as you can figure out the percentage rebound. (anything over 80 is quite good, 70 and up to 80 acceptable 60 and below I wouldn't!)

BTAIM: if it passes the tests it looks like a fine anvil with several generations of use left in it!

Have you managed to get off the internet and use the TPAAAT to search for anvils?  It's a better method if I do say so myself! (even wore the TPAAAT shirt today...)

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Sorry for the late reply. Yesterday I was on the road for 600 miles to pick up the last anvil on the photo.

The face has some damage, mainly on the area covered with the white napkin.  To my newbie eyes and knowledge, the anvil doesn't show any crack, weld or broken pieces. But I'll take several photos of the actual anvil this afternoon after I come back from work and get your expert opinions.

I did ring and bounce tests with a hammer, it sounded and felt right to this newbie. Since I don't have a ball bearing, I couldn't do the rebound test :-(

(I'd be appreciated if anyone can advise me, where can I buy 1" loose steel ball bearing in Calgary. Otherwise I would have to go with Ebay route)

@ThomasD : The asking price was very high, but I managed to talk him out a bit so it was within reasonable, considering the total price I paid was bundle with other forging items (tongs, hammers, chisels etc)

ThomasPowers: At first I didn't know what was TPAAAT, so I have to google it first. It was a really good method indeed. In fact I started with TPAAAT for a couple of months, but so far there isn't a single lead to an anvil. In my neck of the woods,  it seems the highest chance to buy and sell vintage items is pretty much the internet. According to the latest information I read, 90-95% of the population in Alberta have some means to connect to the Internet. Old folks use it to interact with their family and friends (facebook, facetime, skype, etc), so they are very well informed on what they have.

 

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If you read up on the TPAAAT you will note that you are trying to find anvils that ARE not being sold by people trying to make money off of the deal.

And of course the *everyone* is everyone.  Last one I found using the method was owned by a lady in her 90's in my church who was happy to see it go to a good home *cheap*.  If you only talk to people dealing vintage stuff expect to pay extra!

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The first thing I did was asking my friends and family and colleagues in the office. But most, actually all off them rolled their eyes when I mentioned about the Anvil.

Having experienced the above, I will still do the TPAAAT to whomever I'm comfortable asking.

But I think there are a lot of people in my neck of the woods whom are looking for the same things and do the TPAAAT as well. Example, there was a PW - 80 lbs with substantial crack on the face face. Asking price was about $ 9/lb. The ads was disappeared within a day. Not too sure how much it was sold, but the anvil market here is just crazy.

The second anvil I posted above was also sold at really close to the asking price.

 

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