Should I skip work for this?

[Tock]

Estate sale and I want it.   Any ideas on brand from the one pic.    Should I skip work for it

[Daswulf]

Shape looks like Hay Budden to me. Just a guess. Auctions can be real hit or miss. You have to go in expecting you may not, or probably won't, come home with it.

after inspecting it set your price and walk away if it goes over. Don't get caught up in a bidding war. 

Smaller and less advertised auctions are sometimes the better shot. If you saw it several others that want it also have. Good luck and don't forget your ball bearing to test out the rebound. 

[Tock]

I already know  it has more rebound than My train track lol but thanks and I have a ball Bearing in my glove box for that reason 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Absolutely I would skip work to go and try to get it, if it passes the ring & rebound test. From the picture it looks like there is other stuff that might be worth bidding on too.

[Kozzy]

Anvil...maybe....but if its anything like this area, they go for ridiculous prices at auction (98% of the time) so you need a secondary reason to go if your area is similar.

So...any chance that there are other smithing tools at the same auction?  Something else that makes losing a day of work worth the time?  Some side trip that would make up for being skunked?

Back up plans for auctions are always worth the time to ponder---sometimes auctions go great, sometimes within the first few minutes you can see people are paying waaaaaay too much that day for crap and it's already time to move on.

[ThomasPowers]

I gave up on auctions long ago. I've only bought 1 anvil at auction and it was special circumstances. (HVAC Business auction, nobody wanted old tech...and it was still one of my more expensive ones!)

However; you never know. (I have better luck applying the time and drive miles to the TPAAAT)

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

I bought my Sodefors at a machine shop auction back in the 80's. 306# for $200

All of the rest came from newspaper ad, a school metal shop sell off, and craigslist.

[Hotshoein4 (Mark)]

As said, auctions are hit and miss. How much is this anvil going go cost? How much money are you going to miss out on at work? That has to be factored in the price of the anvil as well. If you dont end up with the anvil, you missed out on making a bunch of money at work. It's a gamble, but I feel missing work and paying a fair price for it is probably going to be more expensive. Your call.

[ThomasPowers]

As I mentioned it was my most expensive anvil a 134# HB in very good shape for US$150; on the other hand I ended up buying a heavy duty brake, (they used to bend 1/4" *plate* with it!) for $15  nobody wanted the old hand powered tech.  It was a business auction held on memorial day weekend so no antiquer's and low business attendance on the holiday weekend. Just wish I had had enough money to buy all the tinner's stakes they sold.

 

[Glenn]

You may want to look up the auctioneer and attend a couple of his auctions to get a flavor of how he works. While your there take note of those bidding or raising the bids and then dropping out. Hang around after the auction and see who is friendly with the auction staff.

If anything about the auction looks odd, back off and watch. If an item can not be inspected prior to the start of the auction, you have a red flag. Shills and deals before the auction starts still exist. 

Always be sure to include the taxes, auction fees, sellers percent, and any additional charges when calculating your bid price. 

 

[Tock]

Decisions decisions it may be a buzz kill but 300 loss for a whole day factor in price.  Wife said buy new.    Lol 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

I always go with SWMBO...

[Daswulf]

If wife said buy new go for it if you can. There are many great options.  

[Marc1]

4 hours ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

Absolutely I would skip work to go and try to get it, if it passes the ring & rebound test. From the picture it looks like there is other stuff that might be worth bidding on too.

I take any excuse to skip work let alone an anvil at auction ... hang on, I retired last year! ... Mm 

Seriously now, if you lose $300 from not showing at work just to go there and don't even know if a nutcase is there willing to spend $1000 ... do you know you can buy a new farrier's anvil for less then what you make at work in one day? 

[Branding Iron]

Estate tag sale, not an auction.  Maybe there were other ads with different pictures, but that particular picture didn’t come up in what I saw.  Were you able to get sellers to send that picture? Are they willing to give price?  It would have to be a known price or very close for me to justify skipping work.  That particular area is quite rich in anvils if you have a bit of patience.

[ThomasPowers]

OK the OP didn't mention Tag Sale and estate sales are often auctions with lot numbers posted on the items.

Call and get the price if it's more than a 15 minute drive and make your decision that way... Might be sold before the sale starts!

If it's less than or equal to US$2 a pound and not too far away; I'd go. Greater than $2 a pound and further away; well *YOU* have to make the call.

[Tock]

Im going to pass 400. hay budden and the sale is today for full price. 25% off tomorrow and 50% off Saturday  I will go Saturday and see if it is still there.    Daswulf is right hay budden!     He couldn’t give me weight.              That’s not worth the time and money but if it’s there Saturday I could justify the time going and talking them down lol

Hopefully everyone that goes has the same idea I have and will save it for Saturday and I can get there when it opens and walk away with her.

[Branding Iron]

No need to waste your time going Saturday, it won’t be there!  Best guess is that it’s close to 100lbs, and even with poor pictures it looks to be in pretty good shape.  $200 would be close to stealing in that area, and $325 would be considered an enviable deal by most assuming condition and rebound are good.  Even at $400 assuming weight I don’t think you’ll loose money if it’s close.  And if it’s less, it could be cheap rent for using a real anvil... You can spend a whole lot of money hunting for a deal.  Penny wise and pound foolish is what my grandfather used to say.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

There was a nice Fisher on a factory stand at an estate sale recently, One guy went early and he was not the first in line, The first guy through the door bought it and the next day iy was on Craigslist with an inflated price.

If you can afford new anvilbrand.com has several to choose from. I have a 125# JHM, and like it. Some other makers are Nimba, Peddinghaus. Rhino, Rathole,

Also look up the improvised anvil thread here on IFI You can get a 200# anvil for $50 or even free in some cases.

 

[VaughnT]

That anvil looks almost new.  If that's the case, it's definitely worth consideration.  However, as others pointed out, you will have the purchase price as well as the cost of lost wages if you take a day off work in the hopes of getting it.

Weight looks like something around 120lbs.  That's a beautiful size, very practical and desirable, so the chances of it being around after two or three days of people moving through..... super slim.

 

Overall cost -- buying anvils off eBay and such places is not nearly as expensive as you might think.  You might have to wait a bit, and then strike while the iron's hot, but you can get a very nice anvil for less than buying new.  The key is arranging shipping.  I used u-ship.com to arrange for my 300# anvil to be shipped from Massachusetts to South Carolina.  Cost me all of $200.  With the anvil's cost, I was still below $2.50/lb for a very nice anvil that's head and shoulders cheaper/better than similar new anvils in the same weight class.

Moral of the story -- don't get skittish about shipping.  If you can find a decent anvil online, price it against the cost of a brand new anvil in the same weight range and then look at what it might cost to have someone bring it to you.  Generally, it's pretty cost-effective and you come out ahead of the game.