Joseph Hamden Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 Hey guys, I love the forums and have never posted before. I have recently had back surgery and I just do not need this anvil anymore. I have a smaller railroad anvil that will be enough for my new level of hammering metal into knife shaped objects. So I would like to know more about this anvil before I try to sell it. So any input about the anvil and/or best way to sell it would be awesome. I never weighed it but the anvil and base almost bottomed out by small truck. The dimensions are 36Lx6Wx27H (My son did the measuring lol so +/- 1/2 inch lol.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stash Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 Greetings, Joseph. Sorry you have to give up such a nice anvil. Isn't the surgery supposed to make things better? Anyway... Do a little cleanup with a wire brush and/or some paint remover on the face you have pictured, you might see a logo there. Also do the same on the front foot under the horn. You might find some numbers there. I'm guessing either a Hay- Budden or a Trenton, both excellent anvils. Also, if you can unbolt it, have someone tip it so you can take a shot of the base. Critical info will be there, too. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Hamden Posted July 14, 2018 Author Share Posted July 14, 2018 Thanks Steve. Working on unbolting it in just a few minutes. Will let you know what I find. It was to fix "foot drop" on my right side, that is 100% better now. No need for a cane when walking now although the back pain though has increased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Hamden Posted July 14, 2018 Author Share Posted July 14, 2018 Ok tilting it in my state is a no go. Sorry, I hit it with the wire brush and have a few more pics. The only mark I saw on the side was "26" on the back side. It has three coats of pain lol, Green, Red and the top coat was copper when I got the anvil. The height of just the anvil is 14 1/2 inches. Give or take, I still cant bend well lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Hamden Posted July 14, 2018 Author Share Posted July 14, 2018 The face is a bit over 5 1/2 x 22, the horn is 13 1/2 inches long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 check the front of the foot (horn end) for numbers and what side(s) left or right wrt the horn when looking at the numbers. Once it's unbolted a long piece of pipe stuck in the hardy hole should let you tilt it easily. As for value that depends on: Size, Make, Condition, Weight and LOCATION (we have over 100 different countries here on our WORLD WIDE WEB forum and prices differ by country and in large countries like the USA by location in the country.) What is the height of the face from the ground when mounted on that stand? Markings are generally above the waist on a side with a weight stamp on the waist or on the front foot. I'm leaning towards a Hay Budden made in Brooklyn NY after 1908. If so when it's tilted it should have a sort of hourglass indentation in the bottom of the anvil---why we wanted to see the bottom. Where I am at in the USA it should easily go for US$3 a pound probably in a weekend and maybe as high as $5-$6 a pound. If you want to advertise it here there is a subforum called "Tailgating" which is the buy and sell forum. Condition looks very good: however the tests for invisible damage are: when unbolted and sitting free it should make a bright TING sound when tapped by a hammer (bolting it down should mute that a lot!) Also when a 1/2" to 1" ballbearing is freely dropped from 10 inches above the CLEAN face it should rebound between 70% to 95% the higher the better. (grease, oil, paint, rust all makes it rebound less and we are trying to judge the hardness of the actual face not any crud on it.) Another method of selling would be to contact the local ABANA chapter---if you are in the US or Canada and ask if anyone is looking for an anvil---never know a time or a chapter when that answer was no... Also the base may not be usable by someone wanting to use the anvil for forging and so doesn't count in the weight of the purchase price but just an add on so (weight of anvil x price per pound) + (price of stand) I've made about 20 stands now for zero cost, (I teach and so need anvils for students) and so a stand that doesn't "fit" my height doesn't get many $$ from me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 2 hours ago, Joseph Hamden said: t was to fix "foot drop" on my right side, that is 100% better now. No need for a cane when walking now although the back pain though has increased. I suggest that you have a podiatrist check your arches. Flat arches can result in knee and/or back pain. If so the solution may be orthotics. Just sayyin. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Hamden Posted July 14, 2018 Author Share Posted July 14, 2018 A very nice ringing when hit by the hammer, ball bearing was not the best, was a little rusty, but it was easily catch able by same hand I would guess 75%+ easily. The height with the stand is 27 inches so the base is about 13 inches tall. Not seeing any markings what so ever. The bolts were amazingly well stuck, so took a few minutes, But the bottom is very flat. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatfudd Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Its a Hay budden made after 1908 and the upper half is tool steel. It should weigh in the 400lb range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 OK you have a good one; price still dependent on weight and location which are still unknowns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Joseph: What Thomas is hinting at with all the "depending on your location" remarks is you'll have a much better chance of selling your anvil if you put your general location in the header. Click on your name at the upper right of the screen. Select "Edit Profile" put your general location in the line and save changes. Were that beauty in my neighborhood and it weighed around 400 lbs. it'd probably go for around $1,600 - $2,000 before the ink dried on the Craigslist ad. Maybe more if you were patient. If you're wondering my location is under my Avatar and it's a blacksmith tool poor place. Before I hit send, that looks to be a beautiful anvil in fine shape. It should bring premium prices where you live. WhereEVER that is. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 No-one said what the 26 is. Could it have been made in 1926 or is that oversimplifying things? Nice anvil anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 The "26" is in a weird location, and I think it was probably something put there by the end user. Maybe to denote the work station in a row of anvils like seen in old pics of blacksmithing schools. Quality looks fantastic. The edges are great and the horn isn't beat up, so you're looking at an anvil that will fetch top dollar on the market. That it comes with a factory stand and thous nice hold-down brackets/bolts is extra, but I wouldn't break up the set just to get rid of the anvil at a lower price. Combined, considering the size, I'd say that $1000 would be more than fair. Consider $2/lb as the low end of acceptable. Buying a brand new anvil in that weight range will set you back two grand, at least, and you don't get a nice stand to go with it. The downside, though, is that there aren't a lot of people necessarily looking for a 300# anvil/stand, and even fewer will have a grand or more to pony up. That makes it tough to sell larger anvils, but I think you'd be best served by waiting for the right buyer to come along. To maximize the sexiness when you're advertising, good pictures are a must. I'd pull the whole thing out of the detritus, get it up on some blocks or timbers so the base isn't in the mud, and give it a going over with a wire wheel to remove as much of the paint and rust as you can. Then give it a nice coat of oil/wax to prevent new rust from forming. This will make it as pretty as possible, but also expose any damage or flaws that might be hidden under the paint. There are plenty of buyers who shy away from painted anvils just because you can't see the damage/repairs that the paint might be hiding. I've always wanted an anvil/stand combo like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatfudd Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 The 26 was put on by Hay Budden and indicates the tool steel batch number. That is the give away for identifying a post 1908 anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 My HB with the tool steel upper also is stamped in that location with a number and I've seen others as well, it's definitely from the maker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mod34 Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 MOD NOTE: Thank you all for keeping this discussion confined to information about the anvil and general marketing advice. If the OP wishes to actually list this anvil for sale here on IFI, he should post it in the tailgating section and follow the rules posted there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Hamden Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 Thanks everyone. I will work on cleaning her up and getting some nice pictures and putting this in the tailgating section. I live in WV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 J. H, Welcome to I Forge Iron. Nice family picture. I notice that you may have many potential strikers in the family. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 If you have a right angle grinder, a twisted wire cup brush will make short work of cleaning it to bare clean metal. Just let it ride on the surface, pushing on it actually makes a brush less effective. I'm sure I'll get groans I've suggested this so often but I really prefer a good carnuba paste wax for preserving iron work without discoloring it. The brand I use is Trewax paste furniture and floor wax applied to fresh cup of coffee warm iron. It melts and penetrates even the finest nooks and crannies, wipe off excess it cools to a very hard durable coat. Bowling Ally Wax is another Carnuba wax that's so tough they have to sand the lanes to get it off. Another excellent preservative is "LPS-3" spray. It contains high end penetrants, rust reverters and protectants and when the solvents evaporate off leaves a durable coat of wax and protectants. It's spendy but not much more than a can of Trewax or Bowling Ally wax. It's a LOT easier to apply too. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Hamden Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 This is after a few hours with a bad brush and some oil, will be looking for some wax after I recover from that part of this lol. So the last question I have is whats a fair price? It weighs more than I do, and a bit of looking around on the net at Hay Budden info puts it at the 350# type but the dimensions are just a bit off on the catalog dimensions. Not trying to screw anyone or myself here just hate that it has sat for a year without me using it and want it to go to someone that can use it more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Joseph, that's a beautiful old HB anvil. The clean up job is what it needed to show it off. Just a note in passing... usually the larger, heavier anvils are not as common as the smaller ones, and hence often command a higher price per pound than the smaller ones. As others have suggested here, try to locate an ABANA affiliate or blacksmith organization near you. Hopefully that way, it will land in the hands of a blacksmith who would dearly love to work on it rather than ending up in some antique shop or as yard art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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