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Mystery Anvil


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Hello fellas

new here to the forum. I'm in ontario canada and looking at an anvil for sale locally.. its a big one but no markings in the pics i have. 38 inches long 15 tall and a 6 inch wide top. ok shape i think? any guesses what it may be or a price i should pay? thanks guys

anvil.jpg

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More pics would be better. My 250 pounder is 32 inches long, 12 inches high and 5 inches wide. So you are looking at a big girl. 300 pounds maybe. Price depends on how good the edges are and the percent of rebound. Anvil prices are getting stupid high now. Right up to new prices.  Whats the asking price? I would love to buy an anvil for 3 dollars per pound but unless your lucky I think it will be more than that. 

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What's the weight?  CA$800 for a 400# anvil is a good deal; CA$800 for a 200# anvil isn't as good a deal.

What does the bounce test say?  Paying a lot of money for an anvil that's been through a fire is a bad deal!

And I assume that's Canadian Dollars and not US dollars, (I'll take as a given it's not Singapore dollars or Australian dollars or ...)

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not sure of weight ,or how to find out until after i buy it. 

i guess if i can't budge it ,its over 300lbs. if i xxxx myself its more!

i will get a ball bearing before going to see it and try it out.

thats good old canadian $ , so a bit over 600 usa dollars

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1 hour ago, timk said:

I'm in ontario canada

Welcome to IFI...

We won't remember that once leaving this post, hence the suggestion to edit your profile to show location. Have you read this thread yet?

https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/53873-read-this-first/

Like others said it's hard to place a value with out seeing and testing the ring & rebound. I usually try to get anvils for 2.00-3,00 U.S. but they are getting harder to find in that price range. The top looks almost too good. I would question the seller about if it has had any welding, grinding or milling done to it.

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Looks like either Hay Budden or Trenton to me (thin tail). Based on my HB catalog, 6" wide X 23" long face with a 14.5" long horn puts it at 400 pounds. At CA$800, that sounds like a good deal if it passes all the tests and if you need an anvil that big.

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Sorry for needing all the help and sounding like an anvil rookie, but its what i am!

Im going to look at it tomorrow. I have a ball bearing and hammer to check rebound and sound.

If those  both seem good then what should i look for on the face to tell if its been tampered with other than say grinder marks?

 

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Signs of welding along the edges---often discoloured areas as the weld alloy was different from the anvil alloy (and for some reason often a Ni alloy????)

The step between the face and cutting plate looks good.  Sometimes people will grind the cutting plate at an angle to make it look like the face is thicker than it is after they have milled or ground the face.

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UPDATE

its mine! went to look at it and pictures did it no justice! it was way bigger than i expected, and in way way better shape than expected! i did the rebound and ring tests and all good. no signs of any face repair ever. great anvil overall. the guy guessed it was about a hundred years old and he got it from a cprail shop that closed years ago. the only mark i see so far is a big H on the base below the horn..

when i get it home i will clean the paint off it. is a wire wheel best or should i try paint remover first or?

 

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Wire wheel would be my preferred method, possibly a light pass with a flap wheel to remove some of the paint from the sides, protect with BLO. Use a respirator, no telling how old that paint is and if it's lead based or not. Get us a picture of the bottom surface and front foot, could provide more clues to the identity.

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Mr powers..i dont have much platinum left so it will be a thin plate! 

Jme1149  the lead does not scare me, how do you think i got this way?!

Now seriously..a few pictures to pass on for help

The one is of the front base under the horn. Just a big "h" one on each side

The bottom picture

The overall anvil with a diet pepsi for scale

Lastly the one which may tell all. It has 4  0   0    across the middle all spaced a few inches. Around the middle "0"  and below it i can make out "ought"  i assume its wrought and its in a circle around the middle 0. I think the picture shows it.

Thanks for all the help fellas. Here are the pictures

image.png

image.png

anvil 42.jpg

anvil 43.jpg

 

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"Best" is one of my hot buttons as it's a completely useless term without giving the criteria: Best as in easiest? Best as in Cheapest? Best as in you can find the stuff needed where you are at? So when people ask "best" with no qualifiers I tend to suggest putting it in orbit or use a heavy platinum plating---both really really good ways to keep an anvil from rusting!

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looking online I'm now guessing it may be a peter wright because of the "wraught" circle around the middle weight "0"  ?? did other makers use this circle stamp also?  but that doesn't explain the big H on the under horn foot?  age ideas?

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2 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

I tend to suggest putting it in orbit

My friend who works for NASA recommended storage in a cast iron bathtub full of argon as both cheaper and more readily accessible than orbit. Less dramatic, to be sure, but better.

3 hours ago, timk said:

t has 4  0   0    across the middle all spaced a few inches.

That's 4 x 112lbs = 448lbs total (no quarter-hundredweight or extra pounds). That is one decent sized anvil.

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