Up swing to high fuel costs.

[JohnW]

Solvar, I was just thinking about anvil sales on ebay. I'm thinking that most people who buy anvils, do it for their hobby, blacksmithing or collecting. And some of the ebay sellers hold out speculating for higher prices. As more (if?) buyers deferr for a future year, demand will fall and sellers are less likely to believe that higher sales prices are just around the corner.

I never thought about new anvil sales. As costs go up, one or two of the top two anvil companies could drop out of the market. That might have a pretty bad imact on all anvil prices.

As Matt and Jayco point out, a lot of anvils are sold by people you just happen to have one. You don't know what they're going to do.

[solvarr]

New anvils was what I was thinking about.
The used anvil market tends to be rather random.
The ebay market seems to be going at arround 2 dollars a pound in North Carolina.

If there is a shakedown in the anvil makers I hope the best ones win.
Who knows, with the current market we may end up seeing decent anvils from china some day.

[Ten Hammers]

One of the issues with increasing fuel costs is the price of LP for gas forges. Maintaining product prices ( with steel up as well ) is more than a challenge. Passing the whole of the increases on to customers is not possible. Maintaining volume with decreased precentage is a highway towards eventual failure and I don't have any other way to describe it. Last year a 100 lb bottle was roughly 30 bucks to fill ( 23 gallon ). This year it is over 60 bucks. This of course is not including the price of Natural gas to heat the house in the winter. Wood heat will be the only answer. BTW a friend from Civil War is set up next to me at the County Fair this year and he asked me how big of a carbon footprint I make ( laughing ). I said I AM a carbon footprint. If we do not start producing oil in this country immediately we are in a death spiral. Some do not like to hear these facts but they are the facts. Currently 63

Edited July 13, 2008 by Ten Hammers

[jimmy seale]

were drilling for gas, but, sometimes it has oil in it-but were working on it! and i have to pay like ya'll do, that just don't seem right(big smile) but we'll do what we gotta do. but, tough times bring on new ideas and inventiveness. we'll get throught this too. jimmy

[jayco]

One upshot to the current high fuel prices is that if you have been needing a truck to move blacksmithing equipment, to haul coal, or go to the scrap yard, this is a good time for buyers.

Around here there are lots of full-size pickups and 1 ton trucks for sale.

[KYBOY]

Its hitting the coal buckets (coal trucks to you non-Kentucky folks) hard too.. Lots of coal haulers have gone out of business this last year. The cost of fuel is raising but coal aint keeping up. The little hauler cant make money at it anymore. Just your bigger owners.
Jayco, how far are you from the off loads up on 23?

[jayco]

KYBOY, I'm not sure which 'off load' place you're refering to.

I haven't been that way in a while, but I suppose they're still moving a lot of coal at Catlettsburg Ky, and that there is a lot of coal off loaded at the power plant in Louisa, Ky,....If you know where those places are.........

Catlettsburg is maybe 30 miles from me........Louisa, about 50 mi.

Any time I'm on highway 23........between Greenup and Ashland..........I see a lot of trains carrying coal.......probably from somewhere down your way!

[KYBOY]

Catlettsburg was the main one I was talking about. They just opened up a track here close to me that hadnt hauled coal in at least 20 years. A big plant reopened and I guess train is cheaper overall than trucks..