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Worth the Money?


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Hey guys, I had this picture sent to me from my brother in law who is going to a farm auction in a few days and stopped by the place yesterday to check out what was there.  He saw this anvil which he said had a "75" marked on the opposite side then what's in the picture.  Just wondering if anyone could tell me if they think it would be worth the $50 I told him to bid on it for me or if it's too far gone even for that price.  Also if anyone happens to know if there is someone in the central Alberta area that can repair an anvil properly.  I've been checking it out on this site and it doesn't seem to be something I would want to attempt.  Thanks in advance

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For anything other than an interesting yard ornament, your money would be better spent elsewhere.  Better will come along at the right price if you have some patience and follow the TPAAAT system (look it up on this site)

Or...that would definitely make an interesting hood ornament on that Mad Max vehicle you are building out back....

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I blew up the picture and it looks to me to be a Cast Iron ASO, (they are not a modern thing, the Sears Roebuck catalogs of 100+ years ago have cast iron ASOs for sale as well as rebranded HB's at differing price points.)

The raised lettering is indicative of cast iron and the wear of the face looks like it wasn't steel faced.

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BIGGUNDOCTOR - I have a couple of ASOs, one is a small 22 lb anvil I got when I first decided to try blacksmithing, the other is a 2 foot length of rail that I started shaping before I found this great forum and the thread about using the track on it's end instead so now it rings like crazy.  Lesson learned, just a little too late.

Chris - I read about the TPAAAT recently and actually used it awhile back, although it has yet to pay off for me yet.  I had a friend tell me he found an anvil for me 6 hours away and it would be coming up here in a month.  That was near the end of February and I have not seen it yet.  I have been very patient about it because the price is right on it, but I have no idea what it actually is that I am getting.  I have not seen pictures or had a description other then it's big, shaped like an anvil, and is supposed to weigh 165 lbs.  I guess time will tell what I end up with from him.

Thomas - I figured from the damage that is on it that it probably wasn't the greatest anvil, wasn't sure if that was what happened with cast anvils or not.  

Guess from scoping out this site almost everyday and seeing all the pictures of everyone else's anvils and machinery I got a small case of anvil envy and temporarily lost my patience for the anvil I'm waiting on.  Again guys, thanks very much for your input and information. This truly is a great group of people and so much knowledge getting shared.

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You might be able to pick a much better improvised anvil by the end of the week, and possibly for free. A forklift fork can weigh 150# plus, and it works better than rail does. A large hydraulic breaker point is a great post anvil and is made from a good grade of heat treated steel. 

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Please "cast" is not uniquely identifying!  Cast Iron and Cast Steel are both used for casting anvils of wildly different qualities---and then there are ones that have a steel face and a cast iron body too.  Cast steel anvils tend to suffer edge damage while cast iron anvils tend to suffer face/body/horn/heel damage.  If an anvil looks like it was gnawed on by beavers it's generally a cast iron one.

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2 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

 If an anvil looks like it was gnawed on by beavers it's generally a cast iron one.

Reminds me of a Duluth Trading commercial. I'll have to look, maybe they sell anvils.

Frosty The Lucky.

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I have a Vulcan that's dang near a ridgeback, it's retired as a bad example: a student of a friend of mine broke off the horn revealing massive casting voids. I found a swedish cast steel replacement anvil that was given free of charge and got the Vulcan for my wall of shame for abused anvils.

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Sorry Thomas, my experience when something is referred to as "cast" it has always been cast iron.  Have to remember to be more descriptive in the future.  

That auction came and went and I took all your advice and passed on that anvil.  Good thing I didn't have my heart set on it, my brother-in-law didn't make it there in time to see it sell any way.  Asked him about it yesterday out of curiosity of how much it sold for.  Oh well, I'll just be patient, keep growing my skill, and eventually I will get myself an anvil.  It's been quite a few months since I've been able to fire up my forge any way so I will have to get back into the "swing" of things.

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LOL, I should have known that, I've seen the references to Harbor Freight on this site many times.  My brain just automatically assumed it was the materiel of the ASO and wouldn't consider another possibility such as retailer.  Thank you for clearing that up.

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