Help identifing an anvil 412lb

[A. G.]

My neighbor is now willing to let go of her late husbands anvil after seeing how I appreciate his wood working tools. It is clearly cast so I tapped a small cross peen laying nearby and it seems fairly dead. So I'm guessing cast iron but could sitting on dirt hide something? After brushing the waist I could read made in sweden. To the left of that there might be something but I can't make it out. Any idea what I might be looking at? She said to make an offer.

[SilentForge]

I don’t think its cast iron, it might be an internal crack that is the reason of the sound. i do think it has been welded so that could be a problem. Its made in sweden from what i can see, I cant make the brand out. Someone else might be able to

Damian Stil

[Chelonian]

I believe that's a Soderfors. Very nice anvil if it still has its hardness. How's the rebound tested with a ball bearing?  If it isn't good, the anvil could have been through a fire and ruined the temper. Otherwise, I'd guess it's just the dirt deadening it.

[Stash]

Well, the crud and rust on the top could disguise any kind of ring or rebound, as well as sitting in the dirt. Looks kinda like a Soderfors, cast steel and measured and stamped in pounds. Looks well used with nice round edges. I'd clean the top off with a wire brush real good and give it another tappy- tap. It should bounce your hammer back at you and ring like a bell. I do see what seems to be a horizontal crack just below the face that bears investigating. It gives the appearance of an applied steel top, but this is a solid cast steel anvil, so..... Make sure you know what you have there before whipping out the wallet. An anvil like this without any issues in my neck of the woods could be worth $3-4 per pound (US).

Steve

[A. G.]

Is the hardie being set down in a circular depression the key indicator that it has had a plate welded to the face (not sure of the proper terminology for such a treatment)?

I didn't have a lot of time to inspect it but the crack near the face almost looks like the way metal mushrooms on a chisel. Sharp and downward pointing. My next visit I'll clean it up and put a couple 2x6 under it. If I don't aquire a ball bearing by then I'll take a hammer I know to be hard that bounces like crazy on the peddinghaus loaner. I need to get an anvil so I can return the loaner by Feburary.

Worst case, how much would a dead 412lb anvil suck if it was priced accordingly? Then later get something better and retire the dead weight to being a cool place to set my coffee.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Usually the hardy hole set down is from the hardy tool being used (welded stem) not an indication of welded face plate. The worst case is up to you and your budget but if you do get it I doubt you could wear it out in your lifetime.

[ThomasPowers]

Another way to get a crack like that is if someone did substantial welding on the face with any preheat or post heat and self quenching caused an issue in the HAZ propagating a crack in it with heavy pounding on it.

I don't know of any BAD anvils that were made in Sweden; but abused anvils after they were put in use are known.

[Zozon]

   This is a Soderfors Paragon, I believe. Soderfors anvils are often marked in LBS. It should be a great anvil, no cheep stuff in Sweden :-)

    

[A. G.]

So I got the chance to evaluate the anvil further. First I got it of the dirt and sitting on dry 2x6's. Then I brushed the crud off the face so I could tap it with my forged 3lb that I know to be hard and know how it reacts on the peddinghaus. I didn't have a chance to get a ball bearing and the 1/2" bearing I have I'm pretty sure I torched years ago. The anvil face is hard and rebounds great and has a good ring. The hammer that was laying there from the previous visit is indeed soft.

I inspected the "anomaly" under the face and it doesn't seem to be a crack. I tap all along and around it and didn't hear any change. It overhangs the side and that corner is well used. It really does look like the way a chisel mushrooms from use. Also I think I can make out Soderfors on the side.

So now the hard part is coming up with an offer. She de-valued it in her mind regarding it's condition. I do intend to pay her a fair price as I do like this neighbor and would like to buy her property later. I paid her more than asking for the wood working tool collection as a show of good faith and to build report. I'm going to do some looking around for anything comparable but I'm thinking $1,100 or more.