Dennis22 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 Hi everyone, I picked up a BK Sydney 392 anvil the other day and just wanted your opinion on condition and areas you would consider repairing. It’s not too bad, bit of misuse markings (looks like it was damaged with an oxy torch) and the face is dead flat but has a nasty little hole next to the hardy hole. There are also all these little gouges all over it, I’m not sure what they are from. Thanks in advance, Dennis. NSW Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 Before you do anything to repair the anvil use the anvil as it is for a year, or 2000 hours. Use caution with any heavy hammering on the heel or around the hardie hole as the divot beside the hardie hole and the cut at the edge of the hardie hole may have weakened that area, or provided a path for stress cracking. An improper repair of the anvil can do more damage than good. A portable hardie hole can be used when a hardie hole and heavy hammering is needed. The two divots at the step would be a consideration for not doing heavy hammering on the horn. Gouges may have been caused by using the anvil as a work table for a cutting torch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis22 Posted August 3, 2020 Author Share Posted August 3, 2020 Thanks for the information and quick response Glenn! Yep that sounds like a good idea, I’ll get some hours up on it. From what I have read that generally seems like the consensus before considering repair. As much as I would love to fill in that hole on the face I don’t want to do further irreparable damage, however I would like it restored at some point. What qualities would I expect from an anvilI with repairs such as this one would need? Will it perform worse but look good? Or could it maintain its integrity and function as good as before the repair with the added bonus of looking “better”. I am a skilled welder and I’m confident in my abbility but I have never welded anything remotely close to an anvil so if I choose to repair it, I think I would take it to the boilermakers in town, they are always repairing heavy plant and machinery (obviously I would walk them through the Rob Gunter method). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 Read and reread the Rob Gunter method. During the year of use on the anvil (2000 hours) you can locate someone that has experience repairing anvils. Contact your local blacksmithing group for a place to start. Another reason for listing your location via your name and profile. That anvil has lots of usable surface to work on as it is. Depending on what you are doing, some of those imperfections may become usable features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 Welcome aboard Dennis... My brothers name also. Have you seen this thread? A great bunch of folks there. OZ roll call - Everything Else - I Forge Iron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis22 Posted August 3, 2020 Author Share Posted August 3, 2020 Thanks Glenn! Irondragon, thank you! Yeah I have seen it, still getting through the 22 pages though! I’m looking forward to reading through all the topics in the forum. Great to have an online community! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 Knowing the quality of the BK Sydney anvil and looking at the size of that monster I can tell you that you have bugger all chance of damaging the anvil by hammering on it on the heel, the horn or anywhere else Having said that, BK are not Swedish steel and do deform with time just like Peter Wright. Can we know what you paid for it? There is an ad for a 160 pounder on gumtree asking $1600 for it ... oh mama ... It seems the anvil was used more like a stand for a metal worker to cut and grind rather than forging. If the previous owner was that rough with it with torch and grinder, I hate to see what he had done forging on it. The little holes and cuts would be more a cosmetic consideration rather than structural. I would weld them shut using the appropriate pre heat and the correct rod, but leaving them as they are would be just the same, so ... leave them alone since you are just getting started. The anvil looks like a gladiator sporting his scars. What do you intent to forge? Do you have a forge? Hammers? Tongs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis22 Posted August 4, 2020 Author Share Posted August 4, 2020 Hi Marc, yeah it’s a big hunk of metal alright, I did read that BK Sydney just put the Total weight in lbs on the side rather then hundred weight, so this one would be 392lbs or 178kg. I had to take my engine crane to get it on the back of the ute. I paid $1200 for it, overpriced but realistically I probably won’t ever sell it and will get at leas $1200 worth of enjoyment from it in the next few years, so I’m happy. I have an old 9kg LPG cylinder modified as a forge and I also have a hammer that I made at an everleigh works class. I just need a couple of tongs to get me going, the rest I can accumulate or make over the years. I’m not sure how long it’s been since this anvil has forged, it had been sitting in a shed On the floor for maybe...decades By judging all the other rusty tooling and equipment that shared the same fate spilling out onto the limited space on the floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 4, 2020 Share Posted August 4, 2020 I don't know about prices down under, but $3.06 U.S. per pound is on the average to low side in the States nowadays. With that size anvil there is plenty of usable space to the hardened face that repairs shouldn't be needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 4, 2020 Share Posted August 4, 2020 I'm assuming that $1200 is Australian dollars and at 72 US cents per A$1 then the US$ price would have been US$864 or US$2.20 a pound a price *I* would be happy to pay for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 We suffer the highest prices for anvil in the world as far as I know, so your price for that is well below average for Australia and in particular NSW. If you are in Sydney, check the markets for tongs ... in Fairfield on Wednesday the "Trash and Treasure" on Sundays in Prestons the Flemington markets on Saturday, Balmain, Roselle, Blacktown ... you never know your luck in a big city Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis22 Posted August 5, 2020 Author Share Posted August 5, 2020 Irondragon- yeah, the more I look at it the more usable space I can see. Thomas- yep it’s AUD and I’m happy with the purchase Marc- I’m down on the southcoast so sydney is a bit far to go looking. I was going to buy a couple pairs of tongs through Gameco but pretty much all their tongs are sold out. I’ll just have to stay vigilant on gumtree and eBay. I might even go to everleigh or another blacksmith course and spend a little extra on a weekend course that I can make some basic tools. I have been to a couple of Eveleigh Works courses and Matt is really helpful and seems like a top bloke! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 "Dollar" is such a commonly used term that I try to remember and use US$ for at least the first time I use it in a post. Done a bit of travelling and even remember pre-euro days and juggling, Francs and Marks and Lira and Singapore Dollars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 7 hours ago, Dennis22 said: Marc- I’m down on the south coast so sydney is a bit far to go looking. I was going to buy a couple pairs of tongs through Gameco but pretty much all their tongs are sold out. I’ll just have to stay vigilant on gumtree and eBay. I might even go to everleigh or another blacksmith course and spend a little extra on a weekend course that I can make some basic tools. I have been to a couple of Eveleigh Works courses and Matt is really helpful and seems like a top bloke! Try Wollongong markets or Kiama, Gumtree, Ebay. Tongs always show up. The race fury is with anvils not tongs. Funny though because for each anvil you need an average of 10 to 20 tongs. May be people buy carpenter pincers? All my tongs are Gameco or flea market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 Well with an anvil you can make tongs; much harder to go the other way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashmoore Posted September 14, 2023 Share Posted September 14, 2023 Hi just curious if anyone knows the price of a 140 bk anvil in good nick. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted September 14, 2023 Share Posted September 14, 2023 Welcome aboard from 7500' (2285 meters) in SE Wyoming, USA. Glad to have you. I'd take the price comments from earlier in this thread as still valid. Depending on your local market I'd GUESS $US 3-4 per pound. I'll let you convert that to $AU and kg. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted September 14, 2023 Share Posted September 14, 2023 Welcome from the Ozark Mountains. If you are in OZ might check this out, great bunch of folks there. OZ roll call - Everything Else - I Forge Iron I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s. Semper Paratus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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