GKChesterton Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 I'm looking to get started and have looked at some used anvils with fairly solid body and face but with the edges showing wear. My question is how much wear should be something to walk away from. Cosmetics aren't an issue for me, it's more a question of will this significantly impact my ability to work on steel with this anvil. I've included an example of one I am interested in but wondering if the edge wear is simply too much. I know price is a factor, this one is a little over 100 pounds and around $500 bucks. For around that, I could get a lighter new 75 pound anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 $5 a pound is scary, but I have no idea what they go for wherever you are. The face looks great and the edges need work. If you have welding skills, or have a welder, have a friend, or want to learn some new rod, heres what I consider to be the best process for rebuilding the edges. https://www.anvilmag.com/smith/anvilres.htm Weather you should or not is a personal choice. Be careful of Harbor freight type Chinese import anvils, they are not worth the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 $500 would be too much even if the edges were great in my opinion. As you stated, you are getting into new anvil purchasing range, and new anvils are better in many ways; no face plate to delaminate, solid one piece construction, no soft wrought iron used, and better alloys today. As to edges, you do not want sharp edges as they promote cold shuts in the work. They were shipped sharp so that the smith could radius them as he saw fit. The ones above could be smoothed out with a flap wheel, but would they work for what you do? You could always make a block, or saddle that has smaller or varied radii that drops into the hardy hole or over the face. For those starting out I recommend an improvised anvil, due to the cost of beat up vintage anvils today. An anvil does not need to be a London pattern to be a "real" anvil. In regards to price, only you can determine what an anvil is worth to you. Regarding welding up, if done wrong it can do more damage than helping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 GKC welcome to the World Wide Web; we have folks from over 100 different countries participating in IFI; so it helps to be specific! $500 Australian dollars is only US$360.65 which is not so bad. $500 Canadian dollars is US$400... At US$5 a pound I'd want an anvil in better shape. Or do you need a London Pattern anvil? Folks have been forging for about 3000 years without using one. My latest improvised anvil ran me US$16 for 80 pounds at my local scrapyard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKChesterton Posted January 18, 2022 Author Share Posted January 18, 2022 Thanks, guys. Good advice. I am starting to lean toward something improvised or just going new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 A classic method is: anything you make on your improvised anvil and sell; toss a dollar of two in your "buy an anvil" can. By the time it's full you will be a lot more up on what you want/need in an anvil! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 If your "buy an anvil" can gets full and overflows, get a bigger can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 (Or start looking into bigger or fancier anvils---A NIMBA Gladiator is on my list if ever I should win the lottery...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKChesterton Posted January 18, 2022 Author Share Posted January 18, 2022 I saw the Nimba brand. Never seem to have any used ones for sale. I suppose that's a vote in favor of their quality. Hard to find any videos of anyone using one, though. Do they have a loud sound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Not if you mount them to quiet them down. I only knew one person who lucked onto a used one, went by VICopper as he was a LEO in the US Virgin Islands, got it at half price and shipped it out to the islands. I might have afforded it when it first sold and he got it; but couldn't at his estate sale with the shipping and price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Welcome aboard GK, glad to have you. As has been hinted at, if you put your general location in the header you'll have a much better chance of meeting up with experienced smiths living within visiting distance. That'll give you a chance to try out different brands, type, sizes, etc. anvil so you'll have a better idea of what to look for. To name ONE benefit. Nimba is a new cast in America anvil and are high quality modern steel. One of the guys in our club has one and it's as effective as most any I've used and not particularly noisy. They have a thick waist so they don't ring like a tuning fork. Good anvils. If in your searches you run across a cast Swedish steel anvil in good condition for a decent price you'll have trouble finding better. Soderfors to name the top of the curve. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 9 hours ago, GKChesterton said: the edge wear is simply too much. The edge wear is not too much, however the price is. I have a 106 pound Hay Budden anvil with one edge similar to that and I only paid $1.89 U.S. per pound for it. It passed the ring & rebound test and I made an anvil block that drops into the hardy hole when I need a good edge with a radius or I use one of the other anvils with good edges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKChesterton Posted February 7, 2022 Author Share Posted February 7, 2022 Thanks for all the advice, guys. I ended up finding a PW in better condition and weighing 150 lb. Bought it in a package deal with a really nice stand/work table and coal forge with blower. Will be making the neighborhood ring soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 A very good anvil and no edge wear. If it passed the ring & rebound test, it's ready to go back to work. Hammering hot steel on it's face will shine it right up. Love it when I can find package deals at a reasonable price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKChesterton Posted February 7, 2022 Author Share Posted February 7, 2022 I'm not an expert by any means, but it has a very nice ring and the ball bearing turns into a kid's bouncy ball on it. I'm really happy to have it. The set up belonged to an army-trained farrier who started a little before WWII. He stuck with it as a career after he left the service and shoed his last horse when he was in his eighties. The family gave me a news article from the 70s that talked about his life and experience working in North Texas. My wife is going to laminate it, and I'll put it on the shop wall. Feel very lucky to have stumbled across the posting when I did (twice-daily searches for the last two months) and it was worth driving through a bit of snow to get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 Perhaps mail them a photo of it back in use in a smithy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 Good story on the anvil, and a nice looking one as well. I too spent time with a farrier from the army. He enlisted in '38. He retired when the military got rid of its last mules at Fort Carson, Co in the mid '50's. Spent his life shoeing and we became good friends,,, lol, after a rather long stressed time while i was a farrier. After I became a blacksmith, things changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yanni Rockitz Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 Congrats, man -- that's about as nice a Peter Wright as you could hope to find. Wire wheel on a drill, a little oil rub -- she's your lady. Remember -- never hit 'er super hard with a hammer unless you have some hot metal in between -- but you already knew that. :-) Where are our pics of the forge, etc.? We want to see the whole score! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rojo Pedro Posted February 8, 2022 Share Posted February 8, 2022 Nice anvil. Post some pictures when you get her set up :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKChesterton Posted February 9, 2022 Author Share Posted February 9, 2022 I'm setting it up adjacent to my pole barn and adding a roof section and gravel for the work area. Will be a week or two before I have it all set up, but I'll definitely post some pictures and will send one to the family as well. Thanks for the guidance on fixing up the anvil. I'm pretty new to this so I welcome any advice, even if it just confirms the little bit I do know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 Sweet score! She's a beauty, a cup brush on an angle grinder, hot steel and hammer time is all she needs to put a shine on her face. Boiled linseed oil or my favorite carnuba paste wax applied to a cup of coffee temp anvil body, not face will keep her looking fresh. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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