Anvil purchase - advice needed.

navyvet76

navyvet76

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I am in the market for an anvil and would really appreciate any advice or opinions. A seller in my area has several anvils available with the following description:

“The anvils are listed below. Most are $2.00-2.50 a pound.”
235 lb. English ? Early
200 lb. Columbian
160 lb. 1700-1800 hand forged
158 lb. Early Arm & Hammer
156 lb. Peter Wright
134 lb. Hay Budden
101 lb. " "
100 lb. Crescent
60 lb. Crescent
Plus several small bench anvils

Here is a picture from the ad. The 156 lb. Peter Wright (third from bottom - right side) looks nice; however, my knowledge about anvils is limited. What hands-on inspection tips would you recommend to evaluate the anvils for quality and soundness? Is the asking price range fair? Which one would you buy?





Really appreciate your time and input. Thanks, Steve


 
The price range sounds about right...especially since you don't have to pay shipping.
Hay Budden,Peter Wright,and Arm and Hammer are all very good brands, and the ones
#100 and over would serve you best.

Check to varify that the faces are flat, with no cracks and preferably few or no chips along the edges.

Take a 1/2" to 3/4" ball bearing with you to check rebound. Drop it on the anvil face from 8-12".It should
rebound 90% or better.
 
I agree with the above

Looking at that group, the right column second from the bottom

158?

It's got such a narrow waist the top is like a tuning fork

I'd pick the one below it all things in condition being equal
 
Russ and Sam, thank you very much for all the great advice and help.
I will make sure to test the rebound, face, and edges.
 
What they said. I'd be most interested in these;

158 lb. Early Arm & Hammer
156 lb. Peter Wright
134 lb. Hay Budden

The two on bottoms are very old! Look like Mouse Hole anvils.
 
Possibly take a scale to verify the weights since you'll be paying by the pound, or ask to see them weighed on the sellers scale.

On a side note, i'd love to have that little bench anvil between the two stacks!


-Xander
 
Don, thank you for your input on the anvils. I really appreciate your advice.

Xander, good recommendation on taking a scale... a few pounds here or there can really add up quickly. If I am able to negotiate a deal, I will see if he will throw in the little bench anvil and get it to you.

Thanks everybody,
Steve
 
I would look at the hay budden first personally. Depending on what year it is its upper half is probably steel with a bottom half below the waste wrought iron. They do really good and a 140 or so pounder is fine for makin knives.

The peter wrights can be pretty nice, they have a thinner welded on steel top so pay attention to the thickness of this guy.

I would do a little searching for the columbians and see what you come up with for them, may be worth taking a look at. I cant remember the details I read up on those anvils.

Anyways thats just my thoughts, personally I would love to have one of those old english anvils but thats just for fun not necessarily because they would be the best.
 
I have seen these before, IF, they are the ones that I think they are, these will not be for sale, but he has others that are not so nice that are for sale, see the add in Market Bulletin? as always, Buyer Beware! FLY NAVY!
 
mooreknives said:
I have seen these before, IF, they are the ones that I think they are, these will not be for sale, but he has others that are not so nice that are for sale, see the add in Market Bulletin? as always, Buyer Beware! FLY NAVY!
Click to expand...

Mooreknives, this isnt the guy in Pageland, SC is it? Just curious.

Randy
 
quint said:
I would do a little searching for the columbians and see what you come up with for them, may be worth taking a look at. I cant remember the details I read up on those anvils.
Click to expand...
If I remember right, the Columbian anvils were good ones. I'd have to check the anvil book though.
 
There was a guy around Atlanta who had a Bunch of anvils for sale.

I bought a 258 lb Swedish anvil from him 8-9 years ago.
 
Having worked on Peter Wrights and Hay Buddens before, they should both be good choices. I lean more towards the Peter Wright as the Hay Buddens are a bit more farrier-ish in design and tend to ring more, but condition would be the deciding factor between the two. 90% rebound is really good; if it's a little less you'll still be fine.
 
Most of those names are good, and I agree with what everyone said, but I would buy whichever is over 100lbs and rebounds the best (regardless of name). None of them look obviously destroyed or repaired, so I would buy off rebound primarily. Take a ball bearing and test bounce off each one that you think you would want. If you find one that the ball launches back off the surface in multiple spots - thats the one you want!

If you don't have a steel ball but have a harbor freight local, they sell these roller bearings:
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-8-eighth-inch-roller-ball-bearing-67067.html

I bought a couple of their 1" sized ones and cut the ball out.
Recently I bought an anvil off one guy who asked me to include my 1" steel ball in the deal! (so buy extra bearings, they're cheap)


Good luck!
 
Outside of Atlanta, and he does have some nice stuff, But, when I went to his house years ago, he did not want to sell his good anvils for the price you listed, they were 5-6 dollars a pound. He may be wanting to get rid of some of the stuff now, but has had the same add in the bulletin for years. I did not deal with him because I felt like I was being hussled. Just me! Again, buyer beware. Not to sound ugly, go see what he has and if you find something you like, buy it. Mike Sauls in Zebulon, ga. will rework an anvil for you and do a good job, if need be. I have 2 that he reworked for me when I was in the market for a larger one. Good luck. Above all get the one with the best rebound, you will be buying something that you will use for a long time and there are lots of good anvils around, you just have to be willing to wait for one.
 
I talked to that guy not too long ago when I was looking for a larger anvil. Very polite and friendly, and he loved to talk. I didn't get a bad vibe from him in the least and wouldn't hesitate to do business with him.

The $2-2.50 price is fair and rather common for anvils in decent condition. And, if it were me, I'd buy the 235lb on the bottom of the right stack. It has a wonderfully thick waist and that means a larger sweet spot. That the hardy is closer to the main body is also a blessing, imo.

Lighter anvils are nice, but ones that have long, thin heels are horribly noisy and I always get scared that I might snap the heel off when working at the hardy hole. My Fisher anvil has a short, thick heel and broad waist (like me!), and it's a dream to work on.

If you can, ask him about bundling multiple things together for a better deal. I got a nice post vise for cheap because I was buying a couple of blowers. If you need some of the other tools that he has, see if you can't work out a really good price for all of it. But I would definitely buy the heaviest anvil he has.
 
Might be the same guy I dealt with. Guy came by my table at the Blade show and said he had a bunch of anvils. Cliff Parker and I left in the middle of the show and followed him to his house for a look. He had 30-40 anvils and was asking around $2 per pound, but not all were for sale. I said earlier I got a 258 Swedish from him, but was wrong, it's a 238 lb and pretty nice! We put that anvil in the trunk of Cliff's wife's car and like to never got it out. :D
 
I have a 200+ pound hay burden plow anvil that is a beast. It's very very hard but it's pretty loud, almost like a railroad tie anvil in sound. But man does the steel move on it.
 
navyvet76 said:
Don, thank you for your input on the anvils. I really appreciate your advice.

Xander, good recommendation on taking a scale... a few pounds here or there can really add up quickly. If I am able to negotiate a deal, I will see if he will throw in the little bench anvil and get it to you.

Thanks everybody,
Steve
Click to expand...

Mighty kind of you, but don't press the issue to hard if it becomes an issue in closing a sale you're happy with. But if things work out, keep me in the loop!


-Xander
 
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