No guilt what-so-ever. I paid the asking price.

Fred Zweig
Metalsmith

Jamie,

I would spend a bit of time doing searches on what to look for in a good used anvil. I have found sites that specifically run down the points of a good anvil and what to be aware of when purchasing one. It is possible to find anvils in the $2/lb range though most tend to be higher. I was at the right place at the right time for mine.

I always carry a knife with me when I go searching for tools. A simple test on the steel to see if it I can cut off a sliver will tell me if the top plate is hardened or not. It is important that the anvil have a decent recoil when struck and if there is no ring it could be cracked.

Too much to discuss in a short post.

Check your local craigslist and search for anvil and see what comes up. Call or email immediately and go with the money even if it turns out to be a dud.

I have seen several listings for anvils on craigslist.

Hope this helps,
Fred

Jamie, There are a few different types of anvil construction and they influence what you need to look for when reviewing a potential purchase. Anvils can be forged from wrought iron with a tool steel face forge-welded to them (most old English and American anvils), they can be cast iron with a tool steel face bonded during the casting process (Fisher anvils and Vulcan Arm&Hammer anvils), they can be one-piece cast steel, they can be cast iron.

There are a couple of other manufacturing methods that are used too, such as the Hay-Budden anvils with a cast steel top half and a wrought iron bottom half, welded at the waist, and others. Any anvil that is cast iron without a tool steel face plate is not worth owning, period. Unless you need a doorstop or small boat anchor, that is.

The Fisher anvils with a tool steel face cast onto a cast iron body are excellent anvils and have a great rebound and very hard face, but they do not ring when you strike them.  I like this feature as they are not as noisy, thus saving what little hearing I have left after decades of anvil use.  The Vulcan anvils are similar construction, but not nearly as well made as the Fishers.

An anvil with a tool steel face applied by forge welding to a wrought iron body, such as the Mousehole, Peter Wright and other popular old anvils, are very good anvils.  When you examine one you tap the face all  over with a hammer, listening to the "ring".  If you hit a spot with a dull sound, or if you hear any clicking, that anvil has a partially de-laminated face and should be avoided.

Cast steel anvils can be good or bad, depending on the quality of the casting, the model, and the heat treating. Test the rebound.  If the anvil has good rebound it is hard enough to hold up to forging.  Check the edges for signs of chipping - small chipping is normal to some degree, but large chipping can indicate an anvil that has been abused or is too hard.  Too hard is bad for a blacksmithing anvil, but may not be an issue for jewelry work since you'll not be using big hammers and massive blows.

One good way to test the hardness of an anvil face is to drop a ball bearing about 1" diameter onto it from a measured height and then measure how high it rebounds.  80-90% rebound is good.  Much less is too soft.  Even some nice-looking old English anvils with desirable names have been through shop fires (not uncommon in old shops) and have had the face temper destroyed.  So name alone is not enough to recommend an anvil - you have to check every one out personally.

Any anvil should not have very sharp corners on the face.  Those sharp corners will introduce cold shuts in forged work, which will later propagate as cracks in the work.  Corners should be radiused a little all around the face and usually the off-side face has a significant radius for the first few inches back from the horn.  Old anvils with sharp, un-dinged edges have usually been "repaired" by welding them, whiich is almost universally a bad practice.  It alters the face temper unevenly and can lead to later catastrophic failure.

The horns of most anvils are soft, not hardened tool steel.  The only exceptions are the cast steel anvils, where the whole anvil is tool steel but usually only the face is flame hardened or induction hardened.  On those, the horn is softer, but still harder than a wrought iron horn.  The Fisher cast iron/tool steel anvils mostly use a cap plate on the horn along with the face, so their horns are harder, too.

That's a brief run down on what to look for and some background on anvil construction to get you started.  If you have specific questions I'll be happy to answer them.

Rich

Jamie,

Rich has saved you a bunch of time by giving you a rather complete guide. Check Craigslist daily.

Good luck,
Fred

Fred Zweig
Metalsmith

Jamie,

If you get an a dinged face you will need to refinish it. I use an angle grinder and use it with a velcro wheel attachment that allows me to attach several grits of abrassive wheels. With time and patience I have been able to get a usable finish in relatively short time. 320 grit will leave an almost mirror finish. The wheels wear down quickly. It is also not necessary to polish the entire surface of the face. I concentrate on the area above the main body of the anvil. Good luck,

Fred

Thanks!Jamie Santellano

Don't get mad at me..... I just bought another anvil this afternoon for under a buck a lb. Another Trenton in rather excellent shape. I will resurface it and now I can sell the large unmarked anvil with a worn table.

Must be clean thoughts and good living.

Fred

Fred Zweig
Metalsmith

The clean living *may* have something to do with it, but I've noticed over the years that ofter you get the first one, it seems to attract others like a cat in heat. Pretty soon you'll be stumbling over them...

Rich

uh oh...Jamie Santellano

Just as long as it doesn't rain anvils.

Stephen Fitz-Gerald

One of my creative partners who is also a very knowledgeable blacksmith and has a huge tool collection is a great "horse trader". He's always got a couple of anvils coming and going amongst other things,(trip hammers,and tons of hand tools).If there's anybody in Northern California that needs an anvil I can connect you to him.He lives in Bodega.

Rich,

I do not want to become a tool collector... I will liquidate the anvils I do not use to friends... I have two locations where anvils will be very useful.

I did acquire a great 10lb tinner's anvil that I will mount on a stump for everyday forging. This is the second one like this and I will mount it at a different height. I find it good to forge a little while standing and then sitting for a while to forge some more. A pity that I did not learn this when I was younger. I wear ear protection whenever I strike metal.

Fred

Your approach to things seems really sensible and practical to me, Fred. I wish I'd done a lot of things differently when I was younger - if I had I might be able to hear still and not have to take so many painkillers and anti-inflammatories.

Too soon we grow old, too late we grow samrt...

Rich