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Posted by Charly the Bastard on January 14, 2007, 8:48 pm
Please log in for more thread options Prometheus wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> Today I contacted a guy who has some anvils for sale today who came
> recommended by one of the list members here, and am going to take a
> look at what he has to offer next week.
>
> From the phone conversation, it sounds as though he has two good
> contendors for sale right now- a Peter Wright anvil in *good*
> condition for $290 (I don't recall if it was 120# or 150#, but it was
> something in that size range) and a smaller 60# anvil for $90 that has
> some slight chipping on the edges (My guess is that it's a cast steel
> HF anvil, but I'll find out when I go to look at them.)
>
> $90 is more realistic for my price range, but I've burned myself
> enough times by purchasing tooling that was inadquate to know that
> sometimes it's better to tighten my belt for a couple of weeks or
> months and get the right thing the first time. It's kind of hurt my
> woodshop over time when I've "saved" money in the short term only to
> end up replacing equipment six months or a year later and selling the
> smaller tooling at a loss.
>
> (In a nutshell, I'm not cheap- but not wealthy, either)
>
> So, I'm leaning towards that larger Wright anvil. But $290 puts it
> into a realm where it needs to be a quality tool, and not just a toy.
> Basically, if I put that much into it, and it turns out to be a piece
> of junk, blacksmithing as a hobby is going to be ruled out for at
> least a year or two. For $90, I can pretty well shrug off a loss on
> the smaller anvil, but I can't see a good reason to waste money on
> useless stuff.
>
> So I've got a week to educate myself a little further on exactly what
> it is I need to look for when I'm assessing the condition of a used
> anvil. I've been searching around the internet from time to time over
> the past month or two, but so far have not come up with any good
> *field tests* for judging an anvil.
>
> What can I look for when checking this hunk of metal over? What would
> you, as a smith, allow a prospective buyer to do when checking an
> anvil? I would assume he's not going to worry about me giving it a
> whack with a hammer, but what else can a guy do to figure out whether
> or not it's worth the asking price? Maybe like giving the base a
> quick once-over with a wire brush to look for cracks, or some pointers
> on judging the overall quality based on the finish of the casting? Do
> most smiths tend to go for haggling, or is the price he set the price
> he wants, and debating it likely to be seen as an insult?
>
> I am also wondering if those Peter Wright anvils have much ring to
> them- I am in a residential neighborhood, and even though the garage
> is mostly underground (the rafters and roof are above grade), I'm not
> looking to get into a fight with the neighbors over my loud anvil. If
> it does ring, would doing something like mounting a bit of tire rubber
> or similar material between the anvil and the stump help reduce the
> sound? If nothing works, but the anvil is worth the investment, I may
> insulate the roof of the garage to reduce the amount of noise that can
> escape- but that is a sizable investment as well, and one that could
> be much better applied in the house itself.
>
> Thanks for any comments or advice you may have.
Okay, if it's good it'll ring a bit when you tap it with a hammer, if it's
got big cracks, it'll klunk. Good condition usually means it hasn't got
structuraL cracks. Bigger is better for smithing work. PWs have a good
name for quality, and $2 a pound is reasonable. Check the face for flat
with a straight steel ruler. corner to corner and look for gaps between
the ruler and the face. Anything under an eighth of an inch is acceptable.
Check for hammer dings in the face surface, chipping at the edges,
corners, around the hardie hole, on the horn. A little wear and tear is
okay, but deep gouges and dings will have to be fixed sooner or later by
welding and grinding. You can dress out a lot of minor stuff with a body
gtinder, so don't let small flaws deter you from getting it. If it's
really swaybacked, there's always the machine shop to get it decked flat
again. Carbides will cut even hardface like a hot knife through butter in
just a few minutes on the mill. Keep the neighbors happy by putting some
sheet lead under the anvil when you mount it. Lead will soak up the KLANG
without leaving the anvil on a soft base like using a mudflap would. When
you mount it, make the stand high enough so you don't have to bend over to
use it. The hammer should be level in your hand when it gets to the anvil.
Take it from me, lower back pain is no fun, and standing humped over the
anvil will give it to you damn quick. Anvils used to be marked for weight
in hundredweights, stones, and pounds. Hundredweight =112 pounds, stone
=16 pounds, so a 150# anvil would be 1 hundredweight,2 stone,6 pounds, or
126. This was usually cast into the base somewhere. Hope this helps,
happy whacking.
Charly
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