Anvils for sale

IslandTractor · Feb 23, 2015

k0ua said:
ASO's.... pronounced just like you think it is.:laughing:

Anvil Shaped Objects

You're right, that is what I was thinking. I misremembered. I'll have to join Brian Williams and Bill O'Reilly in the sin bin!

wroughtn_harv · Feb 23, 2015

Some of us were doing some rock kicking as we evaluated the stuff the tailgaters had to sell when a conversation about the price of one particular anvil came up. It was a Tim Clark two hundred fifty pounder that the vendor in the conversation had sold to the professional smith in the group discussing. The smith snorted at the $5.00 per pound paid for the Hay-Budden because the vendor had sold him the Tim Clark last year for $8.00 per pound. Vendor offered to buy it back right then and there. Smith declined and then explained that it had taken years of begging to get the anvil in the first place.

An anvil isn't a piece of iron to beat the crap out of to a blacksmith. The closest thing I can think of comparing the relationship is watching a mechanic and his Snap On box worth umpteen thousands of dollars. One of the commandments on anvils is it is a sin for anything to be hit on the face of the anvil cold. That's an absolute no-no.

BTW I've been hitting hot metal for about twenty years. I'm as close to being a blacksmith as I am to being a weldor. I can hit metal but there is no way I'm one of those guys. It's kind of like my tig welding. The other day someone was complementing some beads on some aluminum and they gave a little dissertation on cleanliness is the secret to such work. I had to duck my head and my smile. I'm not that kind of aluminum weldor. Down and dirty works too.

Dr_Zinj · Feb 24, 2015

I seem to recall reading somewhere that you can cold hammer ferrous metals to shape them. Of course that's not beating directly on the anvil either, it's hammering on the work that's resting on the anvil.

wroughtn_harv · Feb 24, 2015

Dr_Zinj said:
I seem to recall reading somewhere that you can cold hammer ferrous metals to shape them. Of course that's not beating directly on the anvil either, it's hammering on the work that's resting on the anvil.

The big issue with cold hammering is it work hardens the material Stainless is famous for that.

wroughtn_harv · Feb 24, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiNFydwVfg8 There's another video here too, historical anvils 2. I wouldn't advise watching these videos if you take nitrates for your heart, it just might send you to the hereafter with a crap eating grin.

MH8675309 · Feb 24, 2015

It has been awhile since we sold one at auction and it was $2.00 a pound then but it sounds like they start out at $5.00 and go up! Glad mines bought!

IslandTractor · Feb 24, 2015

wroughtn_harv said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiNFydwVfg8 There's another video here too, historical anvils 2. I wouldn't advise watching these videos if you take nitrates for your heart, it just might send you to the hereafter with a crap eating grin.

Wish you hadn't posted that. I've been watching blacksmithing videos all morning instead of getting work done.

ThomasH · Feb 24, 2015

wroughtn_harv said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiNFydwVfg8 There's another video here too, historical anvils 2. I wouldn't advise watching these videos if you take nitrates for your heart, it just might send you to the hereafter with a crap eating grin.

Holy crap! That's where all the anvils have gone. I would like a hundred pounder (or so) but the prices are too rich for me. I welded a couple of 12"x12"x1" steel together at a 90 degree angle and put a tab on the middle of the back. I clamp that in a large 8" vise and use it to beat stuff on. I guess I will keep using that...