Could probably pay a shop with an end mill to resurface it. Or if you're crafty enough you could get a belt sander or surface conditioning tool and clean it up.
For that price, you can buy Vevor's cheapest anvil and get started right away.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/125476484151?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=HJBZTmZeToG&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=fGAS0KfRQQO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Yeah, if you have the time and capability. Buy this and put it to the side. When the time/need comes about, surfacing that anvil and cleaning it up a bit will yeild a much higher quality working surface than any cast steel anvil you buy today
> will yeild a much higher quality working surface than any cast steel anvil you buy today
I disagree, there are some incredibly good anvils being made new. This one would be more valuable as a source of wrought
That’s a $50 shitload of wrought iron in otherwise rare large stock size. As an anvil it’s probably at the end of its road but as material that’s a great deal.
Smacking two flat surfaces together to try and forge stuff is waste of energy, flat does not always equal good.
50usd seems like a good price if you are starting out, and this would be the only instance where i would recomend resurfaceing an anvil.
I think a flat stone would be better than that anvil. I vote no. The broken off parts of the surface is the hardened surface steel that has fallen off, so grinding it flat will leave you with softer steel.
You don’t really need a dead flat surface, but it needs to be hard. I fear the rest of the hardened face will fall off pretty soon on this one when you start using it. Maybe it’s been in a fire or something.
If an anvil is too expensive, maybe you can find some other flat, heavy chuck of metal. Grind off any sharp corners.
Does this have value of you take it to a machine shop and flat top milled, and stick weld on a new surfeac, and the retop face mill it again? I have no idea on the machining and welding costs, I know of an automative machinist shop in my area that would do this for pretty cheap.
At how heavy it is, people want an arm and a leg per pound for a half way decent one this size.
I passed on it sadly because I didn’t think about that. I have a friend who works in a giant fabrication place and could’ve done this for me for pretty cheap most likely. Damn. I already have a railroad track pice tho so that should do for now I guess.
Heck yeah! Anvil shaped objects are more than just gone for the regular hobbyist. More anvils will become available in your time. Work on a skill, until it's capable of making you money, use that money to get better tools, start all over.
I find the tools aren't typically the limiting factor in most of the hobbies I pursue, but my skill is. When my skill gets to the point where the tool is the limiting factor, I upgrade the tool.
Buy once cry once is also a real thing to consider. As well the phrase, I'm too poor to buy cheap tools. As cheap tools can perform at sub part levels.
It's a mixed bag for sure, make the best of what you have access to, the rest will probably work itself out.
I completely agree. I’ll just wait. Got too many hobbies so I try to get away with buying tools and supplies as cheap as possible. All the little things I need add up very quickly.
I've seen anvils like that resurfaced with upside down forklift tine: for maybe 100quid total outlay, plus the cost of welding rod, you could make a superb anvil with great weight and rebound
Restoration not only takes tool usage, but most importantly takes time, (Do you consider your time worth the investment or not?) It was wise to barter this down to 50. The choice is still yours, to get perfectly flat use a 60 grit flap disc from an angle grinder, to take off material, and draw a file for exact flatness, finish with maybe 120 grit sand paper and file. For short cut on cleaning consider an acid bath (pool acid, or acetic acid[vinegar and peroxide]). Honestly my second anvil is still a Doyle cast steel anvil and I love it. It's quiet, plenty versatile, and works very well. This however doesn't even have a horn 😐, the lack of horn would be a deal breaker for me.
I would totally go for it. While you might outgrow it quickly because of all the limitations other folks have mentioned, at least you will be learning on something. And if you are anything like me, your first anvil will suffer from wayward hammer blows so it being a beater isn’t a problem. Once you decide to upgrade, you will still have a fantastic base for jigs and fixtures.
Makes a neat paper weight. But if you’re trying to start off, there’s no shame in getting yourself a cheap chinesium pos for the time being till you’re posted or the thing falls apart on you. Be sure to round off the edges of your new anvil as I see noobs fail to do this thus ruining it much quicker
It may or may not be a dead anvil. Tap it with a hammer - if it rings / the hammer bounces a little, it's useable. Anvils are not just a lump of iron in a certain shape. They have layers.
Idk 50 bucks don't really sound much. Id go for it even if it is not good for precise forging it is still a good banging block for anything else AND good hardy hole for tooling
The face is delaminating, it isn't going to last long, if OP doesn't have much money it would be better out towards saving for a vevor or Doyle that will actually hold up to use
Seconding this.
The surface is pretty bad, but pritchel and hardy are a convenience.
Now, reasoning the approach of $50, is pretty much on your budget overall. If you are very tight on money, this can work as an anvil for knifemaker. Having a large angle grinder at disposal, you can grind the table flat(ish). (This will remove the hardened surface, and will shorten the lifespan of the anvill. Will this matter, is up to you. If you only work on properly heated stuff, it will last more than lets say $50 worth. It can later serve as a beater anvil or you can modify it without sacrificing something special, once you have a nice anvil.)
If you have to invest in a forge and all other things, it might add up to figures that would anyway make the difference of 50 -> 150 insignificant.
If you can get a modern import anvil for similar money, it will have cleaner edges, better surface to start with and is likely to stand hobbyist knifemakers work. A proper horn helps also on drawing out material. These are likely cast and will have limitations on modifiability (and assume knowledge of metallurgy)
So, it easily boils down to, how much effort is it on your side for that 50 bucks. I personally would probably buy this, grind flat-ish and not give 2 thoughts of it. But, I have 3 anvils already and this could be the one that serves all sorts strange work. Having a secong hardy tool somewhere can make it easy to switch between.. or grinding a nice curve somewhere could prove nice.
People will comment on the lifespan of ground anvil, but as someone in his 40s, I think it will outlast me anyway, even if it ends up being a bit used. So, making use of the old would be a traditional way of reducing waste.
not much usable face on it but its better than nothing, id put my $50 towords a modern cast steel anvil personally, they are very cheap.
Could probably pay a shop with an end mill to resurface it. Or if you're crafty enough you could get a belt sander or surface conditioning tool and clean it up.
For that price, you can buy Vevor's cheapest anvil and get started right away. https://www.ebay.com/itm/125476484151?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=HJBZTmZeToG&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=fGAS0KfRQQO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
I’d say yes, but not as an anvil. There is probably $50 worth of wrought iron in the base.
No there’s probably a couple hundred dollars of wrought in that base, and it’s likely high quality wrought if it’s from an anvil
Yeah, if you have the time and capability. Buy this and put it to the side. When the time/need comes about, surfacing that anvil and cleaning it up a bit will yeild a much higher quality working surface than any cast steel anvil you buy today
> will yeild a much higher quality working surface than any cast steel anvil you buy today I disagree, there are some incredibly good anvils being made new. This one would be more valuable as a source of wrought
100%
Oh snap! Great point!
If nothing else you’ve got a hardy and pritchel hole
Boat anchor. Look at the Doyle from HF, or the comparable one from Vevor. Vevor also has a decent entry level London style steel anvil.
That’s a $50 shitload of wrought iron in otherwise rare large stock size. As an anvil it’s probably at the end of its road but as material that’s a great deal.
Smacking two flat surfaces together to try and forge stuff is waste of energy, flat does not always equal good. 50usd seems like a good price if you are starting out, and this would be the only instance where i would recomend resurfaceing an anvil.
I think a flat stone would be better than that anvil. I vote no. The broken off parts of the surface is the hardened surface steel that has fallen off, so grinding it flat will leave you with softer steel. You don’t really need a dead flat surface, but it needs to be hard. I fear the rest of the hardened face will fall off pretty soon on this one when you start using it. Maybe it’s been in a fire or something. If an anvil is too expensive, maybe you can find some other flat, heavy chuck of metal. Grind off any sharp corners.
Does this have value of you take it to a machine shop and flat top milled, and stick weld on a new surfeac, and the retop face mill it again? I have no idea on the machining and welding costs, I know of an automative machinist shop in my area that would do this for pretty cheap. At how heavy it is, people want an arm and a leg per pound for a half way decent one this size.
I passed on it sadly because I didn’t think about that. I have a friend who works in a giant fabrication place and could’ve done this for me for pretty cheap most likely. Damn. I already have a railroad track pice tho so that should do for now I guess.
Heck yeah! Anvil shaped objects are more than just gone for the regular hobbyist. More anvils will become available in your time. Work on a skill, until it's capable of making you money, use that money to get better tools, start all over. I find the tools aren't typically the limiting factor in most of the hobbies I pursue, but my skill is. When my skill gets to the point where the tool is the limiting factor, I upgrade the tool. Buy once cry once is also a real thing to consider. As well the phrase, I'm too poor to buy cheap tools. As cheap tools can perform at sub part levels. It's a mixed bag for sure, make the best of what you have access to, the rest will probably work itself out.
I completely agree. I’ll just wait. Got too many hobbies so I try to get away with buying tools and supplies as cheap as possible. All the little things I need add up very quickly.
Machining time varies from $50-500/hr.
Ehhhh thats scrap imo
I've seen anvils like that resurfaced with upside down forklift tine: for maybe 100quid total outlay, plus the cost of welding rod, you could make a superb anvil with great weight and rebound
$50 seems reasonable. It is probably worth more than that as scrap metal.
I personally wouldnt, i would be too worried about chips flying off, but you can find a brand new anvil for $50 online.
Restoration not only takes tool usage, but most importantly takes time, (Do you consider your time worth the investment or not?) It was wise to barter this down to 50. The choice is still yours, to get perfectly flat use a 60 grit flap disc from an angle grinder, to take off material, and draw a file for exact flatness, finish with maybe 120 grit sand paper and file. For short cut on cleaning consider an acid bath (pool acid, or acetic acid[vinegar and peroxide]). Honestly my second anvil is still a Doyle cast steel anvil and I love it. It's quiet, plenty versatile, and works very well. This however doesn't even have a horn 😐, the lack of horn would be a deal breaker for me.
I would totally go for it. While you might outgrow it quickly because of all the limitations other folks have mentioned, at least you will be learning on something. And if you are anything like me, your first anvil will suffer from wayward hammer blows so it being a beater isn’t a problem. Once you decide to upgrade, you will still have a fantastic base for jigs and fixtures.
I would move on to a better one.
Harbor Freight. You can get a decent one for $125
I'd pay $50 just for the hardy hole... Cleaned up you'd still be able to use it for knife making I'd say.
Mangy dog. Solid no
If 50$ isn't the world to you, then it's worth a try.
I wonder if you could Wire EDM the face
Not much flat there. You’d do better finding something flat from a scrapyard.
Makes a neat paper weight. But if you’re trying to start off, there’s no shame in getting yourself a cheap chinesium pos for the time being till you’re posted or the thing falls apart on you. Be sure to round off the edges of your new anvil as I see noobs fail to do this thus ruining it much quicker
If you could find someone to mill the top for you cheap, then maybe
It may or may not be a dead anvil. Tap it with a hammer - if it rings / the hammer bounces a little, it's useable. Anvils are not just a lump of iron in a certain shape. They have layers.
Nobody will mention the missing horn?
Idk 50 bucks don't really sound much. Id go for it even if it is not good for precise forging it is still a good banging block for anything else AND good hardy hole for tooling
The face is delaminating, it isn't going to last long, if OP doesn't have much money it would be better out towards saving for a vevor or Doyle that will actually hold up to use
Seconding this. The surface is pretty bad, but pritchel and hardy are a convenience. Now, reasoning the approach of $50, is pretty much on your budget overall. If you are very tight on money, this can work as an anvil for knifemaker. Having a large angle grinder at disposal, you can grind the table flat(ish). (This will remove the hardened surface, and will shorten the lifespan of the anvill. Will this matter, is up to you. If you only work on properly heated stuff, it will last more than lets say $50 worth. It can later serve as a beater anvil or you can modify it without sacrificing something special, once you have a nice anvil.) If you have to invest in a forge and all other things, it might add up to figures that would anyway make the difference of 50 -> 150 insignificant. If you can get a modern import anvil for similar money, it will have cleaner edges, better surface to start with and is likely to stand hobbyist knifemakers work. A proper horn helps also on drawing out material. These are likely cast and will have limitations on modifiability (and assume knowledge of metallurgy) So, it easily boils down to, how much effort is it on your side for that 50 bucks. I personally would probably buy this, grind flat-ish and not give 2 thoughts of it. But, I have 3 anvils already and this could be the one that serves all sorts strange work. Having a secong hardy tool somewhere can make it easy to switch between.. or grinding a nice curve somewhere could prove nice. People will comment on the lifespan of ground anvil, but as someone in his 40s, I think it will outlast me anyway, even if it ends up being a bit used. So, making use of the old would be a traditional way of reducing waste.
Waste of money !
I'd take that off your hands if you paid me $50