Anvil restoration advice needed

Getting old, selling my 500lb. (actually 502lb) anvil. Wire brushing it to remove dirt and rust. Then what? Should I paint the sides? Surface the top? Or, is it best to leave this work to the potential buyer. Advise and links to appropriate sites appreciated.

Ivan Vegvary

Reply to
Ivan Vegvary
Loading thread data ...

remove dirt and rust. Then what? Should I paint the sides? Surface the top? Or, is it best to leave this work to the potential buyer.

As-is, list it as an antique heavy duty item.

...Where is it and how much do you want for it?

Reply to
Joe AutoDrill

remove dirt and rust. Then what? Should I paint the sides? Surface the top? Or, is it best to leave this work to the potential buyer.

Personally..Id go with Joe...clean it up and sell it as is. You wont make much...if any ..additional money for painting etc.

Anvil prices go from about $1.5-3.00 a pound..depending on your area and the availability of anvils therein.

This might give you some idea...from 2008

formatting link

Posted 15 April 2008 - 03:19 PM All of these can be seen in my gallery, These are the prices I sold them for to folks all around the country, just to give you an idea of what something is truely worth.

100# Hay Budden..............$400 201# Peter Wright............ .550 250# Fisher.......................500 150# Vise.........................125 85# USA ..........................145 129# Mousehole................185 100# Vulcan.....................225 120# Leg Vice...................175 100# Crosley Fisher............200 122# Peter Wright..............400 463# Hay Budden............. 2500 147# Three Holes Cast.......100 30# Vulcan.......................213 25# Vulcan.......................234 155# Recessed Fisher.........325 300# Fisher......................600 9# Enderes........................81 104# Mousehole................402 20# Fisher........................150 138# Unmarked Old English.....275 100# Fisher w/ Base.............665 135# Trenton Farrier............336 95# Mankel.........................480 95# Peter Wright.................200 135# Centaur Forge.............730 175# fisher.........................325 86# Hornless......................1350 150# Trenton Farrier.............510 101# Peter Wright................305 330# English + 100# Soderfors......935 95# Vise + 100# Village + 2 Tongs + Hardy.........487 131# Peter Wright.................304 154# Soderfors + Hardies......533.99 88# Trenton Top.................140 500# Fisher.........................2200 143# Hay Budden..................689 139# Peter Wright..................325 300# Columbian....................850 160# Peter Wright................350 120# Mousehole...................306 50# Vulcan + Hardy..............100

As you may notice..the bigger anvils often tend to go more towards $4+ a pound.

I got my (rough) 300lb Hay Budden for free..but Ive seen its brothers go for $1000+

Id suggest starting at $4.50 a pound and dropping down a buck in a few months if it doesnt sell. Craigslist may be a good place to post it. I dont recall where you live..shrug so I may be low, on the money or high.

Who made your anvil? That makes a big difference as well as condition.

Hay Budden seems to get pretty fair money..the Swedish anvils..serious money etc

Gunner

The methodology of the left has always been:

  1. Lie
  2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
  3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
  4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
  5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
  6. Then everyone must conform to the lie
Reply to
Gunner

A little OT, but the subject of painted anvils reminded me...

A few years ago, someone gave me one of those cheap 55 lb Harbor Freight cast iron 'anvils'. It was newish looking, and painted a cheap shiny metallic grey color (including the 'horn').

Don't recall ever using it, but one day something banged up against it's side, and a chunk about a quarter the size of a golf ball plopped out!

Closer inspection revealed it to be bondo! A little screwdriver prodding uncovered other areas filled in a similar fashion. Underneath, that had to be the nastiest casting ever... they'd even bondoed & painted over a think layer of rust/scale/crud.

Erik

Reply to
Erik

Wire brush with angle grinder to clean condition, then clean the grime, then oil with clear oil.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus18363

All ebay sellers who get top prices for used anvils, do the same thing. Wire brush with angle grinder mounted brush to clean condition, then oil, then photograph.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus18363

Were I buying (I wish!) I'd want one to use. Paint is just there to make it look good to interior decorators and raise the price. A nicely surfaced top -- that would probably raise the price that I'd be willing to pay.

Reply to
Tim Wescott

Just brush it off so that you can see the condition. Price depends on condition. Look for any markings that would identify the brand. Usually on one side. Try to get clear photos showing the condition of the top. Angled lighting helps to show the surface condition. The potential buyer of any anvil that size will want to know if there are any cracks, and will want to test the amount of "rebound" at several points.

Reply to
bw

The only thing I'd think about doing relates to the face. You asked if the "top" should be surfaced. Why? What is wrong with the face? How badly chipped are the edges? Has someone already repaired the edges or the face?

Also, If you are going to sell it, look closely for any markings and make sure the potential buyers know what it says.

Pete Stanaitis

---------------

Reply to
Pete S

to remove dirt and rust. Then what? Should I paint the sides? Surface th e top? Or, is it best to leave this work to the potential buyer.

Thanks for all the good advice. Ended up lightly wire brushing the entire anvil and then coating it with oil.

The following is a Craigslist link showing the anvil. There are absolutely no identifying marks thereon. Somebody that looked at it years ago said i t might be a "railroad" anvil. Whatever that means. Please tell me if my add is way off base and other advice.

formatting link

Thanks, as always.

Reply to
Ivan Vegvary

remove dirt and rust. Then what? Should I paint the sides? Surface the top? Or, is it best to leave this work to the potential buyer.

anvil and then coating it with oil.

identifying marks thereon. Somebody that looked at it years ago said it might be a "railroad" anvil. Whatever that means. Please tell me if my add is way off base and other advice.

Wow! Looks VERY unusual!

i
Reply to
Ignoramus15411

remove dirt and rust. Then what? Should I paint the sides? Surface the top? Or, is it best to leave this work to the potential buyer.

anvil and then coating it with oil.

identifying marks thereon. Somebody that looked at it years ago said it might be a "railroad" anvil. Whatever that means. Please tell me if my add is way off base and other advice.

I thought the anvils going for $600 were waaaay too much. Have you seen any other anvils selling for over a grand? Good luck. The good news is that you have plenty of wiggle room.

I don't do much anvil work (on my little piece of RR track) but if I did, I wouldn't want a pair of dowels in the way and I'd want a flat surface. That thing has seen a century and then some of hard life with no resurfacing. Someone took a 9" grinder to that top, didn't they? Ouch! I think I'd prefer a more tapered horn, too. That curve is pretty specific.

There, that's all the negative feedback you can expect to see and we got it out of the way in one post.

Best of luck selling it, Ivan. May you find a collector who's rolling in money and sell it for the asking price the very first day it's up!

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Yow! Cool. That's a "bridge anvil", used, AFAIK, in heavy forge shops to work on U-shaped pieces. There's a pic of another one here:

formatting link

Also visible but less clear in:

formatting link
formatting link

There's also one that doesn't resemble the English pattern at the bottom of this page:

formatting link

I just picked up a spare anvil for myself today. No legible name but might possibly be a Peter Wright, 2 0 15, in great condition except that the table is a bit chopped up. Since I gave my back-up anvil to my son I've been without a spare. Now I'm all set.

Reply to
Mike Spencer

it to remove dirt and rust. Then what? Should I paint the sides? Surface the top? Or, is it best to leave this work to the potential buyer.

re anvil and then coating it with oil.

ely no identifying marks thereon. Somebody that looked at it years ago sai d it might be a "railroad" anvil. Whatever that means. Please tell me if my add is way off base and other advice.

Thanks for the reply Larry. I'm not sure the surface has been ground. It looks uniformly beat up. I suppose new user will want to hard face it with some welding rod?

Reply to
Ivan Vegvary

Thanks for the photos Mike!

Reply to
Ivan Vegvary

looks uniformly beat up. I suppose new user will want to hard face it with some welding rod?

I was referring to the circular grind mark on the bottom right of the picture where you're showing the top of the anvil. Looks about 1/4" deep. What I meant was that it would have to be worked on to be used, and that will very likely reduce the sale price.

Any bites on it yet?

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Indeed! Thanks!!

Gunner, 300 lb Hay Budden (needing some further cleanup)

The methodology of the left has always been:

  1. Lie
  2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
  3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
  4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
  5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
  6. Then everyone must conform to the lie
Reply to
Gunner

I like this swelled style of horn much better.

Man, you'd really want a pair of earplugs -and- earmuffs on if you walked into that room during work hours, huh?

I'd love a copy of the anvil at the top of the page.

formatting link

Reply to
Larry Jaques

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.