Any Anvil collectors here ?

[dragoneggs]

I gave up - long ago - looking for an old anvil here in the PNW. I welded a two foot chunk of railroad track on my steel top welding table. I don't know if it "rings" but it certainly works well when I need to mash things. And no, I don't have a pic of it.

Ha, funny, I too have a short section of railroad track that I use for a weight sometimes for glueing or banging on. I could take a picture of it but I think we all know what a railroad track looks like. Out of curiosity I looked on ebay and was surprised to see a dedicated market for railroad anvils and they are not cheap! I thought I was just being clever with an old section I somehow came upon.

Railroad Anvil: Blacksmithing | eBay

 

[forgeblast]

I don't collect them but I use one regularly to make carving tools.
Around me they are expensive, everybody wants one and 400+ is the going rate for most.
The one I have I luckily won at an auction years ago. Still has a good bounce to it, no real markings but it rings true.
I have been forging out bowl hooks for turning on a spring pole lathe. 3/4 01 drill rod needs a bit of persuasion and the larger anvil is great for that. I have a smaller jewelry anvil that was a door stop in an antique shop, I also have a section of rail from the coal mine my grandfather worked in.

 

[tcreeley]

I have a piece of track, 2. One I picked up somewhere and is 8" long and the other I picked in town. 2' piece that was laying on the ground by the tracks. - I have them but don't use them. I read somewhere that the steel is on the brittle side.

My first anvil substitute was part of a hold down screw vice for an overhead drill press. I removed the center cross piece and screw that slid up and down on two 2" shafts. I left one shaft in and it is perfect for ending hooks and making loops on the end of rods.' The surface is at least 6" wide and 18" long and 4" thick. (I'll get a pic sometime of it.)

Useful, but an anvil has more uses.

 

[kenmac]

I don't collect them but I use one regularly to make carving tools.
Around me they are expensive, everybody wants one and 400+ is the going rate for most.
The one I have I luckily won at an auction years ago. Still has a good bounce to it, no real markings but it rings true.
I have been forging out bowl hooks for turning on a spring pole lathe. 3/4 01 drill rod needs a bit of persuasion and the larger anvil is great for that. I have a smaller jewelry anvil that was a door stop in an antique shop, I also have a section of rail from the coal mine my grandfather worked in.

I like this one and guess I got a steal at $27.00. I used it last week to knock in a wheel stud. It does have a slight ping to it when hit with a hammer. Not bad for an anvil made back in 1879 and has most likely been used numerous times.
No telling how many people it has out lived I saved it from certain death. It will most likely be around when my kids are gone ,unless they try to scrap it as someone else did

 

[forgeblast]

It will most likely be around when my kids are gone ,unless they try to scrap it as someone else did..
lol thats my fear that when I am gone my wife will scrap a lot of things. I keep meaning to put together a list of what you could get for the items but I am afraid if she saw what I paid for some tools ill be gone sooner lol.
I was using my all last weekend, I had to forge out some new hook tools. I was finally able to turn a nest of bowls, I might be the 4-5th person in the USA at this time able to do that.

 

[KubotainNH]

Nice find, similar anvils are $300 minimum around here.

Anvil 162 lb

 

[Shaneard]

It will most likely be around when my kids are gone ,unless they try to scrap it as someone else did..
lol thats my fear that when I am gone my wife will scrap a lot of things. I keep meaning to put together a list of what you could get for the items but I am afraid if she saw what I paid for some tools ill be gone sooner lol.
I was using my all last weekend, I had to forge out some new hook tools. I was finally able to turn a nest of bowls, I might be the 4-5th person in the USA at this time able to do that.

I saw something once that said "when I die please don't let my wife sell my guns for what she thinks I paid for them" lol.