[TheForge] Little Anvil

[Demon Buddha]

Viking wrote:
> 
> Being anvil-less at present, I am always looking.
> This morning I came across an old anvil in a flea market.
> It is a Trenton and the claimed weight is 75 pounds.
> It is heavily rusted. All edges are severely rounded - say a quarter-inch
> radius. The asking price is $225.


	Oooo... I'd love to have a 75# anvil.

	Trenton made a great anvil IMO.  As for rust, unless the face
	is heavily pitted, that should be no problem.  The rounded
	edges, if smooth, are largely more desireable than sharp ones,
	though one usually wants some area where they are sharp but
	that can be remedied fairly easily.

	As for how good the price is, that depends on you.  I have no
	problem paying good money for a good tool.  Crap tools are
	just that.  If you are going to use the anvil and you're not
	completely broke like someone we all know, the price may be
	OK, if a little on the high side.  I'm in the east where
	anvils are relatively common so the price would be considered
	high.  Go to Arizona and they become like hen's teeth and such
	a price would be considered reasonable.
> 
> It is smaller than I would like and it looks like it would take a lot of
> work to get into shape.

	Without a few detailed photos it would be difficult to say.
	As for size, that should be no problem.  Take it from someone
	who'e been through this; you can do a whole lot with a small
	anvil.  If I had to be stuck with only one, I would have a
	smaller one rather than a bigger one.  I have a 417# PW and it
	is a wonderful beast, but there are things for which it is
	far from optimal, such as then I'm forging certain types of
	smaller work.  granted I can make tooling for those situations,
	but I'd rather work on a smaller anvil in those cases.

> 
> What say you; reasonable price or not?

	Depending on how easy anvils are to find in your neck of the
	woods, I might suggest you buy the anvil, clean it up and use
	it for a while.  If it proves satisfactory, then you have made
	a good purchase.  If not, you can always resell.

	Naturally, a little haggling may not be a bad idea.