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Fisher anvil approximate weight 500 lbs.

fj40dave

Plastic
Joined
Dec 8, 2020
Saw this on Public Surplus and searched for information about it.
Found this forum, and thought someone here might want to acquire it.
I have no connection to, interest in, or benefit from anything to do with this auction. Just passing on a potentially good deal for the right interested machinist.
It's at $500 right now, and my search reveals these type of anvils can go for $3/pound.

Hope someone might find this a deal.

Dave

Public Surplus: Auction #2690789
 
Wonder how "approximate" the weight is... ie., whether they actually weighed it, or if whoever listed it for sale just eyeballed it and said, "eh, must be about 500 lbs". Makes a difference in value when discussing anvils.

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Wonder how "approximate" the weight is... ie., whether they actually weighed it, or if whoever listed it for sale just eyeballed it and said, "eh, must be about 500 lbs". Makes a difference in value when discussing anvils.

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Is should have its weight cast right into it. It is probably not the EXACT weight of that anvil though, since the weight number is on the pattern.
 
Wonder how "approximate" the weight is... ie., whether they actually weighed it, or if whoever listed it for sale just eyeballed it and said, "eh, must be about 500 lbs". Makes a difference in value when discussing anvils.

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The "45" cast into the leg of the anvil means it will be in the neighborhood of 450 pounds.
 
A friend of mine has a 650 pound anvil that he got out of a railroad workshop. It was sitting in his yard for a very long time, I told him it needed a well anchored chain, so any two guys that DO try to lift it will end up in the Hernia Ward.Figured about 3 1/2 feet of chain would do it...

So he tells me about a similar size anvil. The guys that tried to steal it, heaved it into the trunk of their car. It sank through the floor of the trunk, and anchored their car in the fellow's yard. The horn punched through when they threw it in. Didn't work out so well...
 
It’s over $900 now with 4 days left ... these are currently worth $5/lb or more
Shame, that’s pretty much my dream anvil and only a 3 hour drive or so.
 
Yeah it's probably going to keep going, but you never know. At that price it's a great deal still. Looks to be in pretty darn good shape too. I have a Peter Wright 180-pounder I lucked into for $50, it's more than enough for me.
 
I think paying $5 a pound for a used anvil is idiocy. You can buy brand new anvils using better metal, made with known processes for that price. No guessing as to the quality or hardness or any of that. Just the first place I Googled.

Shop - Texas Farrier Supply
 
I think anvil prices have gotten a bit nutty, I'd love to have a nicer one, but lets be honest, its just a chunk of iron. I have a cheap Armstrong anvil, it does not ring, but works well for what I do, paid a whole .30 per pound for it.
 
At 450 lbs that anvil is trophy class. It brings a different level of pricing than user sized anvils. I've seen that size bring $10/lb, and the buyer was a reseller as well.
 
Yeah it's probably going to keep going, but you never know. At that price it's a great deal still. Looks to be in pretty darn good shape too. I have a Peter Wright 180-pounder I lucked into for $50, it's more than enough for me.

Great score at the price!

Pretty much an ideal size too, as it can be picked up and moved, if it must be, and it sure isn't going to end up as "too small" for anyone that does not have a couple strikers with sledge size hammers working with him.

If the anvil face is still attached at the weld, even better!

We had a 220 Lb Peddinghaus that was not on the books anywhere, in the last shop I worked in. Tried to convince the boss that it would make a swell retirement gift, but.... :)

I really find the whole X dollars a pound thing, kind of dumb. Not once have I ever been able to convince a seller that I only needed $50 worth, and would they please cut that off. No takers.

Condition counts more than mass or name tag.
 
I really find the whole X dollars a pound thing, kind of dumb.

Actually, that is how the anvils were sold when new. Same with leg vises. If that one is to much money, buy the smaller one. When you make something under a power hammer you don't have the best control of final weight.
 
Actually, that is how the anvils were sold when new. Same with leg vises. If that one is to much money, buy the smaller one. When you make something under a power hammer you don't have the best control of final weight.

Am pretty familiar with the process.

And I know that was how they were sold. But they were new, then.

What they are worth as a working tool, relates entirely to it's condition. Never beaten on with a sledge hammer to watch it bounce back, never used as a cutting table under the gas axe, and generally, they were fit for their advertised use.
Unlike oh so many of the anvils out there.

Sorta like the guys who are always screaming the mantra "Old 'Merican Iron is best!" It may be, if it's in decent shape. But a clapped out machine is still just so much scrap weight.
 
That's an older Fisher that appears to be in good condition. Joshua Kavett of the Fisher Museum just released his book detailing the history of Fisher Norris...very interesting read. I'm going off memory, but I think they stopped casting the name into the foot in the 1890s, and shortly after that they added lugs to the feet.

I've owned over 100 anvils and probably 10 Fishers (have three now) and like them quite a bit. The nice thing is that they're quiet so you won't hurt your ears, or bother any neighbors. My medium size anvil is a 200lb Fisher and it's really nice to work on.

The only new anvils made today that are in the same quality ballpark, or better, are Refflinghaus (have two of those), Peddinghaus (had a couple) and Holland. A step below would be Fontanini and Nimba. Anything in that size range and quality is going to be $6/lb or more. A 390lb Holland is $2,400. A 460lb Refflinghaus is $3650, and that's the cheaper of the two versions...oh, and a wait list to get one that has no known timeframe. A 460lb Fontanini is $2,757. A 450lb Nimba is $2575. You can't get a new Ridgid Peddinhaus that large, but their 275lb anvil goes for $2130. All of the other names you commonly see are ductile iron and quite soft...like Rockwell 45-48, which is softer than a good hammer. I personally can't stand soft anvils...but they're better than a rock.

Junk anvils are selling for $3/lb in most parts of the country, and many places are higher. Some of the problem is just normal demand...people see prices jumping and think "I've always wanted an anvil, I better get one now"....almost none of those folks are actually doing blacksmithing on hot metal, and they'd be better off with something you can cold hammer on without fear of damage.
 
I've owned over 100 anvils and probably 10 Fishers (have three now) and like them quite a bit. The nice thing is that they're quiet so you won't hurt your ears, or bother any neighbors. My medium size anvil is a 200lb Fisher and it's really nice to work on.

I have two Peter Wrights, one has a bark to it like a firecracker going off next to your ear. I have hung it with magnets and chains, bedded it on leather and lead, and it just barks anyway. Damned unpleasant to use.

I have pretty much come to the conclusion that a long low anvil will do that, while a taller, shorter (from horn to heel) one will not be so hard to keep the noise down on.
 








 
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