Burned $150 on a cheap anvil from a flea market in Ohio last spring

I thought I was getting a steal on a 80-pound anvil, but the face was way too soft. After three projects, it was covered in dents and chipped edges. I ended up buying a proper one from a real supply shop for $350 that works like a dream. Has anyone else fallen for a junk anvil and regretted it?

2 comments

2 Comments

holly478d ago

and honestly that resurfacing thing is a total myth i see people try all the time... you can't just grind down a soft face and expect it to hold up because the whole body is the problem not just the surface. welding on hard face is a nightmare too, like emma said it cracks because the base metal underneath just can't handle the stress. i wasted a whole weekend trying to fix a junk anvil once and it was still trash when i was done... better off just cutting your losses and buying something decent from the start. sometimes the cheap lesson is the most expensive one in the end..

emma_young9d ago

That's a bummer about the anvil... but honestly the real trap is people thinking they can just resurface a soft one with a grinder. I've seen guys try to weld hard face onto a wrought iron core and it just cracks out after a few hits because the base metal can't take the heat. You end up with twice the money and no good anvil...