That big anvil at the scrapyard looked great until I drove 45 minutes to check it

Saw an ad on Facebook Marketplace for a 150 pound anvil near Raleigh. Guy said it was a vintage Peter Wright in good shape. Drove out there on my lunch break and it was a cast iron chunk with a broken horn and a face that looked like someone tried to grind it flat with a 4 inch angle grinder. I walked away empty handed but wasted about $12 in gas and an hour. Anyone else had luck finding real anvils at estate sales or is it all just Chinesium now?

2 comments

2 Comments

perez.cole26d ago

Yeah man did you make sure to check the face for a steel plate test? I got lucky at an estate sale in a tiny town outside Durham last year. Old dude had one sitting in his shed covered in bird crap. Took a file to the face and it barely scratched so I knew it was real. Talked him down to 100 bucks and it was a 130 pound Peter Wright with the original horn still solid. That scrapyard bait and switch is a real problem though. I bring a magnet and a file everywhere now just in case.

nathang6726d ago

You're betting on a random file test holding up over time? I've seen too many old anvils with good faces hiding cracked bodies or welded repairs underneath for that to be a sure thing, @perez.cole.