I have a chance to make an offer on an anvil.


Sadly I am anvil-ignorant.

it says :

Williams Foster

1842

WW

5


I did a little research on WF anvils and they are laminated? 


How to tell if it's good?

whats a fair offer?

any other things I need to know?

Thanks

Skip

First, what you going to use it for?   If for light straightening, a 75 lber is ok.   For even semi serious blacksmithing, 120lbs is on the light side.   If that 5 is the weight mark,  then it weighs 55  lbs. or so.  Anvils in general,   chips?   sway backed?  chunks broken off?  walkaway.    A good anvil has a sharp edge on one side of the table, rounded edge on the other.   A nice smooth horn,  a pritchel hole (round), and a hardy hole (square).   Figure to pay up to 3 dollars a pound for a good anvil over 100 lbs.  Things may vary in your area.   But no use in buying a big paper weight you can't sell someday. 

If by laminated, you mean that they are forged from several pieces, than you are correct. Forging several pieces together to make an anvil is very common, and not something to worry about.
John K pretty much covered usefulness. Make sure it is flat. Make sure the anvil is all there (not missing the heel or half a horn). Make sure someone didn't take a chisel to the face \ horn, leaving cut marks all over it.

The weight can not simply be "5", there must be other markings as well (maybe faded away though). It will need 3 numbers, such as 0 . 5 . 0. That being said, that is an impossible number, as the center number represents quarters. If it is the middle number (assuming the anvil would be massive if the 5 is on the left, and miniature if it was on the right), it has to be a 1, 2, or 3. Likely a 2 or 3, making it ~55-85lbs.

One simple thing you should do if it passes the flat\not missing anything inspections, is bring a hammer. Gently strike the face and horn of the anvil. Being that it is a forged iron anvil, it will not have a sharp ping, but you will still be able to tell if something is wrong with it. An anvil with a crack in it will not have any ring at all when struck, and will make somewhat of a flat, clank noise (sorry, that isn't very descriptive, but you'll know if it sounds broken).

Also consider the style of anvil and if that is what you want. William Foster's are all older- English style anvils, thick waisted but sturdy. Personally, I love the English style, but more common is the more modern "London" style, which gives a larger anvil for the weight, and greater ability to work around the heel and horn.

As far as price, William Foster is a somewhat uncommon anvil, so there is some collector value there if it is in good shape. John K is pretty spot on with $3lb for a nice anvil. If it is really around 85lb though, I'd shoot for under $200.

If it is a William Foster, it should be a wrought iron body, with a tool steel face.

I disagree with Mac on the ping sound.....it should, when tapped lightly on the face, rebound the hammer with a sharp ring, as the face will be tool steel.

That said, if the whole anvil was ever in a fire, it may not ring, as it could have been annealed by the fire and subsequent slow cooling as the fire died down. It is near impossible to heat treat an anvil face again without industrial furnaces and equipment, but it could be done with a lot of friends, a big hot fire, and plenty of free drinks to keep everyone interested while the hours tick away bringing the face up to temp.

There were only a few anvil companies that made "silent" anvils. Fisher and I think Vulcan were the two most common.

Quote from: Mac53 on June 28, 2012, 10:55:23 AM

One simple thing you should do if it passes the flat\not missing anything inspections, is bring a hammer. Gently strike the face and horn of the anvil. Being that it is a forged iron anvil, it will not have a sharp ping, but you will still be able to tell if something is wrong with it. An anvil with a crack in it will not have any ring at all when struck, and will make somewhat of a flat, clank noise (sorry, that isn't very descriptive, but you'll know if it sounds broken).

Here's a little blurb about William Foster anvils from anvilfire.com  http://www.anvilfire.com/anvils/af_anvils_006.php

My work anvil is a Fisher, known as the silent anvil.   Has great rebound, will bounce a ball bearing but no ring, easier on the ears.    Fisher also put the date on theirs, mine is 1908.