Rant: Wasted $200 on a cheap anvil from a flea market and regretted it

Picked up a so-called anvil at a flea market near Columbus last spring for $200. Looked okay, thought I got a deal. First week using it, the face started chipping on me. Turned out it was cast iron with a thin steel plate welded on. Took two heavy strikes to crack the thing. Lost the money and had to haul it to the scrap yard. Anyone else get burned by a fake anvil?

3 comments

3 Comments

vera_lewis2mo ago

Wait, but a real anvil should ring like a bell when you tap it, not go thud. Cast iron will just absorbs the sound. Two heavy strikes to crack it? Yeah, that thing was NEVER gonna hold up.

morgan.mary26d agoProlific Poster

Didn't a buddy of mine get burned the same way with a cast iron anvil off eBay? Thing sounded like a wet log when he tapped it, and sure enough, first real project left a crack right through the face.

clairer792mo ago

Read an article that said real anvils have a distinct ring. Cast iron ones just go thud. That sound test would've saved you $200.