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Dropped $340 on a used anvil with a cracked heel, here is how I checked it before buying
I drove out to a farm near Lexington two weeks ago to look at a 150 lb anvil a guy had listed for $340. When I got there I saw a crack running about 2 inches in from the heel and almost walked away. The seller let me tap it with a ball peen hammer and it rang dull on one side, clear on the other, so I knew the crack went deep. I passed on it and drove home empty handed, which felt bad at the time. Then a buddy told me to try the same tap test on a $180 anvil I was eyeing at a swap meet in Frankfort, and that one rang clean all over. I bought it and it has been my main anvil for 3 months now. Has anyone else used the ring test to walk away from a bad buy, or do you have a better trick for checking cracks before you hand over cash?
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elliotjenkins1mo ago
Funny how a $340 anvil with a crack teaches you more than 10 clean ones ever would. Half a ring, half a thud is the anvil telling you it's already dead and just hasn't finished falling apart yet. You basically paid nothing to dodge a future where you're swinging a hammer into a paperweight. The real trick is that the ring test is only half the story, you also want to look for a dark line or a rusty streak going down the side, since hairline cracks like to hide down there. For 180 bucks on a clean one, you did alright.
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