Finding an anvil

I want an anvil and I don't want to pay the going rate. Anyone have novel ideas of where to look for modestly priced anvils? I've looked in the usual places; craigslist, auction bills, online auctions. $200.00 is my budget.

just sold a 115 pounder for 10 bucks a pound.have a half dozen smaller ones but you are a bit aways.

Forklift tines are tough (something like 4140). I got one with a cross section of 3"x8" for $50. It weighed about 600 lbs before I cut it up. The smaller 2"x6" is common and if you really need some weight under it leave it long and stand it vertical. I cut mine up with a hand held bandsaw.

Seems that forged in fire and people wanting to place them next to their fireplace has driven the price up. I used to be able to find them at $2-$5/pound and now they are $5-$12/pound

Another option is a 2" thick piece of A36 (Mild Steel) Cut in a 6X12 size. If you have the capabilities you can cut in or drift in a Hardy Hole. Depending on the industry around you these can be found at metal shops as drop. If your concerned about it being mild steel, remember that Hot steel is softer than Mild steel, its also dangerous to hit two hardened surfaces together. I believe the term from these is a Striking Anvil, It wont have a horn but you can do a surprising amount with just the flat.

Depends on what you are going to do with it. Lots of guys just use a railroad rail.
You will have condition issues with a cheap used one. A guy had several at a swap meet here in town a month ago. The nice ones were $600.00+
just

Cut a section of old RR rail and use that.

Harbor freight has a 55 pounder for $64.00.

I have used a section of rr rail. Works good, but was ringing while pounding was too much. I now have a big anvil.....it was free by helping a friend move some stuff.

The Harbor freight one is all cast with no hard striking surface. It will not last much past the first use. They are referred to as ASO Anvil Shaped Objects. I think most anvils surfaces are around 45 - 55 HRC.

Hobbs, you are correct about striking two hardened surfaces together but things like anvils and forklift tines are only semi hard. This makes them "tough" but not brittle. Also you are not trying to strike the hammer on the anvil but on the hot metal you're working. However if you look at a lot of well used anvils you will see chips on the edges so still use safety glasses.

I looked for years to find an affordable anvil. I ended up lucking into an old 143 lb Wilkinson at our local scrap yard. It has a hairline crack in the heel, but I don't beat on that area anyway, so the 30 cents a pound I paid was a real bargin....to say the least! Not long after that find I acquired a beautiful Peter Wright from a first cousin whose late father used it. He gave it to me. It is about the size of the other one. I mounted it on a neat Hard Maple stump, fashioned the tool hanging hardware on the stump, as well as made a couple hardies for it (hold down and a hot cut hardy). I burned an Orion constellation on the side of it and gave it to my All Purpose Boy to put in his well-stocked pole barn workshop (the All Purpose Boy's name is Orion). The uncle that originally had the Peter Wright was a MacGyver type of guy that could fix, or build anything. My boy thought the word of that old guy, so I know that anvil will never be sold for beer money. It will likely be handed down to his All Purpose Boy Jr. some day.

Been making do with a piece of Street car rail for many years.

I started out on a 18” long piece of heavy I beam, I found my first 2anvils before forged in fire came on thank the lord, hit your local flea market, and junk sellers, and remember used ain’t new

Not sure how close you are to the cities.

https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/wsh/grd/d/rail-track-anvil/6602711234.html

CL Rail Anvil

www.grizzly.com
Order one of their catalogs and look through it. Ordered a anvil from them last year seems to do what we are needing it for.