PSA: That old anvil I bought turned out to be cast iron, not steel

Picked up a 150 pound anvil at an estate sale in Lancaster for $40. Sounded pretty good when I tapped it with a hammer. But when I started using it for some leaf spring projects, it kept leaving dents in the face. So I did the ball bearing test and it bounced like a basketball on concrete. Turns out it's cast iron, which is way too soft for real forging. I'm stuck now with a nice doorstop or garden decoration. Has anyone else been burned by a fake anvil and found a way to tell before buying?

2 comments

2 Comments

richard11025d agoMost Upvoted

Funny how that works... you trust your ears and a quick tap test but it's the real use that tells the truth. Happens with all sorts of stuff anymore, not just anvils. People slap a coat of paint on junk and hope nobody looks too close.

the_jordan25d ago

Man, I read somewhere that you can test the rebound with a ball bearing to spot cast iron anvils. Sounds like you already did that though. Bummer about the leaf spring project, that's a rough way to find out.