Dropped $60 on an anvil from a farm auction and the face is soft as butter

Brought my 2 lb hammer down on a hot piece and left a crater the size of a dime in the face, so now it just sits in the corner as a doorstop. Anyone got a trick for spotting a good anvil before you hand over cash, or do I just need to bring a file and test the face in person?

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jordan_hill9h ago

A crater the size of a dime from a 2 lb hammer is insane, that thing was never hardened steel, probably straight up cast iron painted gray. Farm auction anvils are a minefield because half of them are ASOs (anvil shaped objects) that got left in a barn for 40 years. The file test is the move, a good face should skate a file across it with barely a scratch, if it bites in you walk away. Also bring a small ball bearing if you can, drop it from a foot or so and see if it bounces back up near where you dropped it, dead thud means soft face. Honestly at $60 you paid doorstop prices for a doorstop, so no huge loss, but yeah never trust the auctioneer's word on "solid steel.

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