You might find some helpful hints at Forge and Anvil, produced by the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education in Athens, Georgia.

The links there to Other Blacksmith-Related Web Sites and to Other Blacksmith-Related Resources looked particularly interesting, although I didn't dig too deep.

The anvils linked by GUEST (14 May 05 - 07:18 PM) – temporarily anonymous brucie – didn't look like they had the hardie and pritchel holes that you'll likely want once you figure out how to make the accessories to go in them. (They may be there and just not showing up in the illustrations.) I didn't find a good description of the uses, but Nimba Anvils makes reference to them, and you can see sort of where they're located on the Nimba models. As you may note, the Motorsport anvils brucie referred to are sort of wimpy compared the the Nimba models; but then the Nimba prices aren't wimpy either:

NIMBA ANVIL PRICES (US)
Gladiator 450 lbs. $1,850 ($4.11/lb.)
Centurion 260 lbs. $1,150 ($4.42/lb.)
Titan 120 lbs. $750 ($6.25/lb.)

These prices are probably "reasonable" for a new anvil of decent quality.

If you've had limited experience, a fairly decent reference for "beginners," The Complete Modern Blacksmith, Alexander G. Weygers, ©1997 Peter Partch, Ten Speed Press, (distributed by Airlift Books in the UK) has been around recently for about $20 US. I think I got my copy at Barnes. They suggest a 75 pound anvil as sufficient to get you started. They also include a "plan" (brief but sufficient) for making your own small anvil from salvaged railroad rail, although I'd guess you'd want oxy-acetylene for cutting some of the profiles. You'd probably end up with something in the 20 to 40 pound range (or less) with one of these, so you'd need to bolt it down on something really solid.

Old rail hunks are pretty commonly used around most farms in my area. Not too many even of the "old-timers" still have a good store-bought anvil.

Lakes Forge has some assorted tools in their catalog that may give an idea of the sort of parts and pieces you'll be looking for. They are a UK source, but should be ok for info. They seem to know the difference between a farrier's anvil and a blacksmith anvil. You'll likley want to decide which you want, but given the going rate on good ones I'd suggest taking what you can get. You might want to see if you can figure out what some of the small parts in their catalog are, like the clinch blocks, fullers, hardies, and pritchels etc.

Don't forget that at least as important as the anvil and forge is a good grinder. Get the best and biggest you can there. And if you're going to have a forge you need to train all your friends to bring in every little scrap of iron and/or steel they find that's over a couple of ounces – especially the stuff more than 1/8 inch thick. (Unless you live next door to a junkyard with a hole in the back fence.)

John