17 replies to this topic

[northcoasthobbiest]

Well I just started this hobby so this is my very first anvil and it's replacing a big block of metal I was using before. It's seen better days but I might look into resurfacing it as I think it's quite a neat anvil and I believe it's got a lot of history. Flaws aside I'm in love with it. Anyway, here's a picture!

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[arftist]

Please do a ton of research before you do any resurfacing. There looks to be plenty of good working surfaces on that anvil.

[clinton]

I have seen much worse anvils that actually looks pretty good I would just leave it as is. How are the edges? you do want a sharp edge on each side, but it only needs to be a couple of inches

[northcoasthobbiest]

Thanks arftist everyone is telling me it's fine so chances are I won't resurface it. Is it okay to take a sanding wheel to it and knock some of the rust scale off it or should I really do my research before doing anything to it?

[arftist]

northcoasthobbiest, on 13 March 2010 - 11:52 AM, said:

Thanks arftist everyone is telling me it's fine so chances are I won't resurface it. Is it okay to take a sanding wheel to it and knock some of the rust scale off it or should I really do my research before doing anything to it?

This is just my opinion, search the anvil section for other similar threads.

I would use nothing more than a cup wire brush on the top plate. Some would say to do nothing and let your work (from forging) clean the top. You can't hurt the horn too much, do some sanding there if you want. The fisher anvil has a hard steel top cast into it's cast iron body. The worry is that the plate will be thinned in the resurfacing operation, rendering an otherwise excellent anvil useless.

[Sam Thompson]

I'd fill in the large potholes with a dissimilar rod, peen it as it cools and grind it flush. The surface doesn't need to be mirror smooth but those holes look like they could cause problems.

[Mainely,Bob]

Gotta agree with Arftist on this,brush it and use it.THEN if you have troubles with it look at how to fix those troubles the easiest way possible.

Don`t understand why a lot of folks think their anvil face needs to look like the landing deck of an aircraft carrier.Those minor hollows and bumps that add character may be useful for some types of work,you don`t know till you do some work on it and learn if you can get along with each other.
If you absolutely need sharp corners or a dead flat area for the type of work you do then there`s always top tools you can made to do the job that are far easier than trying to do major repairs or modifications to the anvil.

Heat some iron,beat it using the anvil as is.If it ain`t broke don`t fix it.

[Dragons lair]

OK, Here I go again. My grandad was a Swedish carpenter who taught me to keep my tools
like new. Ya get a classic car. It smokes, its rusty, has dents.(PATINA) Ya gonna restore it or drive it? I am gonna restore it then drive the H__l outa it. Every anvil I get gets sompthing. Work around 13 1" torch cuts or badly chopped up edges NOT for me. Yes I have seen fine work done on a piece of xxxx I woulden't have in my shop. I just don't work that way. If ya can fix it or have it fixed do it. It will stop my grandad spinning in the ground.
Ken

[ThomasPowers]

Unfortunately there is quite a big difference between restoring it and messing it up and many folks end up messing up anvils when they go to work on them. Grinding on the face is like torching off the front of your "classic car" and welding on a yugo!

[monstermetal]

I believe in anvil clean up... I run a big ol course grinder on them and do what ever I feel like.. To me an anvil I want to put to work is just a another hunk of iron to change how I see fit (dont hate me, I know I am a bad, bad boy)

That being said... I wouldn't recommend ripping into an anvil with a grinder or trying to fix anything... Its really easy to do more damage than good. I can make a FLAT mirror out of a chunk of hot rolled steel with a hand held grinder... .If you cant then you probably shouldn't be grinding on one. Sandpaper is safe, nothing coarser than about 60grit, a DA works best... A wire wheel is safest....

This is a anvil I cleaned up earlier this week... A 200lb Trenton...


Before and after...

Now this was about 5 hours work... Not something you do in a few moments..

Also I dont mess with anvils I plan to sell, I dress mine like I want them and everyone likes there anvil a bit diffrent.

dont be scared of cleaning it up, just treat it like a beautiful woman... Get to know her first, learn something about her, spend some time working with her... and when you figure out her problems either learn to live with them, fix them or find a new one!

[northcoasthobbiest]

Beautiful job on that anvil! On my anvil what I've noticed are the edges are pretty rounded which makes doing some things a bit of a chore. Again I'm very new so maybe it's just my lack of experience so I'm just going to live with them for now. There are also a few torch cuts here and there and one bad one on the bill that really messes me up. If I was to do anything I think I'll fill those cuts and sand down the surface using a wire wheel.

[ThomasPowers]

If you need a sharp edge make a hardy tool that has one, actually with a little planning you can make one that has 4 different edges on it and rotate it as needed.

Sharp edges can lead to cold shuts, though they are handy for things like making nails or cutting stock.

[Bentiron1946]

Fisher anvils are cast iron with a reasonably thick hard face, this is not true of some of the older brands of anvils like Mouseholes and with this type of anvil a lot of grinding can remove lots of years of use from them. The horns on anvils are of the same material as the body usually and thus you are just removing stock when you dress them down so if they have much damage I suppose you have to make a choice of how much to remove if any at all. I am still somewhat hesitant in recommending going to extremes in rebuilding old anvils, yes I know there are fun times to be had in fixing old things up but does it really pay back? If you go to the time and trouble to weld it, grind it, mill it and all that, do you really have any advantage in cost over buying a new anvil?

[monstermetal]

That's a great point. At shop rate I added $500 cost but surely not $500 worth of added value to that Trenton
one reason why I don't mess with anvils I plan to sell

[northcoasthobbiest]

I never thought about making a hardie tool with sharp edges, great idea!

I will weigh my options with the horn. Good point about the cost of rebuilding vs. the cost of buying a new one outright. I will keep that in the back of my mind!

[Bentiron1946]

If I remember correctly Brian Brazeal recommends breaking the edge on the hardie hole to prevent chipping of the edges. Can anyone else remember that?

[Phil Krankowski]

Bent Iron, Yes, it is a general recommendation in any guide on dressing an anvil, generously dress the hardy hole, and dress the pritchel per the work you do, generous is better. These two locations are already stress concentrations. Dressing the hole also prevents jamming or chipping the edge.

BTW Larry, that is DANG pretty, and makes me want to have my Trenton restored.

Phil

[Dragons lair]

Phil, Think we could get Larry to do a couple for beer and pizza? If I made one of mine look that good I don't think I could hit it. GREAT work larry.
Ken