jmeineke

Not sure what happened to the pics but maybe the admins know. I can check to see if I still have them. I used angle grinders with standard grinding wheels - 7" for the initial more aggressive removal followed by a 4.5" flapper disk (150 grit I think....) I just used a straightedge to check for highs and lows and kept touching up till I was happy. -- edit -- I just realized I wrote this up a little bit on my personal site back in 2011. Here's a link: http://joemeineke.com/?p=218

I know we don't know each other, Jake, but my prayers are with you.

Sorry to hear that, Steve. Prayers going up for you and the family.

I am so sorry to hear about your son. I will certainly pray for you and for your family. I have four sons and can't even imagine what you must be going through. My sincerest condolences.

No, but that's a good suggestion. I'll add that to the description on the app download page.

Good catch. Fix has been released - should be in available for update shortly. Thank you.

I just published an application for Android devices for calculating anvil weight. It's free - hope someone finds it useful. https://play.google....droid.anvilcalc

Yeah, sounds like the same kind of reasoning I went through (plus I needed an excuse to buy a DC stick welder!) I wouldn't recommend you go by what I say for the amperage. Hopefully a professional welder can chime in and give some better advice (anyone?). But since you asked, this is what I did: I ran 1/8" 7018 on DC+ as high as I could go without blowing my 30 amp breaker (which translated to 120 amps on the welder). If I had 50 amp service in my garage I would have run it higher. I didn't pre-heat the rod, but I did use a fresh pack. The HF rod had it's own set of specs and I stayed on at the highest amperage I could for it as well (it may have been lower - I can't remember what the recommended amperage was on the pack, but I know I stayed within it's limits). Keep in mind a good grinding & polishing can make about any weld look nice. I still don't know how it will hold up under actual use.

Sorry - no pics of the welding process. There was just too much going on - I was focused on laying the welds, peening, wire brushing, checking the temperature from time to time - not to mention the occasional jog to the breaker panel when I welded for too long (I was plugged into a dryer outlet :wacko:). I didn't HF the whole top- just built up the missing portion and capped it with HF / blended it with what was left of the plate. Anvil resurfacing is well documented. Robb Gunther & Karl Schuler did a lot of homework on it. I basically did what they described but used different rod (see http://www.anvilmag....th/anvilres.htm). The Stoody rod that Robb & Karl used was too much $$ for me. The bottom line is I can't say the one I did will hold up. I if it's not abused, then like any other tool I think it will be okay. But, it only has 3 layers of HF and that's not very thick. It's nothing like the Hay Budden that it once was. It's probably comparable now to a thin-faced Vulcan - Maybe ... If it ends up back with me, I'll treat it as such (I gave this one to my dad. I think he uses it occasionally to straighten things on. When he passes it will probably end up back with me). You have to ask yourself some questions about doing a repair like this before you hit the "go" button. If you're trying to learn like I was, then a project like this is definitely worth it. If not, then It may be worth it to save both and put it towards a new (used) one. If that were my anvil and I decided to go ahead and repair it - and this is just me - I'd true up what's left of the heel, dress the horn, fix the face using a method as close as possible to Robb & Karl's and then use it as-is (heelless). Good luck & keep us posted!

Yes, I got it up to around 400 degrees before I applied the 7018. I gave it to my dad as a gift. So far it's held up just fine, but I can't say he's used it to heavy.

FWIW, were's what I did with one that was in similar shape (mine had more face left and the hardy hole was intact, though): http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/16234-anvil-repair-on-the-cheap/page__st__20. If nothing else, it might make a nice surface for hot cutting. Horn is in good shape too, so it's still useful in some ways as-is.

Prayers from Ohio. God bless!

nice! congrats!

Nice score, Mark. Can't beat free. Congrats!

Jeff, I am very sorry for your loss. Prayers from Ohio.