IMG 4374

how is the rebound after the repair? what kind of rods did you use?

It is not near as good as the rebound on my 300# pristine TFS anvil but is still respectable.  I used 6011 welding rods.  I did heat it up with a propane pear burner to hopefully relieve any stress that may have been there.  I want to finish cleaning it up and put it to use.

does welding on an anvil face require heat treating afterward as well as preheating? wondering if this is an accepted practice and is there any problems if only one area is filled as opposed to the entire face? I have recently aquired my first anvil and there is a large chip out of one side of the face

I have seen several anvils other than this one that were repaired in this manner.  A couple of them were in use at a Brian Brazeal demo and workshops where he had Lyle Wynn there assisting.  Lyle was swinging a hammer that had to be 20 lbs or better.  The ground would shake when he would strike.  The anvils held up without any problems.  I would expect the same from this one. 

If I did it again, I think I would preheat.  I ended up with a 4 inch crack about 1 1/8 inch below the weld in the body of the anvil.  I ground this out and used the mig welder to patch.  Afterward, I used a propane pear burner to heat the entire anvil until the new metal started to get color.  I let it slowly cool overnight. 

As far as the chip.  I am not really sure how I would attack that.  There was a blacksmith that fixed a swayback anvil by building up with his mig and grind it down to finish.  You may be able to use this same method to fix the chip.  Good luck, Jerry