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!