jmeineke

Have you (or anyone, for that matter) ever done a rebound test on any of the repairs you've done? It's obvious that the Gunter method is the de-facto repair method for anvils (and I'm not disagreeing with that), but I haven't been able to find anyone reporting back on rebound tests. I'd love to see where it falls on the list using the 10" drop method described here: http://www.anvilfire...0anvilfire.com.

IT guy here too. Welcome to IFI.

Junkyard steels: http://www.anvilfire...20anvilfire.com - at the bottom of this page there are a lot of other helpful links, one of which is this nice chart: http://www.anvilfire...bs/jnkstee1.jpg

I think the stuff I used must have been somewhere in between wear and hardfacing. I used 7018 to buildup and then capped with the HF. It was labeled "hardfacing," but I didn't have any problems grinding it. Rebound was over 80%. It will end up back in my hands when my dad passes on (hopefully no time soon). Until then, I'm sure it will see only light use. I wonder how well McKay Hardalloy 61 would work. It has an as-welded HRC of 57 to 63 at 2 layers on 1020 (1 layer 53-55 HRC). Product literature says it doesn't crack. http://www.controlle...rdalloy_61.PDF. Seems like it would be decent, but what do I know.

The reason I asked is on the one I did for my dad I ended up with some surface checking (which the rod manufacturer said was normal) - you couldn't really even see them once you wiped the surface off - it was almost like they only showed up when a light coat of dust was on the face if that makes any sense. I don't know if that's what you are all talking about or not. If so, then all this time I thought it was acceptable, even normal, for that to happen and that it wouldn't hurt anything and that I did a good job on my repair.... It sounds to me like I only think I repaired it and did a good job.... Great....

Just curious - why are small cracks / fissures unacceptable for anvils?

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. You and your family are in my prayers.

It has a lot of damage - half the faceplate is gone and part of the tip is broken off but you could still use it for some hammering.

Nice work. Gotta love creative thinking!

Thank you. I have to give the credit to my dad who passed on a lot of his skills to me, mainly in woodworking. Metal (to me, anyway) is just a harder version of wood but more fun to work with. I have thought about it, and if someone were to ask me to dress their horn or fix up their table I would. I don't know many people around here and they don't know me, so unless word gets around, it's not going to happen. I'm a full-time dad (4 boys) and work full time, so I don't have the time to go to the local clubs. Sneaking out to the garage for a few hours here and there is about all I can manage right now. But yeah, that would be something I'd like to do. Most repairs are pretty quick, one or two evenings, but others not so much... My first repair, the one I did for my dad, was pretty involved. http://www.iforgeiro...ost__p__172494. I don't know if I'd be willing to take one of those again unless it were for a good cause. It took somewhere around 30 hours to do, but I got the anvil for $20 and only spent about $50 in HF rod / 7018 rod & grinding wheels. It was a perfect opportunity for me to learn on that one since there wasn't a whole lot to lose if things went bad. It built up my confidence and after seeing the finished product and the joy it brought to my dad when I "unveiled it" as a gift to him, I was hooked. Here's another one I did recently - a 153 lb Mousehole that had part of the table ground off. The "before" pics are where I was prepping for welding / removing rust. So... I guess if there's anyone in Central Ohio who needs some touch-up work done and likes what they see, PM me. "Will work for smithing equipment" ;)

Another thing I'd like feedback on is the size... I'm thinking I got a little too ambitious with this thing - 18.5" is going to cost a lot to run and to insulate. What's a good size for your average weekend warrior? I'm not going to me making swords or anything really long, so I'm thinking 12" might be a good number (Kaowool comes in 12" wide strips, so it makes sense to shoot for about that size). Thoughts?

I'm resuming work on a forge I started a while back and wanted to get some opinions on whether or not to use the ends that I cut off to make doors. I've seen several designs that have hinged doors on the ends and want to see what you all think. For the back one, I was planning on just making it solid - no holes, just open or shut (and insulated) to accommodate long pieces. For the front, I've seen square holes cut out (and have heard that they don't last long), so I was thinking of doing the same with the front as I'm going to do with the back - just insulate it and leave it solid with the thought that I could use it to slow cool pieces; just shut the forge off and close the doors. So, the front door will be open all the time while forging and the back will be open or shut depending on what I'm working on. Additional info: Will be using two 3/4" burners Length, 18.5" Diameter, 10" Plan on lining with 2" of Kaowool and using fire brick at the bottom; final ID should be around 6" making it in somewhere in the neighborhood of 520 cubic inches

I've had a blast working on these anvils and have learned a ton in the process. It's been a big distraction for me for getting anything else done for a while now, though. I have a bit of ADD. I'll get stuck on something and then go whole-hog on to the exclusion of everything else (unless something more interesting comes along). It all started with me fixing up an anvil with a half-gone faceplate for my dad and it all went downhill from there. I guess the upside is that I'm out of anvils to work on (with the exception of a small Columbian that needs re-hardened). Like I said, ADD - something grabs my fancy and I'm off to the races. Anyway, I'm moving on to finishing my forge, making an anvil stand and mounting my post vise; probably in that order, but with me you never know. I'm working at my own pace and doing stuff that I enjoy. I'm not in a huge rush on any of this. I've got lots of ideas, lots of projects in flight. sometimes I walk out there intending to do one thing and end up doing everything but that. I've been using firebrick to build little temporary forges or just using the torch in open air, but I've got a frame welded up and a tank cut open and a burner I made a long time ago. I'll be asking some questions about it in another thread - I need opinions on dimensions...

I just finished rebuilding the table / dressing the horn on the Ajax - here she is.

Yep - table was welded like that when I bought it. The good thing is that the rebound is great across the whole surface, so there's no damage as far as loss of hardness of the plate. I am in the process or re-welding the table and dressing the horn. I'll post some pics when it's done.

How about NTA? Non-Traditional Anvil

I'm so sorry for your losses. One passage in Scripture that I find especially helpful in all of life's tragedies is Romans 8:28 - "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." We may not always understand, as we can't see the big picture, but God can make good come out of anything. I'll be praying for you and all of your family, that God sends His Spirit to comfort and strengthen all of you.

That link Phil posted is something you may want to try to incorporate in your design if you want to make those pieces essentially one solid mass. I think as long as they are just lying on top of each other like that and welded at the seams, you'll have some energy loss in your blows. It's a lot more work, but you only have to do it once. I would pre-heat to 400 and keep an eye on your temperature as you weld, taking time to let it cool (if needed) between passes. I use an infrared thermometer from Harbor Freight to check inter-pass temps. It's generally on sale at just under $30 and it's accurate. Temple sticks are the traditional way to check your temp. You don't want those tines go soft on you. One note - if you use an infrared thermometer, spray paint any shiny metal with some grill black. The emissivity of a shiny surface is different than a dark one and will skew your readings. I don't know that I'd personally call that an ASO. An ASO is something that looks like an anvil but is junk metal / soft / brittle. I think you'll have a fine working anvil when you're done. Just because it wasn't made at a foundry and have a traditional shape doesn't make it any less useful for moving metal. I think it's going to serve you well when you're finished with it. Keep the pictures coming!

I went out and wire wheeled the Ajax, put a coat of MMO on it and took some pictures of both anvils with a straight edge on the face for comparison. The Ajax has a bit more dish than the Arm & Hammer, not that it matters too much. I read somewhere on here where Thomas Powers said that the dish can be used to straighten knives - striking the blade over the dish causes it to bend and then bounce back straight, something to that effect. I think I'm going to do as Thomas Dean suggested and set them both up and try them out for a while. I'm also going to repair the table on the Ajax and dress the horn. That will give me an excuse to hang on to both for a while longer while I try to figure out what I'm going to do... We need the money, but man - this is harder than breaking up with a girlfriend (I'm speaking of my pre-marriage days, of course ). I'm also going to talk to the boss again about the fact that anvils are an investment and that they appreciate in value over time I appreciate all the feedback. It's been very helpful.

Sounds like a good book. I'm hoping to get a copy of Anvils in America some day. I've read the Backyard Blacksmith, the Complete Modern Blacksmith as well as some other metalworking / blacksmithing books from our local library, but as of yet I don't personally own any of them. Would be nice to have them on hand for reference.

I wasn't trying to be hurtful with my comments, just pointing out that 6013 has it's place and that it's not junk. The things that 6013 rod were designed to weld will stay welded just fine when done properly.

With all due respect to the karmanic forces of galactic destiny , the pragmatic side of me is saying to keep the anvil that will be the most versatile of the two (the Ajax). The "tool hoarder" in me is saying hold on to what could be the more valuable of the two (the A&H). But I don't want to make a decision based solely on money... Cutting them in two? You must be talking about the first recorded Maternity Test : ------------ The king said, “This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’” The king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.” The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!" Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.” When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice -- 1 Kings 3:23-28 ------------

What gave it away? Right now I'm leaning pretty hard toward keeping the Ajax based on the feedback. A big thanks to everyone who responded so far - it's been very helpful.