Mainely,Bob

Hard tellin,not knowin.

Point would be to eventually make an anvil using the old methods combined with some experimental ideas I have. I wouldn't even consider doing it with a servicable anvil. I am talking about refacing one of them old abused things with 1/2 the face busted off for the experimental aspect. Don't get me wrong, I have a VERY good idea what goes into refacing one by forgewelding. But on the same note, why would I ever forge weld when I can just pick up the MiG welder? I forge weld because I can and I am xxxx good at it. I rarely miss a weld on the first attempt. Surfacing an anvil with hardface electrode provides far from an ideal anvil face, though it makes for a decent spot repair. Also, I never dance and rant about someone repairing an anvil, it is your anvil, do what you want with it. I wouldn't consider refacing something with chipped edges or anything that minor, that would be stupid, grinding and spot welding are far more effective there. Forge welding a new face to an anvil is no minor undertaking, but you almost sound as if you are upset that anyone would even consider trying it. Additionally, if you are beating the bejeesus out of your forge welds, you are doing it wrong

Just so I`m clear on this.My post was not aimed at you Mac Talis, but at the rest of the long term members who constantly decry anyone but a certified welder who has been successful at it in the past even thinking about fixing an anvil.THOSE folks are the flail and dance crowd.
I just find it rather strange that they consider it blasphemy to think about trying to arc weld to save an anvil yet are eager to cheer someone on who has a less than 25% chance of success doing this in an average shop setting.Even if you work in a foundry and do this after work with the help of friends it`s an iffy thing at best.
There have been more than a couple of posts on IFI where a new face has been successfully arc welded onto an old "scrap" anvil and the anvil brought back into service.Some of those posts even documented the process.
To my knowledge there has only been one post here of a successfully hammer welded anvil and that took place at a large gathering using specialized gear with more than a few old hands working as a team and directly contributing to the work.
Never did hear the final verdict after heat treating or if it`s still in use.

If you`re doing something for fun then don`t let me rain on your parade.If you want a decent chance at a usable anvil when the smoke and steam clears then it`d be best to set the old ways aside and use available technology to your advantage.It`ll improve your chances of success by several orders of magnitude.
I just find it amazing that the same folks who scream "DON`T DO IT!!!" when you talk about arc welding an anvil which they have seen successfully done more than a dozen times here are more than happy to encourage a hammer welding exercise using that same anvil that they know will most probably end badly.

One thing to keep in mind.Too tall can be fixed with a simple platform to raise the person doing the work.Too short and you have to dig a hole.
Hard to do in a concrete floored shop with lots of traffic.

I just gotta ask guys,is the whole point of this exercise to end up with a usable anvil or is this just hankering for the "good old days" and wanting to sacrifice an anvil to the forge gods in a futile effort to big them back?
For a bunch of folks who throw their arms up in the air and dance around like the world is ending every time someone mentions repairing or modifying an anvil you sure are being cavalier about heating and beating the bejesus out of an anvil that could be saved by the more modern yet effective and efficient process of electric welding.
There,I said it and I`m glad!

Next thing you`ll be wanting to rivet an ocean liner together and sail around Cape Horn.

So a mint 400lb fisher is only worth $290 a metric ton? I would be intrested in a few 250lbers. Sorry Thomas
couldin't resist. Yeh I could buy a 55 T bird in 69. can ya buy one today for the same price? Son don't quote back in the day prices. I am 66 yrs old I know the then and now prices.
Sorry I get cranky after 10pm.

Don`t get too cranky there Drag,I think he was putting his tongue in his cheek and quoting scrap price for cast iron as a way to voice a opinion we pretty much all share.
Had a friend it high school who drove a sky blue T-bird 2 seater convertible.Bet Marty wishes he still had that car now.Bet he could sell it and buy a summer home up here with the proceeds.
I know I wish I still had my grandfather`s 59 Triumph.That car was almost as sexy,and expensive.

You can sit next to a chicken but you can`t lay it`s eggs.
You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose but you can`t pick your friend`s nose.

Aint but two can`ts around here.If you can`t handle it,you can`t stay.

No worries about the metal reels.We just hung everything on S hooks made of rebar.If you gathered all the ones in the yard up I`ll bet you could fill the governor`s mansion.

Wonder what`s been gnawing on the flywheel.Half the lettering is gone.

The "interesting properties of a coil" apply to a single conductor, not to extension cords. Extension cords specifically negate the interesting properties by creating them in equal and opposite polarity. Run an internet search on "Maxwell's equations" and "Faraday's law of induction" if you want to know more.

That would explain that dance the coiled lead hanging on the hook used to do when one of my co-workers was carbon arc gouging.
All this time we thought it was demonic possession.
What a waste of time, holy water and fresh garlic. :rolleyes:

Can`t speak for the anvil but I was crushed hearing about it. :o

I was going to suggest using a torch or pulling the burner from your gas forge and using it as a torch.When working thin cross sections or small projects I find the more easily controlled,localized heat of a torch or open burner a help.Think of those glass workers that make all the intricate sculptures from glass rods and the burners they use.They couldn`t do that near as well in a furnace.Watching them was what switched that light on for me.

I have to agree with John B.,why copy a store bought chain? When folks ask me to make something like a chain they expect me to show some creativity and I rarely make an exact copy of something they can get at the hardware store unless it`s in a material like bronze or wrought iron.The wrapped and non-welded chain in off beat link sizes is what makes the work unique.
If they want a welded link chain then I do just what you did,I tell them to go buy a length of whatever suits them then bring it back so I can "toast it" to match.

Ke' How come? Here all non 3phase is all 220V and we use 30M (90') leads all the time! someone has been telling you porkies!

I end up with piles of plastic mig spools and they work great for leads etc.

P.S. metal spools/rings make coils that creates the fields

Ian

"6 foot max is what they recommend"
I wonder how we got by all those decades with those hundreds of power leads strung down the piers and throughout the ships we built. Most of the lines carried in excess of 400 volts too.All those ships were steel hulled BTW,Navy`s rules not mine.
Any of you electrical engineers care to explain the difference between the wiring running thru the walls and the wiring in that power cord laying on the floor other than the position?
Here are 2 very good examples involving electrical cords that illustrate the difference between real world experience and something that was read and taken as gospel.

Bad news Ian.I`m going to have to cancel my plans to come visit you.I`m now worried that if you and me were to meet our magnetized brains would either cause us to not be able to be in the same room or we`d end up being the electrically induced version of Siamese twins.
If we had only know the dangers when we were young.Glad I`m not alone in my misery,sorry for your condition buddy,I feel your (non-existent) pain.

I fear the problem is not that some of us have been fed porkies,it`s that some actually swallowed them.
Don`t know the true meaning of the term "Porkie" on your side of the world but it brings to mind the old show,The Little Rascals to me and that seems very appropriate in this situation.

If it were me setting this machine up I would run a baseline thru the center of the ram and anvil and bring both of those into alignment in two planes.
By that I mean strike a line down the center of the ram looking at the front of the machine and then adjust things so that line extends down thru the centerline of the anvil.Once you have things aligned at the front do it again at 90 degrees to the side and then recheck the front to be sure you haven`t thrown that off.
Come to think of it the guides would be a better reference point than the ram and you can extend the line of the guides more accurately than you can the ram.Just be sure the guides are adjusted for a close fit to the ram.
Any shimming you do really should be a full tapered wedge behind either the head or the base of the anvil.If you shim just the corners then you will build flex points into the system and rob yourself of power and accuracy.

Here I go talkin` like a millwright again.
First thing I`d do would be to USE IT!
Then if it didn`t do what I wanted I`d start tinkering and adjusting.This is a JYH not the space shuttle.
I went back and looked at the torch cut hole thru the I-beam,went to the freezer and got an ice cream cone,stuck the cone to my forehead,then came back and revised.

No offense meant to either Phil or Dave.

Hopefully one of the electricians on this forum will explain some of the interesting properties of electrical current passing through a coiled extension cord.

Why?Having them in a coil is no different than having them on a reel and those have been in use since extension cords were invented.
Just don`t stick your head into the center of the coil.It`ll magnetize your brain.
There`s helpful household tip for ya. :)

Take a look at the date on the post Eric.I`m gonna say it was the summer heat that caused us to be less than our usual jovial,happy,helpful selves.
That and having the OP give marginal information,an unrealistic price point and an attitude in follow on answers.
But mainly it was the heat.Yeah that`s it,that`s the ticket. :rolleyes:

Yep.
You put it in the fire right?Your hands pulled it out right?Then you forged it with your hands.
If you used someone else`s hands or didn`t use heat then that would be another thing all together.
Rivets,come on now!do you make all the bolts to bolt things together too?Do you make the screws used to put an item up on the wall?
Yer losin` it Dog!Leave them hairs unsplit,do something about those fleas instead. :)

I have got to make more friends who own scrap yards. Then again, I don't know if anything we have here in Vermont qualifies as a scrap yard. We have automotive junk yards that sometimes have stuff in the back of the pickups, and we have All Metals Recycling that is where you take metals to sell it. I hear they are going to stop buying and charge a reclaiming fee soon. I guess they'll be out of business shortly afterwards unless the State and towns decided to start prosecuting for "Junk". That's not a joke. My town has the ordinance already.

Sounds like a government contractor company.
Scrap prices are have doubled and are headed up again so let`s start charging people to bring the stuff to us.Sounds like a plan there governor.
Bound to be a shot in the arm for all the out of work folks with pickup trucks looking to buy heating oil.
Around here(Maine) there are guys advertising in the local papers and on Craigslist,Freecycle,etc "Will come pick up your scrap metal and clean up the area AT ABSOLUTELY NO COST TO YOU".
Those are the guys you want to contact about anvils.

Look out Danger,somebody`s gaining on you!

While I hate to see things slow down to the point where folks are looking for things to do because work is so slack I absolutely LOVE seeing things like this mirror and your bowls come from it.
Looks like you need to have someone with some pull in the art world look at your work.Then again,something like that may lead back to having no slack time at all again.

I am really liking the little non-ferrous details you are incorporating into your work.
Know any glass workers up your way?

Looks like he`s using a hogging cutter.That`d explain the less than glass smooth cut.

If you cruise around the site and read the post on this topic you`re sure to come across the examples of a sign that some smiths have on the wall of their shop that says something along the lines of;

Services available here
FAST
CHEAP
HIGH QUALITY
Pick no more than two

From what I`ve seen if you want to make this a sole source of income you you need to make a sign that reminds you to that the choices available are;
Blacksmith
Artist
Businessman
Famous
Happy
Rich
Stay in it long enough and you`ll find yourself concentrating on two at the most.Most of the guys I know who started out doing something they enjoyed and made it into a big business rarely get to do what they love anymore.They`re too busy "growing the company" or "expanding the market" and rarely trade their suit jacket or windbreaker for an apron anymore.They visit the guys in the shop rather than work along side them.

The successful artist friends I have work to meet deadlines set by galleries,promotional groups,etc and mostly get to do what they love but hand a large cut of the incoming cash to the people who "manage/promote" them and their art.

Most guys I know who just love to make things out of metal find themselves to be most happy if they do just that as part of a team or working as a subcontractor for someone else.They don`t want to have to negotiate with architects and engineers,vendors,machine tool suppliers,etc never mind customers.They want to look at a print or proposal and say "I can get to it in XX days and I`ll need XX amount of material to start and XX to finish.I don`t do finishing or polishing,talk to the grinders and painters about that".

The more you take on the closer you get to killing the pure joy of what you`re doing till you get all of the pain and someone else gets the joy of making what you`re chasing.One day you find out you traded your hammer for a high level management position and your metalworking skills for blood pressure and ulcer medicine.

All those guys on TV who used to make cool stuff and now have their own shows may be rich but very few of them are happy anymore.
Just sayin...

Just a couple of questions;
Do you have the hub or does it need a hub?
Do you have access to any machine tools or a buddy who works in a machine shop?
Do you want this to be a drive hub or a driven hub?
What size shaft do you plan to use this on?

Pics would help.

If you don`t know what an anvil is,you`re in the wrong shop.
If you were to come to work in any of the shops I worked in and ask one of the old graybreads "What is an anvil?" you`d likely get the reply,"It`s that thing under your hammer.Now get to work!".
You`d probably also be given advice to the effect of "The trick is to kick it`s butt before it kicks yours".

My anvil is the foundation that allows my imagination to become manifest.
Is that an esoteric enough an answer for you? :)

One of the other things that folks don`t realize is that long term exposure to certain frequencies can and does lead to bone loss/porosity and the resulting damage to soft tissue can be devastating.I know this because I had to go thru 6+ surgeries to repair this type of damage and had some of the top orthopedic guys in the US working on me.During the visits to hospitals in Boston I learned a lot of facts that were too late to help me.That was one of them.
The guys out on the runways of airports of the flight decks of aircraft carriers ground guiding the planes and folks in the engine rooms of ships all used double and triple ear protection to protect their ears but that vibration is still being felt,absorbed and transmitted throughout their bodies by the skeletal system and after a while the damage is done despite the best hearing protection.

That would be very useable. But it's a shame the base isn't with it.

So you drill a couple of holes in the base and pin it to a piece of heavy plate.From the looks of it welding is an option.After you pin it run a series of beads around it and you`re done.
Far easier that rebuilding the face IMO.

The two big things to look at on these beasts is the general wear and the thread condition.
You can unscrew the shaft far enough to open the jaws as wide as they`ll go and wipe any old grease off the threads.Look at the condition of the threads on the very start of the shaft and compare them to those going into the thread box(the thing the shaft threads into).If the threads are badly worn and starting to round then that effects the price as it means the vise is near the end of it`s useful life unless a repair is made.
Now that you have the vise open see how much slop there is at the pivot point of the movable jaw,both back and forth and up and down.A ton of slop means it`s time to look elsewhere unless the price is very right.Repairs are in order to make it right.
There are other things to look for too like do the jaws mate up evenly and has the leg been sawed off but those are things that can be fixed by a competent smith.Mounting brackets and jaw springs fall into this category too.
A high dollar vise should be tight,have good threads,jaws that line up and have all the parts like brackets and springs in place and working and have a minimum of rust(no heavy pitting).The price declines as the condition these things fall off.
Hope this has been of some help.