Kette

Thanks guys. I think I'll leave the edges. This makes sense for almost all anvils, I've even been told the factories started rounding the edges on later anvils instead of leaving the 90. I can always make a hardie or specialized a piece of railroad rail for that. However, I do feel that welding up the heel would restore this thing to it's original glory. It hurts my brain to see such an awesome anvil left like this if it could be restored. So i'm curious Frozenforge, you've already said you'd leave it as is, but is that because you think the finished repair won't be done well (I'm a decent welder but don't have much experience), or that a repair done well isn't worth it?

You're a very helpful "Grumpy Old Guy" John! So would you mind if I pick you brain a bit more? How would you redo the edges? This one only needs very slight corrections, but if I'm already working on it the heel at that heat couldn't I just add some of the Stoody 1105 rods and build them up as well? (after grinding the edges smooth first, of course)

Thanks John, your reasoning is sound so I might try this soon. If I do get the right rods like in the article, will the repaired section be sturdy enough to do some light forging on? I like the heel because you can get some hard to reach areas on odd projects, so no major forging but for detail work it sounds like this repair will be just fine.

Well John, I'm sure I could do it on any old plate, but on an anvil I'm just worried it might cause problems. You'd heat the entire anvil? Wouldn't the added heat from repeated passes also be in danger of cracking the face off of the rest of the anvil, or causing other problems considering it's on the heel which is rather thin? Or would you take the time to only do a few passes at once?

Good point, and I had the idea of making an adjustable anvil base for the vulcan anyways. So it can be a designated punch/hardie mule until I need it for something else. So i'll probably do that for now until I make up my mind on repairing it. Having said that, Patrick are you suggesting that I weld up the entire missing section to the original height of the face, using mostly filler rod? Or am I mistaken. Sounds time consuming and I'd burn a ton of rods. That is exactly why I wanted to double check my sources! The fellow means well but it sounded strange to me.

Hello! I've got a tough one for you folks. I've just purchased a 196lb peterwright anvil, and it is missing a large section of the steel face at the heel. Here it is Close up of the markings for your viewing pleasure Here is the damage, my issue is that it doesn't allow me to use the pritchel and hardie holes. I understand that even a good repair will not make them as good as new but I need something to work with. Top view So my questions include: -What method would you use to repair this? -What type of tool steel would be a good filler plate? -Can the hardie hole be made usable again (assuming I make a removable seat to relieve any stress from working with hardie tools)? What I was told by the gentleman I bought this from is to get a piece of "tool steel" (which is very vague as there are many types), add lead to the area and set the new piece into place. Then take welding rods of certain types and building up as needed. This is the article I have been basing my strategy on http://www.anvilmag.com/smith/anvilres.htm All work done at a reasonable local heat of something like 300 degrees F. What other options might I have? The good news is that this is otherwise a fantastic anvil, and if I must I also have a decent sized Vulcan that is in good shape and can cover my hardie tool needs. Any help is appreciated!