MLMartin

pretty common thing i here about is the "cords or heater coils that are wrapped around engine blocks that you plug in over night to keep the old engine worm so it will start better, i use the same thing on all the pipes over ground that run to the pool so they will not freeze in winter.

don't think a 600 lb would break..... i have a 500 lb that's snapped off right at the hardy, some people can break an anvil with a rubber hammer!

i think you might be best getting a crucible and melting all the copper, then casting into a block/chunk, then forging the chunk.
I actually take my tig welder and i simply melt copper wire into a big puddle on my work table, after it solidifies i pic it up with tongs and toss it in my Gas forge and forge it to shape

i have a 70 lb its great, some mean person used it to cut on alot, as in a few hundered cuts in the face, i tigged welded some tool still all over the cuts one corner that was chiped, has been a great quiet anvil ever sence, being so little i keep it realy high, for close up small work so i dont have to bend over

ive seen pictures of a Bronze stump anvil, the things well over 2000 years old, thats pretty darn old and rare considering you can barly forge bronze, so a bronze anvil dosent make a huge amount of seance, the thing has a wonderful mushroom from years of work, ive also been lucky enough to see a few rail yard anvils, there huge, around 800 to 1200lbs short horn, that ends in a flat, no point to it at all

beautiful, upside down , old hornless anvil, just buy it and ship it to me and ill tell you everything about it, it has a fith foot, must be realy old

the clay acts as a buffer between the metal and the coal fire, the fire will be so hot that it will heat up the cast iron firepot quick and its vary likely to crack and break. ive seen many people just use old red clay right out of the ground or any other clay they can get there hands on, im sure there are better clays ment for this, but i dont know them, and ive seen the pot covered with clay about as thick and half and inch up to about one inch. just line the firepot, or the bowl that the fire sits in, let the stuff dry for a day or two, then start a pretty small fire, and let it burn for a little bit to dry out the clay. if ya dry it out to fast it will crack off, but its just clay so no worrys

this is just what i have herd and exsperanced, im no expert, just my thoughts on the matter
good luck and happy forging

personally i have a great love for copper, so almost all of the bissness ends of my utincels are copper, i normally braze them to the iron handle

what type of tool steel would be the closest match for a steel face on a old wrought iron anvil, Peter Wright. i was thinking O1? anyone know?

who is the manufacturer of the this welding rod?

ok guys, yes yes my anvil is vary usable as is and i already use it alot. i understand the possibility of further damaging the anvil by welding. i have some exsperance welding anvils and lots of experance welding high carbon and low carbon steel. my anvil is a peter wright 500lber, broken at the hardy hole, almost flush with the start of the hole. i plan on making a heel as best as possible to match what use to be there. if i can ill use wrought iron, but have little hope of obtaining such a large piece. so im probably going to use mild steel. i plan to make the matching back end and electrically weld the mild steel to the tool steel face, beveled all the way for 100% penetration. after this is done i will cut the block to form the missing part of the party hole, then also beveling the made piece, weld this to the anvil, thus completing the anvil. my question is what would be the best match for the tool steel face on a peter wright.
i have pictures under my gallery and i posted them on show me your anvil.

Like always thanks for the help guys

ooo sorry about that, was a little to much to roll over, but on the bottom there is a regular square hold right in the middle, but there are also two round holes about 2 in away from the normal square hole, one on either side, maybe 1in round, and about 1 1/2 deep, never seen something like that before, ill take a pic later, have it all packed up right now, moving on friday, I know that squair holes are pretty much put on all forged anvils on the bottom, feet, and the waist. but are any of the cast anvils ever cast with these holes?

new toy, will clean tomaro with a brush on a angle grinder, cant find a name on it yet, looks alot like a peter wright to me, the shape, and the little clifts on the feet, but not sure if it is. also not positive if its cast of forged, cant find any forging marks, but not really any cast marks eather. ill do a little spark test tomaro near the broken area to see if its wrought with a steel face or all cast steel, its a monster to me, was told it was 470, looks to be right, probaly was 500 but after the heel was broken at the hardy 30 was lost. 16in tall, 6in wide face. sure beats the pants off my old 140lb
Do i need a 470lb anvil, no but i sure am happy i found one after lookin for a few years
Maybe ill weld a new heel back on one day... maybe
tell me who you think the maker is?

thomas, i like the idea, never made one but would like to one day, how about having a nice high carbon steel blade, then forgewelding mild steel down the middle for the rib, i guess i would do a ruff forge of the blade then weld down the rib.
Good Luck

haha my copper is old 2in pipe that i rip down the seam then flatten out. makes about 5in wide sheet, maybe 3/32 thick. the cross tie is just passed over the main post, the rivets are just 1/16in copper electrical wire striped

just a few copper things ive made, spoon and skillet for my grandma, cross for a friend at church

this fallowed me home this morning, sadly 325$ stayed. bought from a family friend, be used no more that 10 hours! just need to buy a argon/co2 bottle. i set it on top of my old thunderbolt stick welder, any reason that it would be bad to stack one welder on top of another?

made for my bothers wedding a few weeks ago, pure copper inside, hammered cold, hot forged iron ring outside. not sure why one of the grooms men is weiring it on his head. wedding was at caloway gardens in Ga if any of you know the place, its Beautiful

HAHAHA The old way, do you ask them how old, i can do things the mid 1900's or how about you go back 1000 years or go back what is it 3000 years when all there was was copper. people alwaye say the old way but never really specify a date in time, and don't let me get started on place, a smith from England would make something completely different from a smith in Africa!

i have a travel victor, and a medium size victor, both great torches. use them often. just a week ago i was poken around in my grandfathers shop and came across a dillon, or henrob as seems to be the new name. i just stated playing with it and he gave it to me. ive only spent maybe 20 minuets fiddelin around with this thing but im vary excited to see what it can do! my OXY knob seems to be pretty stuck, guess that happens after 10 or 20 years sitting there. i know that its dangerous to use any type of grease or oil on torches(BOOM). so what can i use to ease it up, graphite powder?

how do you tin things, guessing its close to brazing but have never used tin, is it just a rod that you can get pre fluxed dose it need flux?

If i dont braze a steel face on then im just going to take it and try and electro plate the entire thing in copper and just set it outside my forge to look nice, not like cast iron is any good for much more, and it would go well with the name of my forge, "Copper Anvil Forge"

well if you wanted mass with not to much heat, set the anvil in cold water on its side and have the water line just below the top, then poor molten lead in the deep pits on the side

i understand that you would want the steel face and anvil face to lay very flat, but do you want it polished smooth, or would it hold better if it was ruffed up with a very cores grinding stone? i would also continue the steel face to cover the step and the horn

well the brazing to begin with would heat the plate to critical temp, i guess i would quench the whole thing then just temper in an oven, tempering in the over would not be so hot as to melt the brazing, I think

i hope this is not a repeat, i think i sall something about this once but for the life of me cant find it. but has anyone attempted forge brazing a steel face to a ASO/cheep cast iron anvil, is this even feasible or would the soft brass under the face just start to break away soon. like many people i have a cheepy anvil that im tempted to play with. i have a few real anvils so its not really out of need, and if i destroy the cast one i dont care, but im tempted to try this, any ideas for this. its a small londen pattern anvil, maybe 60 lbs.