DanielC

Anything you can find in your price range on Craig's list or word of mouth. eBay seems to have anvils at the highest price. If nothing else I have seen several people here suggest railroad track.

Lol me too.

I hate assuming, but I would wager by his total post count, and all posts belonging to this thread, he is not interested in blacksmithy. He's basically getting opinions on the anvil, and looking to sell it at a reasonable price I would assume. Btw, nice anvil.

Luckily it is at my family shop. Luckily my brother is a very experienced machinist that has a lathe, mill, MIG, and a TIG among other things at the shop. He was the head machinist for a shop of a division of NASCAR, and now runs his own racing performance shop. Along with that we are close friends with a racecar builder that CNC's the Tungsten blocks for NASCAR weight balancing. So basically the only piece of tool I do not have access to is a power hammer :) My brother is ready to mill the weld down (I'm buying him a bit) and I have an Aluminum Oxide Cup on its way being shipped for finishing touches. I also went to my local NAPA (we're also friends with the owners there, lol) and they have a pack of Nickel based welding sticks (10lb box) and are willing to sell me a partial box at their cost. Since I am not experienced with welding, my brother will be doing the stick welding for free if it absolutely needs to be welded. I really liked the idea of turning it into a striking anvil though, so we will see.

Heck yea! Nice anvil!

Never thought of that. Then again Im really new to this. I am only now acquiring what I need and finding out more and more every day. Thanks for the advice!

Yea I felt the immediate rebound on the face that had no weld with a hammer (Maybe 70-80%'sh). Hitting the weld had much to be desired (Maybe 20-30% rebound).

Ive seen everyone mention that. Most suggest a very large ball bearing however. Know a common place I can find a 1" ball bearing? Lol.

Alright. Will do. I was in the process of building my forge recently (55 gallon drums) until a family member only 3 hours away could no longer smithy due to shoulder injuries from his occupation. Because of this he is giving me his forge, blower, and about 50 different tools! Unfortunately the only anvil he had was a 300lb Cast Iron Chinese Import that from what I hear is in rough shape, so the anvil will probably be scrapped by him if I for sure leave it be. So in other words I now have 2-55 gallon drums (with lids!) to store coal/charcoal and/or to maintain a fire source to keep warm this Winter pounding iron. EDIT: And btw, thanks so much for the input guys. This community has been extremely helpful and patient to me and several other newcomers that I have noticed. Once I can really get into the craft I will be more than glad to contribute to the community as much as possible. Until then, I have an obsession of posting detailed photos (With my proper camera, not the camera phone that Ive been using in my two threads) and from my experience with searching threads for information; the more detailed the topic the more helpful it is to others.

I wish the situation was less grimm guys! Wish the previous owner still knew how to get ahold of the person the welded on the anvil, but he doesnt. Im guessing there really isnt any way of testing the weld to see if its correct or not. Maybe the seperation of the weld to the cast iron body in my first picture indicates a non-nickel weld?

Ah yea. Fishers and Volcan bodies are cast. Bummer. Will see what I can do. May grind the face weld down as suggested and see the condition of it. I can live with busted corners, tossing a potentially good 150lb'r I cannot.

Aren't Fisher anvils wrought iron body?

I also called my local National Welders supply and they could not get me Stoody 1105 for the top layer. So they sent me their W-1 steel equivilent. It's called WH-1 and heres the PDF (The wire located to very right). I have family that are National Welding Certified that could probably do this for me. I just have a few questions like if it is worth the welding wire. It looks as if I can fill in the rest with softer, cheaper wire and top it off with a layer of the WH-1. Then again, I am a noob and could be totally wrong here. The rebound on the unwelded side of the anvil is flawless, but the soft weld has much to be desired. Also should the weld on the side where it is seperating from the anvil be removed and start over to square one? guest11062012153858.pdf

So by simply asking a man with a welding shirt on if he repairs anvils, I was invited to his house to look at an anvil he had no use for. I have yet to even have my forge ready and only owned my first anvil since a few days ago, and I stumbled upon another one. The only problem is, is that this one needs work as well (Appears to have suffered heavy damage in the past). The owner before him tried repairing the face and corners, but stopped for one reason or another. I am also not sure if they heated the anvil up prior to welding seeing as how the weld on the side looks like there is a gap between the anvil and the weld (See first picture). Tell me what you guys think. Also this is a 150lb Fisher anvil dated at 1894 that I paid $50 for. If I have to I will snag some pics with my 12MP Nikon tomorrow.

Thanks for the truth and words of encouragement guys! Was hoping my 4 hour round trip wasn't a waste! Btw, I paid $125 for it.

Thanks, and I am 26 in a few weeks, so pretty close according to your profile. Seems our parents both had good taste in names =] Anywho, I took some more pics today, tell me what you think. I am going to be working mostly light stuff like crude Iron and low carbon steel (Making hooks, forks, tools, etc..). Once I am acquainted with the anvil and can accurately smack red hot metal and not the anvil, I will get a book or two on bladesmith and try my hand on knives. I'm expecting it to be a slow process, so no need to be hasty. Is there enough face for light work? Thanks guys!

It seems to rebound decently (Not that I have much to base it against). I will get better pics of it tomorrow to show the cutting step in more clarity. EDIT: Also it is raised from the step by about 1mm.

Hello all! This is my first post and first Anvil ever owned. It is a 106lb. Peter Wright that shows considerable wear. I am weary of heating it up and welding onto the corners so I have opted to utilize my hardy hole for bending. The face however shows considerable wear down from previous owners, and since this Peter Wright does not show "England" on the front I assume it is pre-1900's. Is the face too worn down to use as a beginner anvil? Or should I be in the clear? Thanks a ton!