dustyrode

Would a wax be effective at preventing ti from loading, similar to aluminum cutting and grinding?

Outside of a decent post vise, no real brand preference here. I probably use my wolf jaw tongs the most, but with some hassle I could make due. One of the easiest to make on your own, and I use them almost as much as wolf jaw tongs, is a pair of scrolling tongs. I could not make due without those, although in a bad pinch I might make a pair of needle nose pliers work for some jobs.

Some of these are repeats 1. Membership to the local blacksmith group. As stated above, check abana.org for a partner branch if you're in North America. This could be huge, and advance his and your skill and experience by YEARS versus wading through the process by trial and error alone. 2. A Vevor cast steel anvil. Man, that's some bang for your buck on a good, usable tool. Human rights violations are a real concern when buying Chinese made, but that concentration camp labor does mean good prices for the starting smith. 3. A vise. Man, you would not believe how much work is done in and with a vise. Of course a post vise is ideal, but even a smallish bench vise is a good start. 4. A pair or two of tongs. Ken's iron is a good way to go, or hunting at yard sales, flea markets, and estate sales is fun.

Thanks for the input. I actually have enough steel to do some serious support work on the heel and the near and far edges, and plan to do it. I also decided today (I think) to cut off the current horn and weld another better one on. As far as it being more affordable and faster to buy an anvil, that's only mostly true. Making it a little at a time allows me to basically buy my anvil in small payments. Also, if I DO mess it up, I know what's there, and can theoretically repair it. Also also, I like to imagine that I'll be able to make my homegrown anvil more specialized to what I'm doing. I do want to make it the best I can, though, which is why I'm trying to figure our the best refacing technique :-)

Side view.

Pics to follow. Its mild steel, probably, but I have dreams of hardfacing it. I have LOTS of welding rod that I can use to hardsurface with (railroad repair stuff, stoodie rods, 9018, etc), just gotta identify the best stuff to put on it.

So, after what I felt was an appreciable amount of research I made myself an anvil. I had about 3.5' of railroad rail, so I cut off some (12" or so) of the rail side webbing, milled a smooth face on it, and welded it stoutly to the end of the remaining rail. This gave me a narrow work face, but still a nice flat surface with a lot of mass right under the face. The heel and horn sides of the face piece (I flame cut, then ground a horn on one end) extended past the center of mass, so I added some gussets. Add a 1" hardie hole, and that's what I've been using for the past year or two. The problem at this point is that the gusseted ends are not providing enough stability to forge on. Now, the point: I have a piece of 1.25" steel that I would like to attach to the existing face of my current anvil. If I put a good bevel on the narrower current face, preheat both pieces, and weld the heck out of the entire perimeter, will the resulting void ruin my homemade anvil?

Didn't read through all the comments, but has anyone addressed drawing? You grind 3-6" into something, then fill it with weld while keeping it hot enough for your filler metal to penetrate, and this x-ray certified welder will GUARANTEE that you won't have a flat anvil face anymore. If you're lucky, the face will warp. If you're unlucky, the face or body won't have the yield strength to bend and something will snap. Maybe I misunderstood the repair techniques as suggest, but it seems like kind of a big deal...

I don't exactly see any misinformation here, but most of it seems a little broad. If I understand your question correctly, it sounds like you're dealing with poor tie ins in the toe or shoulder of the weld. Often that means too low of amperage or improper electrode manipulation (moving the rod wrong). If you're a very knowledgeable and or experienced welder, this is probably very unhelpful info =D

What about Konex boxes? All steel, alter 'em with a cutting torch, weld on another later. No dirt floor either. Shallow roof and not much width, but the width could be changed with overhangs and cut doors later...

I built a similar anvil, and tried hardening the face, but have nothing to compare it to. Got around 60%-65% rebound from a 1" bearing. How'd yours do?