I've welded up several Peter Wright anvils in varying states of disrepair. As Oljoe says they are wrought iron with a tool steel face plate. If you plan to do a fair bit of welding on them I'd borrow back the Mig welder you sold, as it is surprising the amount of weld required to bring them back. The high deposition rate of the Mig is a massive time saver. The first thing I do is grind the dirt, rust and rubbish out of the area to be welded. This obviously increases the amount of weld you have to lay down to fill the defect but will ensure good adhesion of the new material with the old. Next get the oxy torch with a heating tip on it and play it over the surface of the anvil until it is warm to the touch. Basically take the chill out of it so when you start welding, the weld you put down is not chilled too rapidly by the mass of the cold anvil. If the gouge you are repairing goes throught the face plate you will be welding up the wrought iron which will probably fizzle and carry on with the first pass. It's not high quality stuff! Once a bit of the weld metal alloys into the wrought iron it will weld OK. On the edges build it up at least10% more than you think it needs. This allows for grinding back. Be aware that most anvils are crowned, so they slope gently from the centre to the edge. I never bother trying to square them up perfectly, rather I blend them back in to the original. The same goes for the face. If it is really bad it is a case of pad welding and grinding, and again, usually much more welding and time than first anticipated. If you really want to drive yourself nuts spend some time on the horn. They seem to soak up an incredable amount of time in welding and grinding. I do the whole thing with the Mig. Its a hydrogen controlled good quality weld. I personally don't like the idea of a hard facing rod which work hardens. Seems to me it will be far more likely to chip out over time. Providing you work hot steel on the anvil the Mig repair will stand up well to wear and tear. If it does get damaged it's easily repaired. I've done one anvil using just general purpose electrodes to build up the material and that has also lasted well. I'm not convinced that welding them up has to be complicated. Good luck, however you choose to do it.