Brandon Meyer

I picked up a spool of Stoody 965-g 2 years ago for topping what will be my 250# homemade anvil. I will be using stoody buildup at around 3/8" thick under it first and then top with 3/8"-1/2" of the 965. I tested the 965 by tig welding 3/16" thick topping over a 2" wide 1" thick flat bar stood on edge and then beating it relentlessly in a safe protected manner with a hard hammer. It didn't chip or deform. I use this little block to cold form stuff sometimes and it doesn't mark it at all. I can tell you that it is file hard and doesn't chip or deform. It is very similar to A2 in composition but at half the carbon content so it is very tough. Since you can tig a bead of it on things and it air hardens it is kinda handy to have some lengths straightened out just for little repairs where you want a hard spot for some reason or a hard tip on a tool. I am hoping to get my anvil setup this spring and since I haven't done this yet or proven it over time I can't actually recommend it yet but since I do stop here and read stuff from time to time I caught this and thought I would add to it. I have on hand also stoody 19 stick rods and stoody 101hc I think and those work good for abrasive things like excavators or in my case used on post hole digging attachments but absolutely no good for an anvil as they check or crack and will be very unsafe. Since the 965 is so hard though I would recommend some actual "buildup" layer under it that is designed for it. The stoody buildup wire I have air cools to the upper 20's rockwell C where as the 7018 will probably be in the teens somewhere. I believe also the 965 is recommended to not be over 1/2" thick since it gets too stressed in the continual layers. Hope this helps.