Smess653

I liked yours so much I followed suit. Rust red primer and called it good. Here's the before: And after:

Atf as in transmission fluid? What kind of paint works best for coating the base?

That was actually going to be my next question. Why do people often wrap chain around the base?

So I went over it with a wire wheel all over, then cleaned up the horn with a finishing disc (80 grit) to get some of the scratches out of the top of the horn and work a little more of a tip into the horn. Then gave her a good spray down of wd40, a wipe down and a final coat of wd40 to call her good for the day. I'll pick up some linseed oil later in the week. I agree with you, it's definitely iron with a steel face. That was my biggest concern when I was looking at how a lot of people "restore" anvils by grinding or milling the face down. It doesn't seem to have a ton of rebound or ring, but it'll be more than good enough to learn on.

Thanks so much for the advice! Would it be OK to hit it with a wire brush wheel to clean the rest of the surface rust off or should I keep at it with a hand brush? It's very humid here in WI as well, would oiling it help to prevent more rust building up on it?

I've been looking to learn how to smith for a few years now and recently received a little bit a funding to get started. I'm looking into classes to take this winter and have begun gathering some basic tools to get started. Last week I was able to get a bid in on a ~100-125# no name anvil at a farm auction and won it for $60. She was a bit rusty so I took a wire brush to it. It has definitely helped, but there are a few good size chips in the edges of the face, and some pitting around the horn. What would you folks suggest I do to fix up this anvil before using it? Here's a bunch of pictures: https://imgur.com/gallery/lr0Vh Thanks folks! Scot