Advice on preping an old used Anvil

[Lmb_usa]

Ok so this is my first anvil and I'm unsure about any of the details other than it is about a hundred pounds and the price is unbeatable. I'm picking it up probably tomorrow. I've been advised to just have it sandblasted as a quick way to remove the rust so I can see what I'm dealing with better. There seems to be some irregularity in the wear on the edges I'd like to grind or sand the edges, horn, and face smooth again though I'm not sure about how to go about it I've heard "grinding is o.k." then "its not" so what is the best way to prep this thing.

Tell me what you think and let me know if I'm going about the prep wrong.

Thanks

*note: I'm using this for lighter cold work so I'm curious about paint as well, I'm also just do this as a hobby so I might not get enough time on it to protect it from future rusting I've heard Automatic Transmission Fluid in a spray bottle can keep the rust in check is this advisable?

btw
I'm into armourmaking.

oh and sorry didn't know these pictures were that HUGE lol

[Sask Mark]

Looks like a Peter Wright to me. A high quality brand. Probably the best way to clean it would be a knotted cup brush on an angle grinder. However, grinding the face will thin the steel face plate, and potentially make it more prone to failing.

It doesn't have to be in pristine condition for a vast majority of work, so you probably don't have to worry about cleaning up the edges too much.

A thin film of oil after use will prevent a lot of rusting.

[Glenn]

Why not actually take possession of the anvil before you make plans on how to change it?

Once you have the anvil back home, look it over in the daylight. Look for the manufacture or any identifying marks, using a hand held wire brush if needed. A little soapstone or take a pencil rubbing of the information if it is difficult to see. Put the anvil on a stand (stump) and use the thing. It is amazing how well the face of an anvil will clean up with 8 hours of working hot metal on it. If you need prefectly square edged use a hardie plate for that purpose.

ATF (automatic transmission fluid) sprayed lightly on the anvil will protect it for a while. Repeat the application as needed.

You can always FIX the anvil but you can not always UNFIX an anvil.

[HWHII]

I agree witn SASK MARK and Glenn . Use it, abuse it, and get to know it. From your photos it looks like it might clean up allright.

When my anvils heat up and after a using them, I usually spray them down with WD-40 then rub it in while they are warm. It give them a nice patina over time.

[ThomasPowers]

Only need to wire brush the face.

What will you be using it for; jewelry making has different requirements than armourmaking, than...?

ATF may be hard to remove from items if you plan to paint them. If you live in an area that doesn't suffer from condensation then coating the face will not be very necessary.

For smithing I would say that in general you should not grind anymore off the face than you are willing to grind off your own face. Far to easy to remove and expensive and difficult to replace! I have an anvil that was stored in a damp unheated area for 50 years. I wirebrushed the face and then am just using it and letting the heat and scale polish out the fine pitting. I don't notice any difference in my work pieces than the ones doen on a smoother anvil.

Remember too that in smithing having a slight curve to the face can be an advantage as in straightening it's nice to be able to push it a tad too far so it bounces back straight---my most worn anvil is my favorite for straightening blades.

[Bentiron1946]

Since you said your mostly going to be doing cold work on it some of the information on the surface getting clean after hot forging won't apply but it is better not to just jump on the thing with a disk grinder anyway. I have found that these old wrought iron anvils with steel faces don't need a lot of rust protection since once it gets to a certain age it is sort of self protecting unless of course it's setting in a puddle of water but I wouldn't worry about cleaning any thing up much but the horn and the face a little. You might want to clean up the horn some since your going to be working armor and don't want all of those old dings in the horn transferring to the armor you're working on. So you are left with grind the horn or grind the armor. I think I would grind them out of the horn. And while we're on the subject of grinding, the edges of the face are somewhat rounded and maybe chipped so these chipped areas will transfer to your armor too. Now what are your choices here? Grind or no grind, weld or no weld, I am not a fan of welding, sometimes if the anvil is already so messed up that it belongs in the scrap heap go ahead and weld and grind to your heart's content but this anvil does not look bad, in fact it looks real good, so I would do as little grinding or more likely some filing to get the worst of the chips smoothed out and leave it at that and please no welding. For armor making you can make all kinds of accessories for the hardy hole to help with the process. I hope that you do eventually give hot forging a try, it's a real kick! :D

[ThomasPowers]

Just remember not to use sheet metal stakes with tapered ends int the hardy hole! This is often a weak point on old traditionally made anvils and pounding a wedge into it repeatedly is not a good idea!

[Lmb_usa]

OK since I've gotten contradictory answers I thought I would do everyone a service and just get a good poll on whether to use a grinder and if so where.

I'll keep checking for more info, I'll get the anvil on wednesday and I'll post some post clean up pics as well.

Wish me luck!

[Cross Pein]

In answer to your poll: I would not take a grinder to it.
I would get to know it with a hand wire brush and only fix (smooth) any chips in the edge that will give you problems with your work.
And I second the idea of trying some hot stuff.

BTW: I love my PW blemishes and all.

Bill

[Bentiron1946]

I have recently made some stakes for my worst anvil by taking 1" square and having a friend of mine reduce it down to just slightly smaller than the hardy hole, and we have welded on various shaped pieces of tool steel for the stakes and also two sizes of round balls. These are sure a lot cheaper than the store bought silversmith stakes and while I wile away the evening hours watching TV I polish the dang things. No taper, no harm to the hardy hole and they're great for making different shapes to copper and silver. To keep them from falling through the hardy hole we welded 2" length of 3/8" round on each side of the shank of the stake shaft. On this anvil of mine, half the hard face is gone, broke off in the distant past, I did grind the horn smooth and went to work with long strips of emery cloth and have made it smooth enough not to leave any marks on the silver wire and on the half of the hard face remaining I have ground it and polished it with paper up to 800 grit, looks nice. The hard face is a good 5/8" or more thick so I think that it will last a while with me pounding silver and copper on it. There weren't to many dings on this back half that remained but that poor soft iron section is sure chopped up to beat the band, looks like it was used for lots and lots of cutting. Now it is a very good jeweler's anvil.
When you have a very badly damaged anvil you really can't damage it much more than it already is so go ahead and do what you can to return it to some kind of service but remember if it is going to cost you more that a new anvil just go buy a new one. I not suggesting that if it has a couple of dings that this is license to get happy with a welder and grinder as some do but to act in a responsible reasonable manner and do the minimum necessary. Anvils are tools and as such will get beat up and dinged and whether it is you that does it or it was done in the past by another, it will get some damage in it's working life. Don't worry about it being a perfect looking tool, just use it!

[MattBower]

Poll response: no, don't grind it. That anvil looks considerably better than my J. Wilkinson, and I've never so much as taken a wire wheel to that. (Maybe I will, eventually.) What makes you think you need to grind on it when you've never even worked on it!?

[jmeineke]

...so I would do as little grinding or more likely some filing to get the worst of the chips smoothed out and leave it at that and please no welding.

Just curious - Why no welding?

[ThomasPowers]

Because many people mess the welding up not doing proper pre and post heats (and risking the temper if you do them *wrong*).

Using the wrong rod/wire it's both sad and amusing to see a spider webbing hard face used on an anvil

Etc.

Sort of "If you have to ask the question you're not ready to do it anyway..." type of thing.
I've seen anvils rescued from certain death by expert welders; but I've seen a lot more that were trashed by machinists and welders that just didn't know anvils.

[jmeineke]

I've seen anvils rescued from certain death by expert welders; but I've seen a lot more that were trashed by machinists and welders that just didn't know anvils.

I'd love to find an expert in the Central Ohio area who could show me the "anvil repair ropes."

Since this used to be your old stomping grounds, do you know of any experts still around central OH? I'm really developing an interest in fixing them and want to learn everything I can about it. Heck, I'd sweep the guy's shop floor if he'd let me hang out and watch him work

[Lmb_usa]

ok after taking some time to review the anvil itself and relying on the advice I got from you guys and other threads on the site I ended up using a sander on the horn and a cup brush on the face. However there were a lot of deep pits in the sides with rust that was just annoying me, then my father handed me pink bottle, turns out to be "Naval Jelly" at first I thought what good is some bellybutton oil going to do me sounds as useless as bellybutton lint but because my father handed it to me we used it to great effect. That stuff is amazing. Then taking Frosty's advice on another thread we used some black shoe polish to give it a black shiny look. Now it looks great and we are building the stand which I will post in "Show me your Anvil Stand" thread"

[BlackSmithBear]

I just cleaned up my recently acquired 278 Lb PW, using a wire cup brush. After that I rubbed some hydraulic oil on it. It looks like I had painted it black...amazing how the wrought iron reacts that way. So when your shoe polish wears off, lightly use a wire cup brush on it and oil her up...the oiling seems to last a long time, especially since I give my anvils a wipe down with an oily rag after a forging session.

[ThomasPowers]

SOFA has had an anvil repair clinic or two; I'd suggest they have another!

from 9000' in Chile, Thomas

[Dragons lair]

Thomas that is a long way UP and Down from NM.
Ken

[Dragons lair]

I just cleaned up my recently acquired 278 Lb PW, using a wire cup brush. After that I rubbed some hydraulic oil on it. It looks like I had painted it black...amazing how the wrought iron reacts that way. So when your shoe polish wears off, lightly use a wire cup brush on it and oil her up...the oiling seems to last a long time, especially since I give my anvils a wipe down with an oily rag after a forging session.

Bear, Try good old fashioned stove black. It's made for hot surfaces. Rub it on rub it off(karate kid) no
melting or staining( once it's buffed off)
Ken.

[Lmb_usa]

Nice I'll diffidently try the Stove black that sounds really good thanks for the tip :)