MIG weld anvil repair

[Winston]

Who has done it? IFI wont let you search a term under 4 characters so I cannot search for MIG.

I found an article on the net talking about using a MIG but it said you need one that put out 250 amps. I have a millermatic 210. It puts out 160 amps at peak duty cycle. I am not sure how amp ratings work with welders though.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Not enough info to give a good answer.

Type of repair to be done.

Make of Anvil; cast, wrought

Your experience level.

Search anvil repair / repairing anvil, grab a cup of your favorite beverage, and start reading the tons of threads on this subject.

Welcome to IFI.

[Mainely,Bob]

FOR THIS PURPOSE,and this purpose only,anything you plan to do with SMAW or TIG you can do with MIG.The only difference will be you`ll have to buy a whole roll of hardface wire.Grab hold of something before you ask the price,that stuff aint cheap.
What you lack in amperage you can many times make up for in pre-heat(unless you`re running a 110 MIG,then forget it.But then again if you were serious you`d own a REAL welding machine.)

[ianinsa]

"But then again if you were serious you`d own a REAL welding machine"
Bob, that's mean yet oh so true
Ian

[Winston]

If I could afford a "Real" welder then I could afford a "Real" anvil, and would not be worrying with repairing one. Besides the miller 210 is a great machine for a hobby.

I have read a ton of articles, but only found one that gave any info on MIG. I have also looked at the prices of the hardfacing wire. I was shocked. But it is cheap enough that if I can repair my anvil, and I will still be under my anvil budget.

Peter Wright 146#
Repair edges, they have been chipped off both sides, front to back.
I have no doubts as to being able to preheat the anvil and I used to metal fab full time.

[patrick]

My anvil, a 400 lb Peter Wright, had been severely abused at some point in the past. It had torch gouges about every 1" or so down both side of the face and about 3" of the horn had been cut off. The guy who had the anvil before me repaired all this damage with standard, i.e. non-hard facing, mig wire. You'd never know it on the horn. You can see some of the repairs in the face and they are a little soft, but it has never been a problem for me. The anvil repair work I have done was with a 180 amp stick welder and that worked just fine. I would strongly recommend preheating the anvil regardless of the welding methods and materials you plan to use since the high carbon content in the face will cause the heat affected zone to have untempered (brittle) martensite in it that can result in cracks adjacent to your welds. These can occur either on cooling from welding or during use.

Patrick

[kpotter]

I have repaired an anvil with a mig welder a miller 210, it was a wilkenson that had some real bad edges, I didnt preheat because I didnt know about it I did use hard face wire I got a partial spool from the welding shop i had no idea what kind it was. The anvil turned out fine I used it a little and all seemed well then I got a bigger anvil. There was a difference in color of the weld to the plate but I ground it all and sanded it, the stuff was hard and took awhile to grind but the anvil looked good and the stuff didnt fall off when I hit it. I guess it worked.

[bajajoaquin]

For a Miller 210, you'll have several options for welding wire, because you can run .045 flux core in it pretty easily.

You may want to post up some pictures of the damaged edges. The general consensus here is to leave the anvil alone unless the abuse is really bad. If that's the case here, you can save the $150 (or more) you're going to spend on wire, and put it towards the purchase of your next anvil.

[ThomasPowers]

Old blacksmithing texts mention that the first thing you should do with a new anvil is to round the edges so they don't create cold shuts in your work.

If you need a sharp edge for a specific task, why not make a hardy tool with *4* of them!

[jmeineke]

Post some pictures. It may not need repaired at all. I don't want to second-guess your decision to work on it, but speaking from personal experience, one of the most important lessons I've learned from the experienced smiths on here is that most anvils I thought needed repair didn't. The best advice I got when I asked what I should do to one was (and I'm paraphrasing), "Just use it. You'll find a use for all those different edges."

The problem wasn't the anvils, the problem was me and what *I* thought the anvils should look like.

Like Thomas said, if you need a square / sharp edge or a particular radius, make a hardy for it.

[Winston]

I would save the money and buy a better one if I could. I have been trying to spend $300 on a good condition 135# + anvil for over a year. If I could have I would. So the way I figure it, I spent $200 on this I still have $100 to spend and I will be in budget.

This is not my first anvil. I was using a good condition (no chips, clean edges) 230# Hay Budden for about 2 years. It has since been reclaimed by its owner. I use an anvil a certain way and would prefer to have a tool designed how I want it, and not just work with what I have got. I have gotten used to my anvil positioned a certain way and the side that is chipped the most is the edge I use most. The chipped edge peice is as wide as my finger. If it was like the other side I would probably just radius a little more and use it. I could work around it, but I just don't want too unless I have to. Here are the picks. You can also see the belly which is less of a concern for me.

I looked at the pics after uploading and the surface looks worse than it is. A grate was painted on top making it look a lot worse in the pics.

[ThomasPowers]

Still seems kind of expensive for the condition to me.

[Freddie]

If the whole thing doesn't need to be hardfaced, I think you would be fine filling in the broken edge with your MIG welder... I'd probably even try it with your regular wire and no preheat.

[Winston]

Well unless I change my mind again I think I figured out what I am going to do. I am going to radius (grind) the not so bad side and just try and fill the bad side edges with my regular MIG wire. Yeah, Freddie I had already come to the same conclusion. I figure it want cost me anything more and if it does not work I can always hardface it anyway. I will preheat though. I have welded several things to large chunks of metal only to see them crack off as it cools. I always preheat.

Maybe in the mean time I will find one of those killer deals on an anvil like I hear about, or maybe I can get the 230# Hay Budden back from my family member. I wish.

[Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver]

That's what I'd do. Grind out the places you're going to weld. Cheap way to pre-heat a chunk like this is with a small pile of charcoal on each side.