T Ritter Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Hello, Here is an anvil I repaired using Rob Grunter's method, which works excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunsmithnMaker Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 WOW That looks too good to use now, but I'm sure someone would use it. Maybe those are the best ones to use as they are no longer strictly original. Again, Nice work. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Ritter Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 Ya, You are right I looks almost to nice to use, but in its old state it would be almost useless. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Nice job, in a year or so let us know how its holding up... I have repaired several and always wonder how they are getting along out there in the world Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Excellent job! The beauty of something like this is that not only does it bring an old tool headed toward the scrap yard back to a useful life but it also teaches the skills needed to save and rebuild tools for others.With a finite supply of these type of things out there I`m surprised that more people aren`t taking advantage of Rob`s excellent instructions.Those skills are just a valuable as the ability to effectively beat hot iron IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clinton Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Nice job. How much rod did it take? it looks like there was just a little thin piece of the face left in the before picture. Did you use both hard facing rods or did you finish out with just the one for multiple pass? The hard facing will work harden also, keep us posted on how it performs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Ritter Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 For the beginning of the build up I used 70s-2 a mig wire which resists deformation then a layer of Stoody .045 Build-up and finally on the top I put down 2 layers of Stoody .045 965G hard-facing. I like to run mig wire instead of rods, so that is why I referenced the rods to wire. I think there is a total of about 6 lbs of hard-facing used on this anvil. I also sold a few re-builts so far and I never heard of anything bad about them. I am only a hobby blacksmith and my personal anvil holds up good, it is a 206 lb Peter Wright, which I also re-built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 For the beginning of the build up I used 70s-2 a mig wire which resists deformation then a layer of Stoody .045 Build-up and finally on the top I put down 2 layers of Stoody .045 965G hard-facing. I like to run mig wire instead of rods, so that is why I referenced the rods to wire. I think there is a total of about 6 lbs of hard-facing used on this anvil. I also sold a few re-builts so far and I never heard of anything bad about them. I am only a hobby blacksmith and my personal anvil holds up good, it is a 206 lb Peter Wright, which I also re-built. Now that`s what I`m talkin` about! Taking the skills learned by stepping off into something and learning as you go then turning around and further putting those new skills to use to repair iron for others,hopefully at a small profit you can put to other uses. Doesn`t get much better than that.Thanks for sharing the experience,and pics,with us. All you folks whining about not being able to find a decent anvil,you know where to go now. Don`t live close enough to ship?You now have a way to contact yet another someone who has done this repeatedly and has the pics to prove it.Drag that rusty,tortured boat anchor home and get to work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 SOFA has a number or rebuilt anvils in their club shop that have seen hard use and have been doing great over the last decade or so that I have tracked them. Note that I usually strongly advise folks not to repair their anvil due to the fact that if they have to ask how they probably are not skilled enough to do it right! If you have the skills and equipment then resurrecting a badly damaged anvil is a great thing to do! (I've been smithing 30 years now and *I* do not repair my own anvils; I take them to a friend who is an expert and have him do the work (and force him to accept cash for the consumables used!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 SOFA has a number or rebuilt anvils in their club shop that have seen hard use and have been doing great over the last decade or so that I have tracked them. Note that I usually strongly advise folks not to repair their anvil due to the fact that if they have to ask how they probably are not skilled enough to do it right! If you have the skills and equipment then resurrecting a badly damaged anvil is a great thing to do! (I've been smithing 30 years now and *I* do not repair my own anvils; I take them to a friend who is an expert and have him do the work (and force him to accept cash for the consumables used!). To each their own Tommy.I know plenty of old dogs capable of mastering new tricks. When the alternatives seem to run toward hauling badly damaged anvils to the scrap yard(it happens frequently up here)then I encourage everybody who has the gumption to pick one up to try their hand at it.It`s not as though you`re gonna ruin it any further than it already is now are ya? If you do then just bring it by and I`ll gouge the mistake off while you count how many times the electric meter goes round so I`ll know what to charge ya. Whatever keeps the wolf and the scrap man away from the door. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Were you replying to my post? Tommy is somebody else. I do answer to Tom-boy however within the kinfolk. Don't think the electric meter will spin much till I get power out to the shop...and I have seen a pretty good number of anvils trashed by poorly done repairs---not only welding. I have personally seen anvils where they milled the face to clean it up and milled it too thin to use or even on one horror story milled through the face and into the wrought iron truing the face to the base which wasn't parallel to the face to start with! I own a 400#+ anvil that had such bad repairs done to it that you could pick out the welds due to HAZ cracking by someone who didn't know what they are doing. When we had an anvil repair clinic for our local ABANA affiliate I had it repaired *right*! Would have been a lot easier if they had just left it alone till someone who knew what they were doing could do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Sorry,thought I was talking to the OTHER professor Powers. He`s such a kidder! (please take note of the big grinning smiley face.I`d make it bigger but I`m digitally challenged) :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Ritter Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 I was thinking if someone knows how to weld, grind, then why not try to repair an old anvil if it is headed to the scrap yard anyways? It really can not end up in a worse condition than it was in the first place, only better. I like repairing old beat up anvils, just to watch them being converted from a almost scrap anvil into a very good useful tool. I sure do have to admit it does defiantly take a few hours to complete one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I was thinking if someone knows how to weld, grind, then why not try to repair an old anvil if it is headed to the scrap yard anyways? It really can not end up in a worse condition than it was in the first place, only better. I like repairing old beat up anvils, just to watch them being converted from a almost scrap anvil into a very good useful tool. I sure do have to admit it does defiantly take a few hours to complete one. Thanks for getting it Mr Ritter. Please accept this virtual cigar and step on over to my side of the room :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 The problem being that I have seen a number of anvils made worse by "professional welders". They may have made their living welding but they sure ended up botching the anvils. Mostly because while they were welders they didn't know squat about anvils and so used wrong rod, no preheat, etc. If a welder doesn't know the basic methods that were used to make anvils, I'd be wary of them trying to repair one. Sure if you know what you're doing no problem; but if you don't find out FIRST! Welding on wrought iron isn't the same as on steel, Fishers and Vulcans are cast iron bodied, some brands switched to all steel above the waist at different times, etc. So instead of "Just do it" I hold out for "Learn how to do it right first!" My general statement is that welders and machinists have messed up more anvils than any other class of folks! (well besides smithing students---I like to start folks off with softer hammers nowadays...) Now I have a Peter Wright than needs a bit of build up---it's missing everything above the waist....<(;(> (and for names, well it gets worse; Thomas is not my first name; but my middle one. However even my mother doesn't use my first one!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 This thread give me hope! I recently bought an old anvil from a friend for the whopping sum of $30 and the promise of a knife. It's his granddad's anvil, probably more than 80 years old, and small, but I thought I'd take it off his hands. Turned out to be far more worn than he initially let on and it needs some weld to make the face even a little useful. Not as bad as in the OP, but there's not a sharp corner on the thing and the face is rounded rather nicely. The good news is that, while almost useless, the anvil is also fairly small. I wouldn't estimate it at more than 80lbs, certainly not more than 100lbs, and that makes it a prime candidate for a weld-up top. It would make a great anvil for light work and bladesmithing if the face was flat and square! Thanks for the inspiration, hoss. I'm off to do some research.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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