reivertom Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Hello, I'm a newby to the forum and to pounding hot metal, so bear with me. I recently bought a rusty Peter Wright 102# anvil that sat for many years in a leaky out building. It is from the late 1800's according to the research I've done. It has a good amount of rust all over it and some small pits on part of the the top/face. I just would like to know how to get it looking like some of the anvils I see with the shiney black/gray color I see on many old anvils in photos. Also what is a good way to remove at least some of the small pits on the face? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicemibs Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Hello, use a 4" grinder with a wirebrush on it that will get the rust and give the look you want. Then coat it with WD40 or other oil. On the face use sandpaper to smooth it out some, are the pits really bad? Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Live with the pitts. There is no practical way to remove them other than grinding the surrounding metal away to below the bottom of the pits. This is the last thing you would ever want to do, since you will ruin the anvil in the process. Peter Wright and many other old anvils are made of soft wrought iron with a thin steel plate on top. Making this plate too thin by grinding out the pits will ruin the anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Best way to get the face of your anvil cleaned off is to pound hot iron on it.The pounding and scale will scrub it up nice for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reivertom Posted January 15, 2011 Author Share Posted January 15, 2011 The pits are mainly located on the end away from the horn, so I guess they could be worked around. They run about 1/16th to 1/32nd deep. There may be a couple deeper. The rest of it has a good scale that nearly hid the writing on the side. I guess milling the top flush will be out of the question as most folks say don't do it. Thanks for your replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 You don't want the top perfectly flat anyway. A slight sway actualy helps, at least for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BM454 Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 If you just use it the anvil, the pits will go away in time. May take a long time to do so. I don't see it harming your work what so ever. My Hay-Budden has some pits and nicks on it but, it does not show up on the work. I have a Trenton and it has several pits on it. I made a blade with it the other day and it worked out just fine. The best thing you can do for an old anvil is use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Use it! Wire brush treatment is excellent. You can wax it or oil it or repaint the sides whatever color you like. Grinding and other material removal processes are unnecessary. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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