Hi All,

Some people collect stamps and coins. For the past couple of years I have started a Anvil collection I had a particularly rough Peter Wright. It given to me and was pretty beaten up. I repaired it quite successfully using a piece of copper plate and running Mig hardfacing wire on the worst of the worst.

I live in Connecticut where metal platers are everywhere. I am going to bead blast the entire thing and drop it off on Friday for a maximum deposition coating of industrial hard chrome. I am curious if anyone has ever done this before? I got the idea after thinking about a nice finish that would be rust resistant. Before someone starts hollering about ruining an antique anvil this thing had absolutely zero collectors value and little practical use value until I saved it from doorstop duty.

I know how it will hold up on the non impact surfaces, very very well and nearly rust proof. What I wonder is how the hard chrome will hold up on the face. A gunsmith and plater friend of mine did a 1911 LW Colt Commander for me over 20 years ago, it has been carried in a horsehide holster for many many years with little or no wear marks! But then again I havent pounded on it with a 3 lb hammer I do know one thing, when applied over a properly prepared surface it's harder than Japanese Arithmetic. I will post a photo of the before and after when I get it back from the platers next week! Should be interesting, at least it will be a conversation piece. Now, if I could only find a specimen I could get chromed like a Cadillac bumper ;


That my Anvil Dawg!

Thanks !

Jerry

copyrighted photo removed

Jerry, is that you in the pic?? If so yo sure like the gleamin' .........To each his own I say, why not! I'd like to see a pic..........B)

I have no idea how it would hold up. I do think it is an interesting idea though. please post some pics of it when your done.

I think the most common complaint I've heard about anvil collectors is they create artificial scarcity by stripping otherwise workable anvils from the market, resulting in a tough time and inflated prices when a working smith goes looking to buy an anvil.

I know there was more than a little muttering on my part when I was trying to source my first anvil and I kept coming across pics on ebay of a collector's warehouse that had tens (if not hundreds) of anvils lined up on the floor collecting dust.

I'm a collector myself. I collect antique straight razors. Unlike a lot of my peers I make a point to restore every razor I add to my collection to a full shave-ready state. I don't have a strong opinion about how other folks deal with their collections, it just seems like a shame to me to have an old tool that still has plenty of life left in it sit rusty and unusable.

Knowing nothing of the condition of your anvil I don't have anything to say about it's value as a working anvil. I will say from experience an anvil can be chewed up pretty good and still work great. I've got an heirloom Peter Wright from my wife's family that proves this point rather well.

As far as expecting chrome plating to stand up to being smithed on, I wouldn't bet on it. Given chrome's hardness and inflexibility I would speculate it'd crack, chip or otherwise flake off when subjected to the kind of abuse a working anvil face puts up with on a daily basis. Take a look at a dented old car bumper where the chrome just popped off for an example of where I'm going with this.

My point? I don't really have one I guess. I think if you're planning on spending money to get an anvil restored you should probably pay to have known good techniques applied that will restore the anvil to proper usability, not just turn it into a convo piece. My two cents.

Thats a picture of "Flayva Flav"! A Rap artist, Flayva popularized the wearing of large watches around the neck in the 1980's and wearing a buffalo horned helmet on stage, yeah, yeah...I know

Copyrighted material removed. non smithing gibberish removed.

They use "Industrial Hard Chrome" to coat industrial machinery exposed to impact, friction, heat and any other form of use and abuse with this stuff to increase its working life.

Enjoy

Jerry

Thats a picture of "Flayva Flav"! A Rap artist, Flayva popularized the wearing of large watches around the neck in the 1980's and wearing a buffalo horned helmet on stage, yeah, yeah...I know

Hangin' with that Dude don't looks like a ball, he sure surrounds himself with a LOT of talent...........earplugs not an option!

You are looking for a plating that is wear resistant. This calls for very high tinsel strength in the thin metal plating. Please correct me if I am wrong. As I understand it chrome does not stick to steel; chrome will stick to copper and its alloys, which will stick to steel, so the steel object to be chrome plated is first copper/alloy plated and then chrome plated.

After the complete chroming pricess there will be two thin layers of metal plated on a third metal, each having a different tinsel strength. Copper and chromium both work harden and will flake off.

Gild the lily


From Shakespeare's King John, 1595:

SALISBURY:
Therefore, to be possess'd with double pomp,
To guard a title that was rich before,
To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,
To throw a perfume on the violet,
To smooth the ice, or add another hue
Unto the rainbow, or with taper-light
To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish,
Is wasteful and ridiculous excess.

I have never heard of hard chrome for impact use. I have seen it used for swaging dies, and other surfaces that required a very hard, and slippery surface.

Chrome will stick to steel. Triple plating is for items like bumpers. Copper to get the initial bond, and smooth surface, nickel to provide a sealing barrier for the porous chrome which provides the lasting shine.

Hard chrome is a different animal. Very thick, and very hard. Chrome also has a low coefficient of friction, so it is used for sliding, and applied pressure applications.


I believe that you just made a very pretty doorstop, paperweight, or fancy shootin' anvil.


Before you say that it was unusable, look at some of the anvils that are being used on this forum IE; missing heels / horns, most of the face gone, etc... Depending on how good your repairs were done, someone could have the plating removed later in order to use it as it was intended. Chrome removal is just a matter of putting the process in reverse.


With all that being said, in the end it doesn't matter what we say. It is YOUR anvil, and you can do whatever you want with it. Foolish as it may seem to some of us.

I personally dontlike a new possished anvil
It seems too slippery and I would think the crome would be very slippery

Hi All,

Some people collect stamps and coins. For the past couple of years I have started a Anvil collection I had a particularly rough Peter Wright. It given to me and was pretty beaten up. I repaired it quite successfully using a piece of copper plate and running Mig hardfacing wire on the worst of the worst.

I live in Connecticut where metal platers are everywhere. I am going to bead blast the entire thing and drop it off on Friday for a maximum deposition coating of industrial hard chrome. I am curious if anyone has ever done this before? I got the idea after thinking about a nice finish that would be rust resistant. Before someone starts hollering about ruining an antique anvil this thing had absolutely zero collectors value and little practical use value until I saved it from doorstop duty.

I know how it will hold up on the non impact surfaces, very very well and nearly rust proof. What I wonder is how the hard chrome will hold up on the face. A gunsmith and plater friend of mine did a 1911 LW Colt Commander for me over 20 years ago, it has been carried in a horsehide holster for many many years with little or no wear marks! But then again I havent pounded on it with a 3 lb hammer I do know one thing, when applied over a properly prepared surface it's harder than Japanese Arithmetic. I will post a photo of the before and after when I get it back from the platers next week! Should be interesting, at least it will be a conversation piece. Now, if I could only find a specimen I could get chromed like a Cadillac bumper ;


That my Anvil Dawg!

Thanks !

Jerry

copyrighted photo removed

jerry, Where ya from? I am an old collinsville hand. I can tell ya a chromed anvil ain't worth spit. Chrome will pit
split and flake. This old Conn yankee been smithing for yrs says no chrome. weld and dress if able or leave it alone.
Ken.

. I can tell ya a chromed anvil ain't worth spit. ...... weld and dress if able or leave it alone.
Ken.

tru dat. chrome an anvil? very lame idea.

my opinion.

Am I missing something? Did the pictures of the plated anvil get posted?