Unforgivun Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 This is an old post here, but I wanted to put up a few pics of what that old fisher looks like now. After spending a few weeks at Stan's (trying_it) house, the anvil came home with a face lift. Here is the Anvil again... PRE-OP Here it it POST-OP Here's Jeff grinning from ear to ear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Could you expain how the new top was put on? Weld build up or new plate attached some how? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unforgivun Posted September 10, 2012 Author Share Posted September 10, 2012 I'll let Stan clarify that one :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pug}{maN Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 good to see it looking like that ! hope it works out for you ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluidsteel Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Waiting on Stan..... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironwolfforgeca Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 NICE Re-work on that anvil trying it :) !!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trying-it Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 New top plate, semi truck leaf spring material, no welds used! Maybe a non traditional reface, but it works! Plan to do a BP on it soon with step-by-step pics and writ. Stan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 No welding, period? Did you use some kind of epoxy? Did you have to weld a bit to level out the body and then epoxy the leaf spring in place? I can see that working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 No welding, period? Did you use some kind of epoxy? Did you have to weld a bit to level out the body and then epoxy the leaf spring in place? I can see that working.Epoxy LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trying-it Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 NO Epoxy used either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :blink: :wacko: :unsure: :o Think more of a hot riveting process! :D B) :ph34r: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unforgivun Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 The sad thing is, there are epoxy's out there now that are stronger and more durable than steel. Rather or not they hold up as long as steel is an entirely different question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trying-it Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 The last remains of the old plate were removed; remaining anvil and new plate both milled flat on mating surfaces for a silky smooth joining B4 the pair were matched together. :rolleyes: 1884 to 2012 = 128-yrs-old, as they keep rebuilding me too I hope to look 1/2 as good at that age!! Stan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 As I recalled Patrick milled a face flat and bolted a new one on for one of his early anvils. As I recall he didn't keep it long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trying-it Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 As I recalled Patrick milled a face flat and bolted a new one on for one of his early anvils. As I recall he didn't keep it long. I never recall saying I "bolted" the new face on. Bolted on and hot riveted are 2 totally different methodologies. At any time Jeff finds he does not like his repaired-my-way anvil, I will gladly buy it off him and use it here! This is the 3rd anvil I repaired with this method and earlier 2 are still happily being used today. Rumor has it I have more headed my way in the very near future for similar repairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 You really need to stop being such a tease and share your technique with the rest of the class! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Read what I said! I never said that yours was bolted; just that Patrick had once applied a new face with bolts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I have not looked at this thread for quite a while, but just now got an urge and have to comment: Simply put this is not something that most folks can do. It is not in the basics of smithing skills list that new folks need to attain. It is a way of patching an item usin skills gained over a lot of years in general metal work. At the least there are few folks thatg have the needed machinery to take this on. In addition metal working skills have to be spot on. The almost simple act of milling the faces of the two metal items. Face of anvil and the new top plate is not going to be done in most home shops. All that said. Those folks in here that have the skills abilities and equipment to tackle this have enough information to do one in this manner. Stan is not teasing by withholding details. A list a mile long of wot to do would simply not enable a person new to metal work to do wot he has done with these anvils. It is the same with other types of anvil repairs, Forge wedlding new plates on, welding in low spots. and all the other thigs thagt ca be done require a skilled person to complete correctly. I follow threads like this and it is not unusual at all for someone to prpose wot they will do to an anvil and in spite of advice given in here they attempt it anyway...many of those drop from sight. We neve see follow up pics of how it worked out! Many smithing skills can be gained on this site but this is not one thagt will be easily learned in a few years or maybe decades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob S Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Stan is not teasing by withholding details. just going from what has been posted I am guessing that after the 'new' plate and the top of the anvil were milled (and maybe ground) flat, that holes were drilled and tapped in the anvil. then matching thru holes with a large countersink were drilled in the new plate. then single ended studs were threaded into the anvil. then the plate was placed over the studs which were then heated with a torch and riveted over filling the countersink to hold the new top plate on. the surface could then be ground removing any remaining 'head'. if done well it would be hard to see the 'heads' unless someone pointed them out. seeems like it could work but if it was me I would look for another anvil. they aren't that hard to find. but what do I know? B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unforgivun Posted September 13, 2012 Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 Bob, we have plenty of other anvils that we use... For what it costs to have this repair done (provided you don't have the capabilities and equipment like Rich stated) you could very well buy a new anvil. BTW - Your guess is pretty close to spot on from the way it was explained to me. This anvil was the first either Jeff or myself worked on. As such, we wanted to get it repaired. Even with the busted face, there was no plan to get rid of this anvil. Stan made that happen. Time will tell if it will hold up. As it was though, it was all but unusable, so it wasn't like this repair caused any damage, rather it gave this little anvil a new life. Maybe a short life, but potentially another 100 years of service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trying-it Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I have not looked at this thread for quite a while, but just now got an urge and have to comment: Simply put this is not something that most folks can do. It is not in the basics of smithing skills list that new folks need to attain. It is a way of patching an item usin skills gained over a lot of years in general metal work. At the least there are few folks thatg have the needed machinery to take this on. In addition metal working skills have to be spot on. The almost simple act of milling the faces of the two metal items. Face of anvil and the new top plate is not going to be done in most home shops. All that said. Those folks in here that have the skills abilities and equipment to tackle this have enough information to do one in this manner. Stan is not teasing by withholding details. A list a mile long of wot to do would simply not enable a person new to metal work to do wot he has done with these anvils. It is the same with other types of anvil repairs, Forge wedlding new plates on, welding in low spots. and all the other thigs thagt ca be done require a skilled person to complete correctly. I follow threads like this and it is not unusual at all for someone to prpose wot they will do to an anvil and in spite of advice given in here they attempt it anyway...many of those drop from sight. We neve see follow up pics of how it worked out! Many smithing skills can be gained on this site but this is not one thagt will be easily learned in a few years or maybe decades. Thank you Rich :D 45 yrs machining-welding-fabricating experience, engineering degrees, a shop most people call a "factory" when they first see it. I can still do a lot here, but my biggest goals today are to pass on a a little of my wisdom and knowledge learned at the school of hard knocks, and to make people smile. To me a friend's smile is priceless and I will use all my skills to make it happen when and if I can! "Rich Hale = Stan is not teasing by withholding details. A list a mile long of wot to do would simply not enable a person new to metal work to do wot he has done with these anvils." This is why IFI has a BP section! Pictures are taken during the actual process, a written explanation of each attached, and it is given to IFI for presentation to the members. When someone asks a question they can be directed towards a specific BP # and the information can be found. The BP format beats typing into individual forum posts and trying to type answers to each with words alone. Once a BP is seen the reader can try it themselves if they are capable, or contact BP author, or simply end up with a better understanding of what all is envolved for that specific topic. Bob S. you are close as Blake has stated, but there are even variables with drilled and tapped holes to be considered. :D I will say that final milling of that face had chips flying everywhere, not the silver or blue flavor, but the glowing red hot little monsters that really keep an old man hopping like molten borax from forge welding a monster billet. You better know how to sharpen carbide bits because it eats them fast! I will submit a BP soon on this topic, patience grasshopper :ph34r: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alley cat Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I resurfaced my fisher anvil,but it wasn't near as bad as the photo above..but it had sat outside for about a century from the looks of it. Rust had took off some of the plate up front and on the hardie hole and the sides were rounded and poor shape..it had been sold as junk in at a scrapyard my uncle worked at here in Texas. And he knew I was on the lookout for an Anvil. Anyways rather than buy special hard facing rods,I just used good ol 7018's! But what I did was I soaked a towl in water and layed it over the face of the anvil, I was working outside in sand now, not standing in water lol! and I would weld about and inch at a time... and immediately cool down the weld, then jump to the other side and laydown another weld and do the same thing. chiped and brushed the weld and another thing I like to do is this.I take an old welding rod and sharpen it to a point and I'll dig slag out of a weld in little pockets, when I'm gonna lay down another pass on top. Just something I picked up in trade school,I had a good teacher and he felt that while he/me and everybody else would grind out like say a 6011 root weld before laying down a 7018 cap weld on Plates that were for "Certifying" U-bend and xrayed tested, that just running a grinder in the weld just slams rocks into weld and would show up in the xrays as "Inclusions" and was the cause of cracks in the ubends. Anyways yeah took me about a day I did use a sander to dress it back down. just used a square and level for reference didn't have it milled or anything. Of course I was concerned with taking the temper out of the anvil but to my surprise it worked great and I did quite a bit of welding I would say about 80 percent of the plate was in tack, but there were parts that over 2 inches wide and 3/4 of inch gone! In fact I just did a front yard fence for my mother and it has the 1/2X1/2 twisted pickets and like 250 scrolls that I beat out of 1/2X1/4 flat stock and it was a real pleasure to work on good rebound didn't wear me out. I use just plan old wood in my forge for the scrolls not coal, ie.."dirty fire" but for mildsteel it was fine. Don't have a camera but maby someday I'll post photos of my outdoor setup. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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