Avadon Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 I'm sure we've had this convo before but nothing came up in the search. Dunno why. I brought my anvil 3000 miles back from the east coast to the west coast. It was paletted and packed like it was read to go into space. However when I finally unwrapped all the packing somehow there were two dents in the brand new face. (tears) really painful to see. My only guess, somehow a screw or two must have gotten in there and gotten bounced between face of anvil and the plywood ontop of it. They are small dents 1/16'th deep by 1/8'th wide by 1/2" but this anvil is still totally brand new!! It's a 450lb cast gladiator. So what should I do to fix it? Sand the dents out and live with the low spots? Can I make two small spot TIG welds of S7 and then sand it level? (would it even weld well since it's cast steel?) I should I just leave them? (my least attractive option) Or does one just have to wait till the anvil is totally dinged up after a lifetime of use and ready to have the top sanded/milled. I'm just sick over it. I baby'd my anvil so much. I was hoping I'd be the first one to put dents in it if anyone was going to. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 ps.. i have a brazeal type anvil.. it's just a huge block of steel on a stand.. and it's face is S7(ground and sanded). Easy to repair..dents, dings, etc just by welding S7 back in place and re-grinding. But i'm guessing you can't just do this on any ole anvil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Grant Sarver once posted that if you plainish the ridges around the dents, it should push the steel back into place (assuming the steel ridges don't get worn away through use). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 Grant Sarver once posted that if you plainish the ridges around the dents, it should push the steel back into place (assuming the steel ridges don't get worn away through use). holy cow.. i'd be very scared to try that for fear of making it much worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 It's just lighter rapid tapping with a smaller hammer on the ridge that was created when the dent formed (the ridge is like the rim of a crater). I have used this method before on my larger Peter Wright and it works quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evfreek Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 I've also found this peening technique to work on anvils that are not as hard as they should be. As Grant says, do not wait until the little rim of metal has worn down, else there will be nothing to peen back down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 And failing this technique, what would be the next thing to try? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy seale Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 work around them till you wear the whole face down....really if it's just cosmetic don't worry, my ol anvil had a ding or 47 and i just sand it every now and then, just a little but i wouldn't worry about it,jimmy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Motor fright carriers hire only mouth breathing morons and I've had many stout things damaged by them, but an anvil......That's a new low It's gotta be like putting that first dent in a new truck....only it should have been you. It was going to happen anyway so do a little cosmetic repair and as they say on the Sopranos........''forget about it'' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Well... My suggestion is I can send you a picture o the top of my Gladiator and then you could feel real good about only having two little dents in yours... Mine has been through a couple of owners and I think the worst one was a fab shop where it was used to beat cold iron into submission... I know its brand new and you want it to be perfect... But really I think the best thing to do is get use to it, even with its imperfections its better than 99.7% of all the other anvils out there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Which do you admire most: The fellow with a glorious pristine tool chest full of spanking new tools who never does anything or the one with a battered scratched and dinged tool chest full of worn tools that's pushing *great* work out the door on a regular basis? If I was you I'd go out and plannish around the dings and get to work! If you are afraid of using your tools cause they will get used then you are in a sad place. (One reason I buy used pickups---I'm going to throw rusty metal in the back of them so even hail damage doesn't bother me!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Sure wish I could edit out my typos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Planish the dents for all it is worth and use it. If you are worried about doing further damage, welding, grinding and or milling are the LAST things you would want to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Sure wish I could edit out my typos! When your post comes up there should be an "edit" button the bottom right but it only lasts there for a few days. Oh yeah, the topic of the thread! Pien around the dents and put it to work unless you want to try getting the shipper to cover repairs, they ARE insured for damaging freight. Of course there's the time required to get them to accept being responsible. It IS an anvil afterall, what kind of damage could a plywood crate do? That's a proforma question, (I used to work for an outfit that had an "Operator" test that consisted of locking you in a padded cell with an anvil and you had to either lose it or break it to pass. I figured I'd take a look at the anvil, pack it and quit but that's just me.) THEN getting them to do the job or finding someone to do it yourself. I'm guessing just the paper chase will take a couple months at least. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 Thanks for the replies all. I'm pretty sure it was something of my doing. Either a screw that fell in between and bounced around between heavy object sitting onto of anvil and plywood that was ontop of anvil or something of the like. The plywood has not been penetrated so something must have gotten in between there and then all the up's and downs must have bounded that hard piece of metal into the face with fairly significant force. I'll just try the peening and as suggested.. forgetta bou it. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 I fell you pain, really I do, I'm real sorry for the dents, why I think you should just throw that danged anvil away, you'll never be able to turn out decent work on it any way you know. OK, now that we've had the pity party it time to fire up the forge and get some iron hot and start forging, for crying out loud it's an anvil and meant to be beaten on. This is not a tool that is supposed to be pristine all of it's life, it a working tool. Let me know where to send the box of tissues. Was I too harsh? I really am sorry that it got damaged, that's always a pain when you buy something new and it gets buggered up before you get to damage it your self. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ichudov Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 I may be a little slow this morning, but I thought that the purpose of an anvil is to beat iron pieces that lay on top of it, with big hammers? Doesn't that create a lot of dings? An anvil is not a girl, there is no point in a "virgin" anvil. i Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacock Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 I kinda wonder about the hardnes of the face. I know screws are hard but plywood driving them into the face of a new anvil makes me question the the hardness. If it is dents I would think the screws are still in the plywood. Are they dents or scratches? Check the face with a good straight edge and see if there really is a ridge around the dent or if it is just worn down into the face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Can't you just go to the hardlyaware store and buy a can of "Dentbegone"? For peening, you want something like a rounding hammer face. Be sure the hammer face is smooth and polished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironwolfforgeca Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 I have repaired 45 + anvils for small dents just Tig weld it with high corbon rod pre heat some get the cold out of it and grind repair flat CK repair use hot test / chunk of steel :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Falcon 72 Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 An anvil is not a girl, there is no point in a "virgin" anvil. Presumably there is a point to a "virgin" girl?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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