A long time ago , I posted a thread about a 225 pound hay budden that the great blacksmith Jim Keiffer from pennsylvania repaired for me. It was broken off at the hardy hole, but otherwise was in perfect condition. It sat on my shop floor for three decades. Jim Keiffer forged a new heel, then forge welded a high carbon steel plate to the top of it, then forge welded the entire mass onto the body of the anvil, using his tandem brick forges. The finished product rings like a church bell, and works like a brand new hay budden. I am reposting the pictures.

Hi. This is really a beautiful repair job. I think I have the same anvil and I would not have hesitated to sledge on hardy tools. Now, I am reconsidering. Thanks for the pics. Too bad we don't have a photo of the repair sequence. Must have been magnificent.

Rust looks odd for something that's been up to welding temps. Did you set it outside to rust afterwards? (but then the heel didn't rust to match???)

Old blacksmith mags often had ads for places that would repair anvils by re-facing or replacing missing parts the same way they were originally made. Good to hear that option hasn't vanished!

I got caught in a rainstorm doing a victorian museum blacksmith demo. For some reason, that confounds me, the heel that he forge welded to the body does not rust as fast as the rest of the anvil

I noticed the pictures, like many others, disappeared into thin air......lucky I saved them