Hey guys I'm new here and to forging so I apologize if a similar topic exists... I recently got a Peter Wright anvil (roughly 250#) in rough shape (sagged, chipped edge, pitted face.) I have been researching anvil repair and with a MIG welder the recommended wire is Rankin DDG for the top coat. That is harder to find so I was wondering what your opinion of this Lincor 60-0 is. Do you think it is comparable?

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/Consumables/Pages/product.aspx?product=Products_Consumable_HardfacingConsumables-Lincore-Lincore60-O%28LincolnElectric%29

Howdy from East TEXAS!! and welcome to IFI!
How about posting a few GOOD pictures of the anvil, with shots of the edges and face. More times then not, it is not as bad as you would think. Allow us to have a look before you start doing any welding to it. If not done correctly you could end up with a fairly large boat anchor!

thanks, i have a couple of pics on my computer but i'll go take some better ones. Here's a couple for now

the sag is only about 3/16ths of an inch

Honestly, I think I'd use that anvil as is.

Yeah Its pretty much the same wire. Not sure how cost effective it would be since that wire is over $200.00 a spool.

Honestly, I had an anvil with a sway-back when I first started down this road, and it was a pain to deal with. Of course, I was new to smithing and didn't know my butt from a butterbean.

What you have is perfectly serviceable, though you might want to grind of that overhanging lip so it doesn't spall off. For the cost of the wire and the amount of work you'd need to do to bring the anvil up to temp for a good bond, I'd be sorely tempted to use it as-is for awhile. After a few weeks/months smithing on it, and you just can't stand the look... then I'd think about repairing it.

NO. that's hard facing wire and not so good for anvil faces. It's abrasion resistant and anvil faces need to be primarily impact and deformation resistant. Flux core wire lays a rougher bead than GMAW and will REQUIRE grinding to finish. Ever grind abrasion resistant metal? Think lots of time and grinding disks, cup stones, etc. OR the expensive kind diamond or zirconia.

Use build up wire, it's intended to underlay things like hard facing so it's rigidly impact resistant but does NOT work harden to a degree it'll chip or crack. It isn't HARD so it's reasonable to grind to finish and better yet, it'll lay down right over HC steel, mild or even WI. It's not picky like hard facing.

That said, being what I think is the most important and urgent bit of advice, I'd just put that old workhorse to work. Sure rounding the chipped edges would be a good idea, you have plenty of edge to smith with. There's plenty of reasonably clean face as well, you don't really need much more than the face of your hammer to do good finish work. A little sway is actually a good thing believe it or not, it really helps keep work straight without reducing the cross section unnecessarily.

So, those are my several bits worth: Put it to work as is. If you just HAVE to "repair" it use build up rod/wire and don't forget to pre-heat, post heat and re heat treat it. We'll pass advice there too.

Frosty the Lucky.

Here is a proven method.
http://www.iforgeiro...vil-repair-r330
mg740 is available as wire.

Another method that is well proven
http://www.iforgeiro...epair-approach/

I do not know if Stoody makes a wire equivalent, they probably do.

The lincore states that it will check crack, which immediately makes it unsuitable. You need a non-checking product.

That anvil is perfectly usable the way it is. The extra rounded edges in places will be more annoying than the sway. Sway is often helpful.

Phil

Use it as is. You may end up using the radiused edges for bending etc. Get hammerin'.

Thanks everyone I appreciate the feedback.
I've been forging on it for about a month now and the only thing that really annoys me is that it has a sag across the width of the anvil so sometimes if i hit that spot just right the work will act like a level and really wrench on my wrist pretty good, sometimes it pops out of the tongs and goes flyin. Also some of the pits are really deep and there isn't much of a truly flat surface anywhere on the face. I would like to just grind part of it flat but I know that the plates on PWs are not very thick to begin with and with the amount of use this anvil has gotten over the years it's probably even thinner so i'm nervous of grinding through it or making it too thin.

Is it really a crazy amount of work to fill in the cross-sag (for lack of a better term) and the pits with weld?

Personally I like Rob Grunter's process of rebuilding an anvil. It has worked very well for me in the past, only I changed the Stoody 1105 1/8in rod to Stoody 965 G .045 wire. This wire held up fine for the anvils I rebuild. When it comes time to grind down the hard facing I use a 9in Milwaukee angle grinder with a 6in Norton Charger cup stone works great. Just my opinion on doing rebuild.

Also that anvil is just fine to use until you are sure if you want to rebuild it

If you're having a hard time working on that anvil's surface, you have two choices.

1. You take a few classes from professional smiths that have been in the game for awhile. You'll be surprised at what you can learn.

2. You rebuild the face of the anvil and hope that the gnarly face was/is the cause of the problems.

Having worked on an anvil that was sway-backed and a bit gnarly, I totally sympathize with you. And I would urge you to fix the anvil. For me, there's nothing worse than a tool that looks beaten and abused, and that negative vibe ( I believe ) has an impact on my work.

... For me, there's nothing worse than a tool that looks beaten and abused, and that negative vibe ( I believe ) has an impact on my work.

I feel similar. My personal Trenton anvil has broken edges, likely from heavy cold work such as resizing horse shoes cold, which breaks the edges up in a particular way.

I made a block for the hardy for when I need sharp, or sharper edges, but I still would like clean even radius edges with the radius appropriate to the anvil, and the location on the anvil. There is a FAQ on Anvilfire.com regarding edge radii. There are numerous threads on IFI regarding an edge block. Brian Brazeal likes making 6 sided ones, mine is 4 sided.

I WANT to weld up my edges and the other damage to the face. $200 (estimate for materials) won't likely purchase an equivalent anvil in better condition, but then someone scored a perfect HB for $10 a few months ago... My welding skills (and equipment) are currently less than par, so I need practice, and that requires time to practice.

You do have a 250# anvil, which will be suitable for the rest of your life unless you get into massive industrial forging. If you do take on the task of repairing this anvil, buy the correct materials and tools (buy, borrow, rent) to do the whole job. Get some Tempil sticks in suitable temperatures to indicate appropriate preheat temperatures. Have blankets suitable for slow cooling ready.


Phil

The issue with welding this is that it isn't just a matter of laying some bead down. When dealing with tool steels temperature control is a big factor in controlling cracking, hardness, etc. The whole anvil should be warmed up, beads laid down, in some cases peening is done between beads, then the anvil has to cool at a rate that won't promote cracking, or separation of the entire face.

One method that may be best for this anvil is just adding a thick plate on top instead of building it up. If it was mine I might look into attaching a piece of forklift tine to the top then filling in underneath it. Another way would be to mill out the swayed area, and add a piece in. There are 100 ways to get a flat surface on this anvil, and each will have its merits, but in the end it will come down to cost, and time. What can you do, and what would you have to have done for you?

Check around, you may find a better anvil in someone's yard that you can swap this one for. They are out there.

Thanks again everyone, I'll have to really think about this for a while. I might just fill in the pits and the chipped edges and leave the sway alone. I got the anvil for free so I would be happy to invest some time and money into fixing it up to perfect working condition. They are hard to find around here (CT) so I'd rather spend my time and money fixing this old beauty than trying to find another.

I'll keep you guys posted on any work that I do to this anvil

ajkbruin I have repairs 45 + anvils I use 1105 stoody arc rod & never had a problem with any of them nor any complaints !
& I see about 8 of those anvils yearly & are still in good shape even the ones in blacksmith school even after 7 years not bad !
read anvil repair -- Rod Gunther I called stoody talked to there welding rod tech way back there 2 rods was 1105 & 2110
2110 is a bit harder I haven't used 2110 yet so I can't say -- But can call stoody ask for a tech & ask what kind of mig wire to use
make sure you tell them you want to fix an anvil there very helpful

Steve's welding

Thanks everyone I appreciate the feedback.
I've been forging on it for about a month now and the only thing that really annoys me is that it has a sag across the width of the anvil so sometimes if i hit that spot just right the work will act like a level and really wrench on my wrist pretty good, sometimes it pops out of the tongs and goes flyin. Also some of the pits are really deep and there isn't much of a truly flat surface anywhere on the face. I would like to just grind part of it flat but I know that the plates on PWs are not very thick to begin with and with the amount of use this anvil has gotten over the years it's probably even thinner so i'm nervous of grinding through it or making it too thin.

Is it really a crazy amount of work to fill in the cross-sag (for lack of a better term) and the pits with weld?

Sounds to me that you need to keep your piece HOT, you may be working too cold. Cold metal doesn't move as easy and therefore can "act like a level and really wrench on my wrist pretty good...." Also sounds like you need better hammer control. this comes with time at the anvil swinging a hammer correctly. I agree with VaughnT, find someone close to take a few lessons from. If we knew where you were we could give you some names of people or schools close to you that would be willing to help. As far as we know you could be in Little Rabbit, Australia. Now don't get me wrong, there are some excellent smiths in Australia! ^_^ Just update your profile giving your location so we can possibly hook you up with another smith in your area. I would spend a lot more time learning HOW to forge before I started messing with that anvil....but that's just me....AND to do a repair correctly will cost a considerable amount of TIME and $$.

OK I'll share my secret method of getting a great repair on a battered anvil: I take it to an ABANA Affiliate Anvil Repair Workshop! Last one the host taught welding at the college and not only had an optical pyrometer to judge preheat temps; he had *big* industrial welders to make the job go fast and *right*. I demanded he accept propane for the preheat and the cost of the consumables; but he gave his time for free.

This was the second time I had repaired an anvil at one of these---the first time was in Ohio, USA; the second in Las Cruces NM.