An Anvil Block...

[VaughnT]

I'm always looking for a welding project and the other day I got the idea to make a square-edged block for my anvil.  I have plenty of good edges on my Fisher, but I saw one of these blocks being used in a few internet videos and thought I'd better make one for myself so I don't get picked on by the other blacksmiths out there.

 

Peer pressure is an awful thing!

 

My first thought was to build something up from the 1" solid stock I have left over from building my anvil stand.  Then my dad pointed out these contraptions we picked up from an auction several years ago.  We never did figure out what they were used for, but the 90º angles made them great for doing lay-ups.  Having plenty of lay-up stuff, Pops thought my project would be a great way use some of the excess laying around.

 

So, first thing I did was to cut off the top 2" of the gadget.  I'm very thankful to have a portable bandsaw!

 

 

Then it's off to my 2x72 belt grinder to true up the cut face. 

 

 

Pretty, huh???  Now it's time to ugly it up with some of my trademark welding.....

 

 

1/8" 7018 rod on cleaned metal, no paint or rust.  The 1" stem was ground to a semi-point so I could get deep with the rod.  One root pass and one cap.  Ugh! Splatter splatter everywhere, and not a stack of dimes to be seen!  Still, not too bad considering what I've done in the past.  I'm trying to figure out the balance between Amps, Volts, Rod, Material and all that other stuff that welders deal with, but it's a very slow go.  Try as I might, I can't see a pattern to it all.

 

Still, the stem is firmly attached and I might do another pass or two tomorrow just because I can.  It sits flat on the anvil and gives me three 90º angles and one face that's slightly less than 90º.  I might dress that face up so the groove is more of a radius.  The other three faces will have the corners dressed to varying radii.  The finished face measures 2 1/8" x 2 3/8" and sits 2" tall.  Next.... get the forge up and running so I can start making stuff on my new anvil block!

 

[DSW]

That should work well despite the ugly welds.

 

Small short welds like that can be a real PITA to do well. There isn't much to see with those welds, but from your general description of lots of spatter, your arc length might have been too long, or your rod angle was way off. I don't see the signs of the amperage being excessively high which would also give you a ton of spatter.

 

 

I'd need more information and longer welds with picts to give you much more help right now.

[arkie]

Vaughn,

 

As DSW pointed out, the welds probably won't be an issue.  Any significant force on the block will mostly be downward on the block and anvil face surfaces, not on the welds.  Also, it's possible that your bevels were too deep and the rod flux contacted the block and square stock leaving a gap in the bevel, and that might have contributed to a type of long-arcing, hence bad bead.  Just a WAG.

 

I've been looking for a piece of steel like your block, 'cause I need to make one like that also.

[VaughnT]

"too deep and the rod flux contacted the block and square stock"

 

Yup, I definitely noticed that happening.  I didn't think it was a big deal in this application because there's minimal shear force on the weld.  How much does the weld bead penetrate into the stock being welded?  I was hoping to get full penetration by attacking from all four sides (just because), but is that possible on inch-thick stock without beveling the stock to a point?

 

What does the angle of your rod have to do with anything?

 

Also noted that after stopping to chip the slag off, the end of my rod was countersunk leaving a sixteenth or so of flux protruding like a rim.  Is this a result of the long-arcing or something else?

 

Oh, and how in the world am I going to get those *#&^! corners to stop melting?  It's supposed to have a nice smooth radius from the stem to the block!  

 

I'll run some longer beads tomorrow...... or go shopping for a new welding machine!

[arkie]

"too deep and the rod flux contacted the block and square stock"

 

Yup, I definitely noticed that happening.  I didn't think it was a big deal in this application because there's minimal shear force on the weld.  How much does the weld bead penetrate into the stock being welded?  I was hoping to get full penetration by attacking from all four sides (just because), but is that possible on inch-thick stock without beveling the stock to a point?

 

I have welded 1" bar stock on various hardie tools with no bevel.  Just do it as a fillet weld.  It's not structural, so penetration is not critical.  With thick stock like that you normally will not get perfect or deep penetration, but it will be just fine for a hardie tool.

 

What does the angle of your rod have to do with anything?

 

Since that is basically a fillet weld, the rod angle needs to be, ideally, 45 deg. to both pieces, with a slight tilt in the direction of travel.

 

Also noted that after stopping to chip the slag off, the end of my rod was countersunk leaving a sixteenth or so of flux protruding like a rim.  Is this a result of the long-arcing or something else?

 

The fingernail, as it's called, on the end of the rod is characteristic of 7018 rods after running a bead.  Mostly, it's a nuisance for clean restrikes/restarts.  Just rake the end of the rod across a file (not grounded) or a concrete floor to flake off the flux fingernail and expose fresh rod metal and new flux.

 

Oh, and how in the world am I going to get those *#&^! corners to stop melting?  It's supposed to have a nice smooth radius from the stem to the block!

 

For a hardie tool, you don't see them.  Heat builds up at the end of a bead, so melting at the end is common.  Just quickly move your rod back over the end of the bead and lift off.  That'll give you a smoother bead termination.

 

I'll run some longer beads tomorrow...... or go shopping for a new welding machine!

 

Vaughn, I got my replies mixed in with your quote, so you'll have to read through it to get the reply....sorry.

[DSW]

It's almost impossible to get full penetration on 1" material without some sort of a bevel. That said not all welds need full penetration for strength. A fillet weld gains it's strength from the material that is deposited on each "leg" A "leg" being the distance up each piece the weld flows onto. The down side is that that material interferes with things like having the anvil block sit flush in this application. Grind off the majority of the filet weld, and you have removed the majority of the strength.

 

A simple way to determine how much penetration you are really getting with a fillet weld is to weld up a T joint and then cut the joint perpendicular to the weld. You should have fusion along all the sides and down in the corner. If you polish the weld and acid etch it with muriatic acid, you will actually see where the line of fusion is in the base metal. A bit of heat from a heat gun can help pull up the pattern easier.

 

 

 

As far as rod angle having to do with arc length, think about it this way. The arc comes from the "center" of the rod. The flux holds the center away from the material. If you hold the rod vertical, the arc can get close to the material with no issue. As you tilt the rod over farther and farther, the distance from the center of the rod to the work in a straight line with the rod increases. This causes a longer arc between the work and the rod. I'm over simplifying this, but it's the best description I can think of to explain this this evening. I'm not sure if the site rules allow me to post up links to other sites or not. I'll have to check with one of the Mods or Admin, or did out my original picts on the subject and repost a thread I did a while back else where on the subject of arc length.

 

 

The sunken in rod is typical of what are typically referred to as "drag" rods. 7018 can be a drag rod, and does exhibit this on occasion. However 7018 often just gets a glassy slag on the end of the rod that makes restarts a PITA on occasion. You often have to break off that glassy tip to get easy restarts. 7014 does exactly what you describe all the time. That "tube" of flux is what allows you to "drag" the rod. The rod rides on that tube of flux as the rod burns and makes it easy to maintain a constant arc length.

 

 

As far as avoiding melting the corners, a good bit of that is simply practice I'm afraid. Part of this is due to having a long arc. Part is that you are coming up to a "thin" edge and need to correct for this as you weld.  I'll really have to check on posting that link or redoing the thread so it makes sense to you.One thing that can help is welding around a corner. Start on one side, and wrap around and end on the second side. That's not that easy on very short welds.

 

 

 

Oh here is an example of an etched weld. Thanks goes out to Rick V for posting this on another site. You can clearly see how much the weld blended into the base metal. It's not the greatest weld, but the pict clearly shows the line where the weld fused with the base material.

[VaughnT]

Thank you both for the timely and detailed explanations.

 

I wasn't aware that I was using a rod that I was supposed to be dragging towards me and that would explain why several times I got the feeling of snagging on something as I was pushing the rod away from me.  I guess that fingernail of flux was grabbing on something and throwing off my fung schway.

 

I'll try dragging the rod tomorrow and see if that goes a bit smoother.

[DSW]

Rule of thumb is "If there is slag, you drag". The arc pushes the slag back away from the puddle instead of in front of it where you can run over it and bury it in the weld. There are exceptions to this, but on average you want the rod or gun if doing FC wire, pointed back towards the weld you have already laid down.

 

When doing stick, I like to set the work on a slight angle. Since I'm right handed, I like to start in close to me on the left, and then mover to the right and away as I rotate my arms.  The angle usually ends up being roughly 30 deg from parallel.This is usually the way I show students to start welding. Once you gain experience, it's much easier to do things like weld "backwards", where I start on the right and weld to the left even though I'm right handed. Not something I'd recommend to someone just starting out learning.

[SoCal Dave]

Great stuff guys.  Keep it coming.  

[yahoo2]

Hi Vaughn,

Are you preheating some rods in the oven to drive the moisture out before you start? makes a big difference with low hydrogen rods makes em run a lot smoother and easier to strike. If you go down a rod size from 3.2 to 2.5mm for the first weld it will let you travel the rod slower and give you more time to lay a weld down, lot easier for a short weld, it will also let you get right into the bevel. you should be able to see the two pieces of metal melting under the rod arc and the molten rod piling up behind this, then a distinct lip line where the arc gas is holding the slag back then the slag swirling and setting behind this as you drag the rod.

 

always have the piece of steel that will absorb the most heat before melting on the bottom (the flat plate) for the first weld so gravity works with you, the piece with edges and corners will melt very easily in the low mass areas.

 

When i was starting out I would always set up a practice piece with a couple of bits of scrap plate and burn a rod to check my angles, travel speed and power setting was good before attempting the real thing.

 

Bit of a grind to knock of the high points and a good fillet weld over the top and it should come up a treat.