Rclats Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Hello lads, I have had an anvil given to me by a farrier friend and it's in Rough shape, I want to have it refaced and reheat tested and tempered. Contacted a local heat treating outfit but I'm not sure what to tell them in regards to what kind of steel it is(they asked me to be specific and I don't even know what I have here) Only identifying marks are the stone weights it looks like 1 21 26' so I am assuming 1 2 26 since I was told it was 180lb anvil so 1 2 26 being 184 I assume that's the middle number is a two. That all being said it looks like a peter wright but the only other marks I could find after grinding with wire brush attachments etc(did this to my sodefers to find out what that one was) was what looks like a c on the base under the horn and a circular something on the base on the side with the hardy. Anyone seen this or know what's it is and what would be made of? Will post pics. Thanks Rob As you can see she is in rough shape but still has good rebound and no cracks as she still rings like a bell. Kinda tough to make tongs with out a sharp corner Not sure why all my pics are upside down but sometimes the ol iPad gets a little goofy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 OK now turn the anvil upside down and show us a picture of it's base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rclats Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 Will do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quint Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 My first guess with that flat bottom and the chipping is a swedish anvil. Does it seem like solid steel vise a top plate. Second thought would be a hay budden because of that weld line at the waste. Not sure who else does that and I cant remember what the bottom of mine looks like. Were there any remnants of numbers on the front foot at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 HBs usually have the hourglass indentation on/in the base; though the early ones this is often worn flat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan C Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Here's a good link on doing an anvil restoration. Based on the pictures you provided I'd put them to use for at least a year and then decide whether you really need to invest the time and money into restoring them. As far as the sharp edges made an edge hardy and be done with it. In my case I have a piece of RR track mounted vertically that works well when I actually need a sharp edge. '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>> When I got my first anvil over a year ago I wanted to repair the few divots & edges as well, but after putting her to use while it'd be nice I'd much rather spend time forging things vs. doing an anvil repair that's mostly cosmetic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rclats Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 Here I was thinking peter wright or columbian. I just want to know if I can heat treat this sucker. Dan C, how does one make an edge hardy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan C Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I always saves threads like this for future reference. Here are the links. Here is a picture of my track anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rclats Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 It appears that on on of the front feet there may have been something like a combination of numbers or letters or both but it is all so very worn that maybe it's my imagination. It's the foot below the heel. It looks like wrought with a plate to me as the base is very bubbly/poured sort of looking and the top is nice and smooth and looks like a weld line or at least a colour difference between metals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Special Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Now the fun part. Turn the anvil up where the lettered part is upwards, and rub regular baking flour across it to fill in the depressions. That'll help you see those worn away bits. Take a picture and post if possible, sometimes people on here know better than us what those faded bits are supposed to be. You can also try this on the other surfaces (sides, feet, etc). Sometimes there's a stamp you didn't know was there until you try this. You can use baby powder or something too, but I like flour for this method, seems to do the best. May take a couple of tries, between overfilling the depressions, and wiping out too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Special Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Like this. :D http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37802-ntm7/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37922-pv4/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37801-ntm6/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Heat Treat: is the face too soft? Heat treating an anvil face *can* be done with the caveat that it may result in the loss of the face plate. I direct your attention to Charles McRaven's "Country Blacksmithing" where describes using a local VFD's high pressure hose to do the quenching of a repaired anvil's face to deal with the steam jacket issue. Generally the first rule of anvil repair is: "First do no harm". Why we suggest people use their anvil a while and decide what *has* to be done, what can be lived with and what is actually not a flaw but a feature. Note that several American anvil makers went to cast mild steel bases that were then welded to the upper sections---this welding was even electric arc in the latter years so it's possible to have a "cast" (steel) base and a higher carbon top or top with a higher carbon face forge welded on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluidsteel Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 The short answer about heat treat is probably not. If you want to weld the edges up and follow the proper method laid out above re-heat treating won't be needed. If you search anvil heat treat here you will see that it's hard to get enough water to quench a large anvil properly. I've seen several anvils edges that have been welded up with 7018 rod and used for years with no more chipping on the edges. You could even dress those edges to a nice radius and use as is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
101 H-B Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Your anvil looks like a Columbian cast steel anvil made in Cleveland Ohio. They are the only ones I have seen that beveled all four edges of the waist. The rough casting such as the noticeable difference between the upper and lower half of the casting is also seen on their anvils from time to time, but it is cast in one piece. Good luck with the restoration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rclats Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 Nobody special thanks for chiming in but the only depressions are the weight marks. 101 H-B, I also suspect it's a columbian as there is a raised c on the front of the leg base and pretty well matches your description. Any idea what kind of steel would have traditionally been used in these anvils? Thanks Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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