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I Forge Iron

Surfacing an anvil?


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Generally considered bad way to go to take more than the tiniest bit off the top, and that chancy. Hardplate's not terribly thick on a lot of anvils, and may not be hardened to a great depth, so it can potentially make it have less rebound. This is sometimes overstated, as many people go nuts with a mill or grinder in search of perfectly crisp edges (undesirable), and a perfectly flat surface (not undesirable, but not necessary), and more or less ruin a lot of good anvils. If you do choose to do it, you may want to mill the bottom first to make sure it takes it off evenly on top.

But....a lot of damaged anvils are very useable and many have minor pock marks and dings that work their way out with use. A badly damaged one can also be repaired by hardfacing with welding rods, but it's time consuming and expensive. Post pics when you can, you'll get a lot of advice.

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In 34 years of smithing I'm up to around *3* anvils that I've looked at and said "I think milling the face is a good idea"  I have see, in person, *many* anvils ruined by people milling their faces.  First do no harm!  If you can post a picture we can give you a better idea of what if any work the anvil would profit from.

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17 hours ago, natenaaron said:

I've got a nibble on the anvil line.  Some guy knows a guy, who knows another guy whose granddad might have had one.  I was told it might be pretty dinged up.  Is it possible to put it through a resurfacing machine if it passes the bounce test?

Get it first.  Look at it,  Post photos.  Test it.  Then comments will be more informed, not just speculation. 

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