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I Forge Iron

Hammer marks on new anvil face


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1 hour ago, AdamG said:

Yeah.  My buddy gave me an industrial ball bearing that must be 2.5" in diameter... I daren't.

It's crying out to be a knife or three. I figure it should weigh around 2.3lbs. a couple few blades then. make a nice ball stake or a pair of mushroom stakes. It's make a good die to make a cup swage, drive it shallow for a turning hammer swage.

It might not bake such good blades on second thought, aren't large  bearings lower carbon steel and case hardened?

Frosty The Lucky.

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One possibility that has ben mentioned, it may just be grinding burs that are planishing down  Depending on the grit and how hard and fast it was ground, the burs could be quite soft from the heat of grinding and there tiny cross section while the anvil surface proper could be quite hard.  If that is the case it should be nearly impossible to measure the dent or mark as it's basically just planishing the "fuzz' on the surface.

If you miss with my Refflinghaus anvil you'd better not have your head in the way or your going to eat the hammer.  I have a Peddinghaus hammer and it won't mark it.  I checked the hardness with a file set and best as I can tell the hardness varies from 59-61 rockwell.

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10 hours ago, Frosty said:

It's crying out to be a knife or three. I figure it should weigh around 2.3lbs. a couple few blades then. make a nice ball stake or a pair of mushroom stakes. It's make a good die to make a cup swage, drive it shallow for a turning hammer swage.

It might not bake such good blades on second thought, aren't large  bearings lower carbon steel and case hardened?

Frosty The Lucky.

I'm not sure.  I thought they were all 52100.  It's a bit big for my equipment right now... don't even have tongs to handle a sphere that size, but I think I would weld on some rebar anyway.  I'm only half-way through my move, so it will be a while till I get around to the fun stuff.  Another month at least (bathrooms are torn out).

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Easy way to tell, pre-heat and weld a handle on, bring up to forging temp, no hotter than 1625 deg. F., and hammer on it for a couple of hours.  If at the end of a couple of hours it's a slightly squarish ball, then it's likely it's 52100.  If it's a nice square or even drawn out, then it's something else.

It's subject to be 52100, but it could also be 440c, or any variation of steel out there.  Only way to really know is forge out a blade and heat treat it and test it.

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I've got too many projects going at once.  New anvil needs a base.  Need to move in.  Need a chimney.  Need a foot pedal and a bit more welding on my WIP power hammer.

 

Got more ambition than time!

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On 6/7/2016 at 11:02 PM, bigb said:

Going to follow this thread as the old mouse Hole I bought last month seems to have a soft face as well, shows hammer dents from just rebound testing like yours.

On an old anvil, that could be either from an improperly hardened steel or from having the steel face missing entirely. The wrought iron body gives good rebound, but isn't hard enough to resist denting.

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  • 3 months later...

You didn't need to drop the bearing that many times, it's not like  it's anvil CPR it's dead. Did that big honking bearing dent the face? Don't drop it from higher or it will. I pack a 3/8" bearing ball when I'm yard, garage, etc. saling in case I find an anvil. Have you tried carrying that big bearing around in your pocket?

Frosty The Lucky.

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