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anvil repair


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Hi all

I have an old anvil, which has a welded plate face, it has been badly abused and appears to have been dropped from a great height causing half of the face to shatter and detach from the anvil. someone has also been at it with an oxy torch at some point. Now, would it be justifiable to get the rest of the face plate milled off and a new plate welded on?

I currently have no photos because I am away from home unfortunately, but it its certainly a large anvil in comparison to most I have seen.

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"dropped from a great height"... ACME brand by chance? :)

Question - how is the rebound on the section of plate remaining on that anvil?  If it rebounds a 1" ball bearing better than 5" from a 10" drop I'd say leave it alone and use it while you seek out a better anvil to replace it with.  

 

 

 

 

Peter -  the reason there isn't a lot of information on repairing anvils out there is because the VAST majority of individuals without some serious equipment and experience will do far more damage than good to the anvil by trying to "Fix" them.  People who created the forge-welded tool steel plate topped wrought iron anvils were master craftsmen working with specialized LARGE scale equipment to both forge and heat treat the final product.  They typically had a lifetime of experience mastering the trade... this isn't a "Youtube quick fix" kind of thing.

You've already indicated that your current anvil had good rebound, the face appears flat and there is plenty of good edge to work with.  What "problem" are you trying to solve by repairing it given the tremendous risk to it's function and value involved in doing so?

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hi Peter, your anvil there looks in almost the same condition as my good anvil I use

 

and Yuppiejr, It was foing in the scrap yard so was possibly dropped by the claw at some point, the reason I ask to replace it is because the only part of the face left is the area around the hardie and pritchel holes.

unfortunately I havnt had a chance to remove the paint on it and see what the maker is.

 

and im well aware its no simple task, I would send it into a machine shop and the local heat treat place to get done professionally.

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5 minutes ago, Stew1803 said:

hi Peter, your anvil there looks in almost the same condition as my good anvil I use

 

and Yuppiejr, It was foing in the scrap yard so was possibly dropped by the claw at some point, the reason I ask to replace it is because the only part of the face left is the area around the hardie and pritchel holes.

unfortunately I havnt had a chance to remove the paint on it and see what the maker is.

 

and im well aware its no simple task, I would send it into a machine shop and the local heat treat place to get done professionally.

 

tumblr_inline_mk9vhaSN9s1qz4rgp.jpg

Pardon my ACME / Roadrunner vs Wile E Coyote reference... I spent too many hours watching TV in my youth. :)

Restoring an old anvil that has been legitimately broken sounds like an interesting project, would make an interesting before-after photo progression if you end up deciding to share.  Good luck!

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Milling off the face completely and putting a new one on, is a very laborious project and unless you have the equipment to put the face back on the old way with a forge weld  you would be remiss.. 

If you really want to have it functional preheat the anvil and then use a hard facing rod..  There are youtube videos as well as other forums with like information.  New England Blacksmiths have an anvil rebuild clinic every so often which they have all the equpment.. 

If you have a large arc welder 225amp -250amps you could take off the plate, bevel out both plate and anvil and then arc weld on a new face being extra careful not to get any voids or inclusions..  Then harden and temper the edges but just the hardening process alone can be costly so unless you have access to all the equipment yourself or are highly skilled it's best to find a different anvil..    

 

There are still deals out there to be had.. 

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This forum has many threads on repairing anvils, the general concenus in most cases is that the anvil needs no repair and any work is likely to remove usefull life at best and at worst ruin it. In cases where there is a need to repair and anvil no fruitfull advice can be given without plenty of documentation for those who know to make an assesment. So lots of pictures from all round the anvil and be ready for a plethera of questions. Even sending an anvil to a machine shop/welders/heat treaters for work to be carried out is no guarantee that the anvil will be improved as most will have no experience of working on/repairing or treating an anvil.

So we need pictures and info if you want sound advice.

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1 minute ago, jlpservicesinc said:

 New England Blacksmiths have an anvil rebuild clinic every so often which they have all the equpment.. 

This is held every Jan. in Colrain Mass. at a extremely well equip. professional shop, owner of which is the present President of NEB and started by his father a number of years ago.  I've been wanting to go watch but scheduling (mine) has kept me from doing so.  I  do know the spaces are taken very early.  I've never heard a negative comment from any  participant.  I  know this runs contrary to 99.9% of the comments on IFI but it seems to  work and people waiting in line to get a spot.   

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I certainly don't have the tools or skills to reface it properly. I do have the skills to weld a new plate on, but again I doubt I could hear treat it my self successfully.

I will maybe give it a miss on the advice of yourselves, I may be able to find a use for it other than an ornament.

and I most certainly wont make the anvil clinic. id be able to buy 3 or 4 new anvils for the cost of flying and shipping an anvil to the states :huh:

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25 minutes ago, Stew1803 said:

I certainly don't have the tools or skills to reface it properly. I do have the skills to weld a new plate on, but again I doubt I could hear treat it my self successfully.

I will maybe give it a miss on the advice of yourselves, I may be able to find a use for it other than an ornament.

and I most certainly wont make the anvil clinic. id be able to buy 3 or 4 new anvils for the cost of flying and shipping an anvil to the states :huh:

When you say weld a plate on, do you mean with forge and anvil or do you mean with arc welding.. 

 

I've reforged or as better known " redressed" several anvils with excellent results but again I was setup for it.. The faces were well attached  and stayed that way in the forging process as well as the heat treat which I did in house.  I've done them up to 200lbs, which was the largest I was setup for..  

Like I posted earlier if you are setup for it, makes all the difference in a good job vs ruined or lack luster job.. 

If you really do want to fix the face then cleaning up all the cracks and voids in the face,  Bevel out the area nest to the existing face, then use a hard facing rod that is a softer Rc for the base layer and then switch to a higher finished Rc layer..  While not perfect from the stand point of an anvil made 100 years ago as it now will ruin it's authentic hand made nature it will make the anvil fully functional offering up good corners, a flat face..  and if you do damage it in the future can just re fill the dents with the hard facing, grind down and it's brand new again. 

Once i get the full shop up.. I'll be putting in a forge for anvils as I have 2 that need a redress and the forges I have now are undersized for the job..  One is 200+ the other is 330lbs.. 

It's your anvil and if you feel comfortable with doing the work and then finding a heat treater or finding a group to help you can do it with a lot of water a big wood fire or a stream or pond..   Just understand the face if not thoroughly attached will come off.. 

 

If you arc weld the new plate on and it's a good clean welded out portion, it will work fine and the incidents of the face popping off is very small vs forge welded on.. 

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I would love to be able to redress the face like originally done, but that is far out of my league.

ill most like just keep it until I either feel comfortable doing it, or meet some people who can.

I fully understand the operation needed, but I just don't have the skills or equipment currently. ill put it on the project list for the future.

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Don't despair entirely Stew, there may be other options open to you to "improve" your anvils performance depending on it's current state, if you can get some pictures up I'm sure someone can provide you with addition suggestions. If you have the equipment and ability the "hard face" welding may be a route you could take but you really need to be sure you will be doing more good than harm. (we need the pictures)

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There's some edge damage on the anvil face.

Im planning to remove the surface rust first then i will take another pic of the anvil as a comparison before I try repair it. 

The only thing that bothers me is the edge of the anvil face is all chipped and dented. I want to weld fill it back then smooth out the edges. But it seems like that might do more harm then good it seems

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