Beginner looking for advise about cleaning up and estate anvil for use

[Smess653]

I've been looking to learn how to smith for a few years now and recently received a little bit a funding to get started. I'm looking into classes to take this winter and have begun gathering some basic tools to get started. 

Last week I was able to get a bid in on a ~100-125# no name anvil at a farm auction and won it for $60. She was a bit rusty so I took a wire brush to it. It has definitely helped, but there are a few good size chips in the edges of the face, and some pitting around the horn. 

What would you folks suggest I do to fix up this anvil before using it? 

Here's a bunch of pictures: https://imgur.com/gallery/lr0Vh

Thanks folks! 

Scot 

[the iron dwarf]

it is in good condition, use it and soon the face will be shiney, avoid hitting the anvil directly, you should always have not metal between your hammer and the anvil.

a small radius on the edges helps prevent chipping and getting cold shuts.

pitting will smooth out with use, dont remove material from the face with a grinder or you will reduce the life of the anvil, a little to SLIGHTLY radius a part of the edge is ok like from the big chip towards the horn to halfway take out some of the minor chips and use that area when you need an edge ( remember take off as little as possible from a small area )

if you get pictures of the underside of the base and heel and horn it may help identify it, also check the weight on bathroom scales

[Danoinbuffalo]

Scot that anvil requires no "fixing" whatsoever. There is nothing wrong with it and nevermind the chips, just work around them. If you simply must have a good clean edge to work with then investigate the heel, that edge is usually chip free. Working cold iron is what put those chips there so remember, strike while the iron is hot!

Do NOT feel you must "fix" anything such as weld or grind on it. Just use it as is.

Congrats, you scored a nice anvil.

[Tubalcain2]

8 hours ago, Danoinbuffalo said:

Do NOT feel you must "fix" anything such as weld or grind on it. Just use it as is.

definitely right. many folks mess there anvils up trying to 'fix' them, especially with a welder. use it as is, or if you rely want, you can oil it with some wd-40 to make it 'shiny'.

[JHCC]

Great score. Follow the advice given above, and get to forging!

[Smess653]

Thanks so much for the advice! Would it be OK to hit it with a wire brush wheel to clean the rest of the surface rust off or should I keep at it with a hand brush? 

It's very humid here in WI as well, would oiling it help to prevent more rust building up on it? 

 

[swedefiddle]

Good Morning, Scot

Clean it up any way you wish or with what ever Tools you have. The suggestion is to 'NOT USE A GRINDER' on the Face. There are a lot of different radius edges you can use, without touching them with a grinder. You can easily move around the Anvil to get what you need. If you clean it with a wire wheel, wipe it with a rag and oil or paint it. The worst thing that will happen to the paint is you may burn some of the paint when using it, Oh Well!! Don't paint there again!!

By using the Anvil, you will clean up the face and edges. Yes you could weld up the edges, then the welds would fall/chip off and you would be right back to the start, No Gain.

Neil

[ThomasPowers]

Sure a power wire brush can be used on it to remove any heavy build up; but remember the best way to polish the face of an anvil is with red hot steel!

If you are worried about the sides you can paint it or wax it or many folks like to use boiled linseed oil on it.  The face should be used often enough to keep it clean!

What is the ball bearing test results on it?  Looks to be a steel faced cast iron body anvil to me and should not ring but still give a good bounce! (very nice for suburbia use)

 

[Smess653]

So I went over it with a wire wheel all over, then cleaned up the horn with a finishing disc (80 grit) to get some of the scratches out of the top of the horn and work a little more of a tip into the horn. Then gave her a good spray down of wd40, a wipe down and a final coat of wd40 to call her good for the day. I'll pick up some linseed oil later in the week. 

1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said:

Looks to be a steel faced cast iron body anvil to me and should not ring but still give a good bounce! (very nice for suburbia use)

I agree with you, it's definitely iron with a steel face. That was my biggest concern when I was looking at how a lot of people "restore" anvils by grinding or milling the face down. 

It doesn't seem to have a ton of rebound or ring, but it'll be more than good enough to learn on. 

[Tubalcain2]

it smacks of vulcan to me.

[matei campan]

the only fix it needs is to secure it very firmly to the stump, not just nails around the feet.

 

[Michael Cochran]

1 hour ago, matei campan said:

the only fix it needs is to secure it very firmly to the stump, not just nails around the feet.

 

You can buy metal strapping at your local hardware store that has a series of holes down the full length. Cut off a piece long enough to wrap over the leg and a couple inches down on the stump. Use long screws at an angle to help pull the straps tight.

[Smess653]

That was actually going to be my next question. Why do people often wrap chain around the base? 

[Glenn]

Chain is wrapped around the waist to dampen the vibration of the anvil and deaden the ring. Securing the anvil securely to the stump will help.

WD40 is a water displacement (WD) product. If you want to protect the metal from rust, use a barrier such as ATF, wax, oil, paint, etc.  You can give the face and horn a wipe with ATF after each use to keep it shiny.

 

[Smess653]

Atf as in transmission fluid? What kind of paint works best for coating the base? 

[tanglediver]

I would consider paint to be "sacrificial". It WILL get chipped, so be it.

It would need to be clean and oil free, then I would use a metal compatible primer. After that, any paint compatible with the primer will suffice. I primered the sides of my JHM with rustoleum red brush grade primer, thinned down a bit. Just oil on the face and horn, thank you. I like the primer red color in place of the original rusty black paint.

[Smess653]

On 11/6/2016 at 8:18 PM, tanglediver said:

I like the primer red color in place of the original rusty black paint.

I liked yours so much I followed suit. Rust red primer and called it good. Here's the before:

And after:

[bbqhoncho]

Good 4 you, I'm a member of www.nysdb.org  as a memberwe award two scholarships a year for unaccredited blacksmithing class 1 is for a full pay at John Campbell another one is kind of open as long as they accept it we wound up going to New England and took a class given by GM Hoffman that's jymm he's on Facebook the guy is real good brought us a long way that's where I would start see what Jim Hoffman has to offer