new steel for anvil face

[LITTLEJOHN]

I have a chance to buy a 124 lb mouse hole anvil that is in great shape body wise except for the fact that the face is broken and pieces are missing.It looks as if it was a poor weld when it was made.I am needing to find out what kind of steel to use to weld on a new face.I have a mig and can weld one on and think for the money it will be worth it to have a good anvil in the end. the asking price is $80. Is it worth it and how hard is it with the exception of time and some instruction on how?

[nett]

BP0101 Anvil Repair

[LITTLEJOHN]

Thanks for the help! I have tried getting into the BP0232 and 0101 sites and for some reason couldnt get in so I appreciate the help! I think with some work I can have a good second anvil .Thanks again!

[nett]

Getting into the blueprints has been next to impossible while the are reorganizing them. All my bookmarks to neat BP's are now dead, and I'm not sure how the access the BP's on a regular basis. BP232 is an elusive one that I can't find either.

[racer3j]

Ironsurgeon's rework there is very fine craftsmanship. As I keep learning more about what to look for I am humbled. I have a mig(Lincoln 170) and several torches. I consider that my best quality work is torch based. Comments on such a good plan with oxy-acet? Welding is one of my favorite pastimes and I would feel good about rescuing the orphan anvils.jet

[Rich Hale]

Anvil faces are not welded around the edges,,to do so would leave a dead faced anvil and I am not sure you would be pleased with it. The faces are forge welded on and that is out of the reach of almost everyone. Pass on the anvil and put the money towards one you can use.

[Johannes]

unless you have a huge forge and a small crane of some kind, and a couple of guys with sledges, and lots of forge welding experience.... unless all of that be the case.. i would do as Rich advises

[matt87]

Frosty has an experiment planned involving forge-brazing a new steel face onto an anvil body, but no one's sure if it'll work. If you can spare the cash, perhaps you can buy the partial anvil and keep it to one side for such a thing, for a doorstop, paperweight for use during a hurricane etc.

[ThomasPowers]

You can do either a full penetration weld on the body/face from the sides---a bit tough as the old low grade wrought iron is hard to weld to or do a build up process from the top where you will build up layers of welding until you get to the same level as the face and make the last level an approprate alloy for the hardness needed.

This is not a simple easy or Cheap job. If you are not a skilled welder with access to inexpensive materials thing very hard about this. I went to an anvil repair workshop recently where one fellow had an anvil with the face milled too thin to "flatten it". After preheating the anvil to several hundred degrees it took over 6 hours of welding/grinding by a fellow who teaches welding at the local college and has major welding equipment to do it with to boot.

The result was *very* nice though.

[LITTLEJOHN]

Thanks for the advice.I will definitely have to put some serious thought into it.I like a challenge but may be more than I want,dollars and sense wise.Thanks again!

[ThomasPowers]

I picked up an 1828 William Foster once with a missing heel and almost all the top plates gone---about 90% missing. I've always wanted to try refacing it the old way but I'd need a crew to try it. I only paid US$5 for it so it was worth it even just for the wrought iron and I'd not be out much if it failed. See if the pictures of the "cajun blackened anvil" are still on the web about a group that was going to try the traditional refacing and burnt up the body by accident!