Casting anvil joints?

[Steven511]

Recently I was researching making my own anvil, which of course got me down the rabbit hole and eventually lead me to looking at the possibility of having a makeshift anvil-creating operation as a side job. Now, realistically this is not going to happen, but it's fun to speculate how I could make quality(or quality-ish) anvils on a budget. I came to the idea of having steel anvil parts, but instead of forging them together, I would pour cast iron into the joints . This seems possible logistically, as I would only need to melt around 20-30 pounds of cast iron for each weld, which doesn't require an incredibly expensive professional foundry, or an exorbitant amount of fuel (relatively speaking). Would this work? It seems to me that the cast iron would carry enough heat energy to attach itself to the steel securely. I don't know of any companies that do or have done this so I'm guessing that it's either harder to do than forge welding, or not a strong enough connection, but I'd hazard to say that it could be a viable way to make relatively strong anvils. speculation is quite welcome, and if anyone who has cast iron onto steel could chime in I would greatly appreciate it.

[John McPherson]

Sorry, it does not work that way: cast iron is not a magic glue, or no one would have wasted the last 100+ years on arc welding.

What DOES happen when it cools is a brittle zone between the steel and the cast iron that breaks with any external stress, or maybe just the stress of the different coefficients of cooling of the two metals.

Yes, there were companies in the past that made cast iron (actually gun iron, not low grade grey iron that new imports are made from) anvil bodies with tool steel faces. There was a patented trick to it. Nobody does it any more because it is neither time nor cost efficient. 

[Steven511]

Ah, sad to hear that .I was hoping that the cast iron would be hot enough to weld itself to the steel pieces, making an only slightly weak point.

[tanglediver]

That brings Steven511 up to the plate here in the bottom of the 6th inning. And, the first pitch.... Swing And A Miss!! 

And now,  a word from our sponsor....

[ThomasPowers]

First of all: are you confusing anvils with London pattern anvils?

Here's an example of an anvil design that has been around about 10 times  as long as the London Pattern has been.  Notice the Joints?

There are even folks selling this design and several variations.

Don't get stuck  on that the London Pattern is the epitome of anvil designs.

[Frosty]

Wow, you guys must be busy today, it took 4 hours to point out the deal killer flaw in that idea.

Steven: Before you suggest thermite welding you might want to look into the particulars.

For example high carbon steel is welded with thermite all the time, RR rail to be specific. When compared to an anvil body rail is pretty darned thin, even the cap so it comes to welding temperature almost instantly. Not so an anvil body, even the super heated iron resulting from a thermite fire (I started to delete fire but realized a thermite reaction is oxy, al combustion so is indeed a fire) Anyway, the stream of iron pouring from the bottom of the thermite vessel is WAY above melting temp but there is only so much, you'd need excess pouring out of the mold in quantity to heat the anvil body enough for a good weld. 

Oh, don't forget the permits and insurance necessary to LEGALLY weld with thermite. 

Don't stop with the ideas, nothing beats some good skyballing and brainstorming. 

Frosty The Lucky.