New to me anvil restoration questions

[Skunk Piper]

Hey all,

I finally found an anvil in my neck of the woods and am excited.  It's a Peter Wright 148lbs marked.  Its seen better days but I got it for a steal especially for what others in my area have been selling for.  I have been reading up on restoration methods, especially the Gunter(Gunther? Seen it spelled both ways) method that seems to be the most widely accepted.  I would love some feedback from y'all.  First couple pic.s are how I got it, I then did some cleanup of the face with a belt sander, light grit paper, and light pressure to see what would buff out. My plan is to work with it the way it is for now but would love to build up the area circled in yellow as it is the worst of the damage and slopes down to the wrought then rebuild the opposite edge as well so I can have more consitant edge and bevels.  The area in the red slopes down a bit towards the heel but I don't think it will be an issue and plan to leave it be.  I don't want to make it a "new" anvil but I do feel like some TLC would could help it continue to be a very good tool for its next 100 plus years of existence.  I would love to hear from all sides as I know this is an often debated subject but hope not to cause any fiery debate.

Thanks,

Jake S.

Sorry, that should have read 148lbs. my keys are sticking today!

[Buzzkill]

Hmm. Do you know if that anvil has been through a fire or some previously attempted repairs?  Or maybe used as a torch table?  The reason I ask is all the indentations on the face.  My PW will dent a soft hammer or rebound a hard hammer almost alarmingly without a mark on the face. 

You actually have a fair amount of usable real estate on that face.  It might be best to use it a while and try to stay away from the most heavily damaged areas.  However, if the face plate has been softened significantly then it may take you more towards a repair.   Have you done a ball bearing test on it to gauge the rebound?

Keep in mind that if you have to pay for the consumables (right welding rods, propane or other fuel for preheat, etc.) and a professional weldor who knows what he is doing, the cost may be higher than if you found another used anvil.

[ThomasPowers]

Any mining out your way?  That 3rd picture shows some HEAVY pounding on it.  It would be hard to run the ball bearing test on a lot of that face as it's not smooth enough.  Notice that the horn looks to have only little and light use---seems that anvil was used a LOT for a specific heavy task and not much for "general" use.   At 148 pounds (1 1 8) it's a good sized shop anvil.  If the face isn't too soft I'd use it until you have a backup and take that one out of the using tools category for a while.  

I was lucky enough to get a 410# trenton that had some mine abuse and even luckier to be able to truck it 150 miles to an anvil repair day. Took a lot of propane for the preheat and we used the Gunter/Schuler method and now she shines like wrought iron ready to weld!

(From their website: "The Forgery School of Blacksmithing was founded in 1986 by Robb Gunter."  so Gunter it is!)

[Skunk Piper]

Buzzkill,

I'm not sure its history but I wondered the same thing.  I agree and m working on it as is, well i was until the coal ran out! Hence spending some time cleaning and researching.  As far as cost to restore....I haven't put too much into the purchase so I have room to play there and I love a good project.  It used to be classic cars and motor cycles...this anvil will be kind of the same thing....only better cuz it doesn't have an engine and I'm a lousy mechanic

[arftist]

Go wild. You can't hurt it.