Anvil Repair

[mosco]

Would like to repair a sway back in a "Vanadium steel", 70# anvil. Is this make anvil worth the effort and if so what is the common repair method?

[Finnr]

How bad is the sway back ? What do you already have into the anvil? Pictures would be a huge help here.
Finnr

[keykeeper]

Vanadium Steel anvils are cast steel, how bad is the swayback. I have the same anvil, hard as it gets, awesome rebound, and rings like a bell. Let's see some pics, if you can. Then, maybe the OT's can chime in on how to fix it, if it needs fixing.

[philip in china]

sway back can be useful for straightening pieces. So do not be in a rush to fix it just yet. Get a straight edge and measure the extent of the swayback and post again. More anvils are spoilt than saved by hasty repairs!

[mosco]

Thanks for the input on the "Vanadium steel,70# anvil repair. With a straight edge placed along the length of the anvil's top, the swayback measures 3/16" in the center of the face and close to a 1/4" towards both outside edges. I am wondering if I can set set it up in the mill and machine the top flat again without compromising the anvil integrity.

[keykeeper]

That seems like quite a bit to take off with a milling machine. The face on mine is around 1/2" thick as it is. Taking off that much would leave little stepdown to the step area, making that area pretty much useless. Have you thought about using a welding buildup method, then milling the whole flat?That way you wouldn't sacrifice any of original steel of the face.

[philip in china]

Do you have facilities to reharden the face after you have fixed it? Just think of the weight of rod (not to mention the electricity) to rebuild that face. You would be a long way to the price of a new Euroanvil ;-).

Is the anvil "new" to you? What sort of work are you doing on it?

My reply to another almost identical thread was to work on it for a couple of months and see if you still want to fix it after that.

Of course if you want to do it as a project to see if you can do it then go ahead. From a purely economic point of view though you might end up spending a lot of money on a project and when you have finished you will have a repaired 70# anvil! Alternative is keep the sway back for straightening and look around for one in better condition as a main anvil.

[psilogen]

A perhaps related question: I have an 1841 William Foster with a great face, but some rough edges. No chunks out, but they are peppered with small chips. Will enough forging safely round off these edges (assuming safety glasses, etc) while minimizing loss of steel, or is it better to quickly buzz a flap disc over them before doing any shouldering or similar work? I'm leaning towards the flap disc, but I'd obviously like to leave as much steel as possible, since the old girl ain't gonna heal herself of my damages.

[ptree]

I have a 70# Vanadium anvil on semi-permanent loan. Hard as woodpeckers lips and possibly the loudest ring of any anvil I have heard. I use it for demos and folks can hear it from way off:) I wear hearing protection:) I doubt that you can improve that anvil by either milling or welding as the thing is soo hard. I would expect the inserts to mill that hard face will be VERY expensive. Also I do not know how deep hard they are, but think you may have a soft face after. Similar problems welding to very hard cast steel. I would use as is and see how that works.