anvil identification, and how to repair

[Wagn Winberg]

Hi, my name is Wagn. And I'm from Denmark.

I recently got this forged anvil, and I would love to know what era it's approximately from and what country. My own guess is British and early 1900 but I have absolutely no clue. The only markings is 256 stamped in the foot under the horn.

 

I'm a fabricator and welder, so I'm pretty confident in welding those horrible scars, made by an angle grinder. I think I'll get some esab OK weartrode 55 (84.58). But would you guys "open" the scars up? And how would you heat the anvil up to 200°C (ish)

I think it's can spot a crack on the underside of the horn, but it could be a bad hammerstroke from when it was forged. Would you grind it out, and fill it with normal mig/mag weld?

[Nobody Special]

Not sure the maker; from what I can see, the angle grinding marks aren't so bad that I wouldn't go ahead and use it as is. The crack on the bottom of the horn may very well be the join from the original forge weld if it is near the body of the anvil. I don't weld well enough to repair anvils that way myself, but from what I recall, it's preheated (and post heated?) with a torch, carefully so as not to completely destroy temper, then repaired with hardfacing rods using an arc welder. I seem to recall 7018 being popular, but I know of at least one guy that used garage door springs. I've seen grinding cracks open a few times and then refilling them with rods, but most of those were rather extreme cracks or when people had large delaminations or were even replacing missing heels or horns.

Don't take my word for it, I haven't done it. Google this site and "anvil repair" - there have been quite a few discussions on the topic. What I can say definitively, is never grind away more hardface than is absolutely essential, especially with forged wrought iron anvils - they usually have a thin steel face on top and removing any of it tends to damage the anvil and shorten its life. This includes trying to get a level surface, and cleaning up nicks in the side. An unlevel surface can be very useful once you get used to it.

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Wagn, glad to have you. If you put your general location in the header you'll have a much better chance of meeting up with members living within visiting distance.

Can you post better pictures of the grind marks so we can see how much damage there is please?

I highly recommend NOT welding on anvils, even folks experienced at the process can create more problems than they correct.

Researching the best rod available is 3/4 the battle, then is the process you use. The best rod I found locally, "Alaska USA" was a build up rod used to fill defects on bull dozer blades before hard facing. it is not a particularly hard alloy but it is very impact and deformation resistant. Meaning it won't dent or chip from hammer blows and doesn't become brittle. Being "build up" rod means it will lay thick beads with good wetting and can be laid in two passes without issues. It was expensive though, IIRC well more than $100 usd per lb. I used about 1 1/2 lbs.

I preheated the anvil in a BBQ briquette charcoal fire using a Tempil stick to manage the anvil's temperature. Tempil sticks (names vary) is a crayon like marker that melts at a specified temperature. I picked 300f as the best one available, hot enough to reduce the probability of thermal shock damage from the welding arc but not so hot as to run the temper out of the existing anvil face. Remember you will be guessing what the anvil face's carbon content and alloy is so be conservative!

You will have to grind the welds flush with the existing anvil face. This is a time where people do a lot of damage mostly by using disk grinders and grinding with the edge of grinding disks. Worse still they whip the disk grinder back and forth fast. The loud Whirring noise is a motor put there specifically so you do NOT need to whip the abrasive back and forth manually! If you want to do that buy grind stones and use them by hand.

I used a cup stone in my disk grinder while the last welding passes were still hot. Read the directions that come with the rod you buy!! I did it that way because the hot build up rod was softer and ground more easily, also because the constant low level impacts from the cup served to help relieve stress in the weld and HAZ area.

My final grinds and polish was done with a fine grinding disk and the polish with 400 grit emery paper on the rubber backing disk.

The hardest part about getting the grind RIGHT is keeping the grinding cups and disks FLAT on the surface, it's too easy to tilt them towards the edge and grinding an obtuse angle between face and body. This means your anvil will NOT be flat across face! This is a NOT GOOD thing. It's also an easy way to tell if someone has "repaired" an anvil, the edges will be angled downwards and not be square. 

Anyway, avoid welding your anvil if possible, most grinds and torch cuts can be worked around. This is preferable to the probability you'll do serious damage to the face by welding on it. You need more than an experienced welder you need someone experienced at welding anvils or high carbon steels without ruining the heat treatment.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Welcome from the Ozark mountains U.S.A.

Frosty's advice is spot on. There is a way to reface the entire anvil, however it takes a welder who is familiar with the process. Along with having the proper equipment to handle the job. The link is to how it's done properly. I always suggest using the anvil as is for a year before deciding to have it "repaired". From the picture, I don't see anything that desperately needs work. You will be surprised how easy it is to work around minor flaws.

Robb Gunther and Karl Schuler's Anvil Repair Process - Anvils, Swage Blocks, and Mandrels - I Forge Iron

I can’t control the wind. All I can do is adjust my sails. ~Semper Paratus~