Anvil surfacing?

Alan Folts

Alan Folts

Joined
Oct 4, 1998
Messages
427
I was given a very nice Pyrotherm 180 pound avnil with a poorly abused face on it, one of the sides has been radiused and it has multiple dings and grind marks on it.

What I need to know is does anyone have an easy way to take 1/8th or so off the surface of this anvil so I can take the radius and the surface imperfections out? I always seem to think of the hard way to do things then I come here and someone tells me an easy way, so I am cutting out the middle man and asking right up front!

Any ideas?

Alan..




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If a Man talks in the forest, and there is no Woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?
 
Anvil resurfacing has been discused quite a bit at www.keenjunk.com check the archives. The general consensus is that unless it is terribly abused, welding may cause more problems than it solves. A portable belt sander can be used to "face up". I have an old vulcan, the top plate is so thin that stock removal was not an option. I peened some of the worst dings smooth and then went over the surface with a 9" side grinder. If you are making knives the radius will come in handy. If you need a square edge cut a heavy plate and weld a stub on it to fit your hardy hole. If welding is a last resort a preheat of 400f would help to keep things from cracking, if you are only welding on the top plate or hard plate use a hard surfacing rod. Care must be taken in this operation to keep the top plate from seperating from the body of the anvil. If a mill is used to resurface the face the hard top plate is very hard on tooling.This is just an overview of the things that are going on with anvil repair. One other thing to check for is the thickness of the top plate will it stand removing the 1/8 or will nothing be left. you can check the thickness of the top plate by sanding the side clean and etching a spot. Check with an Abana member in your area and see if they have other reccomendations

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If God did not intend for us to eat animals. Why did he make them out of meat?
 
The first thing that comes to mind on cutting off the tom 1/8" and keeping it flat sounds bad at first, but I'd try a sen or scraper. They can take off massive amounts of metal in a fairly short time for a hand tool.
I'm about fed up with my cheap crappy anvil. I was thinking of using a powdered metal oxy/acetalyn unit to resurface it, then sen it flat, but I don't really think a 55lb chinese anvil is worth it. I have to do something, though.

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Oz

"This is your life, and it's ending; One minute at a time."
http://www.freespeech.org/oz/
 
Osburn,isn't that chinese anvil cast iron? They are not the best. Tim Lively useas a 4 or 5" square piece of mild steel set in the ground. You don't really need the horn for making knives anyway. I have an anvil that i built of 41/2" mild steel,weighs about 250lb, no horn it rings like one of the "good" anvils but large magnets on the side have helped to make quieter. I have an old vulcan anvil cast iron, very hard to work on(no rebound)but thats all I had to start with. Check the junk yard for a scrap steel that will work as an anvil.

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If God did not intend for us to eat animals. Why did he make them out of meat?
 
I actually have some large pieces of bar stock, around 4" round, and 4' long that I was thinking of mounting into a stump and see how they would work. They both weigh in at around 75lbs each.
You're being very kind about the chinese anvil. It outright sucks. It is a medium sized iron turd, and after less than a year of using it from new, it has the outer appearance of one. Not rusted, but it dents with every blow. NEVER BUY THESE. If it has its weight and "CHINA" on the side, don't take it if they pay you!

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Oz

"This is your life, and it's ending; One minute at a time."
http://www.freespeech.org/oz/
 
Rail road rail works great and is everyewhere. Alan fine a shop in your area with a sureface grinder big enough to do the job. Use a body grinder to rough it and then have the surface grind it . You will have to re radius the edges and crown the top to you liking. When I got mine my B&S surafce grinder did the trick. Works well for power hammer dies also.



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One of my blacksmithing tutors told me that when he picks up an anvil with a damaged face he builds it back up with welding rod, lots of welding rod, and then grinds it flat.

I'll try to get some more specific information out of him.

Roger
 
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