Dressing an anvil

J

JoshEarl

Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
197
I scored an 89 lb. Mousehole anvil today for about $1.10 a pound. It appears to be in usable condition from what I can tell. The top is very flat. I don't think I'll have trouble finding a few good areas to forge on. It rings when struck. I even rapped it on the side with my knuckle while it was sitting on the carpet and got a quiet ring. It seems to have decent rebound, although I haven't tried the ball bearing test yet.

I do have a question about the edges, though. In some places they are pretty chipped, and all of the edges have a pretty big radius on them.

Do you typically use a sharper edge on your anvil, say for forging in the ricasso or tang?

I'm wondering if I should attempt to grind down one of the edges until I have a sharp spot to work on. I don't want to damage my new tool, but I want to be sure it's as useful as possible.

Thanks for the help,
Josh
 
It's always better to build up than to grind down. If you know a good welder who can build up with 210100 high tensile rod, or even just 7018 you could have the corners built up for a sharper corner if you desire.

On the other hand you could just get a square hardy with a flat top and sharp edges, or a plate with drop downs on the side to place over the top (like a chisle plate) to use for a sharp edge. A sharp edge isn't all that important really, and even a "sharp" edge has a radius to it, otherwise you will get cold shunts.
 
grinding a sharp edge into that looks to be a bit difficult unless you build the corners up, you might want to just flatten the top then make a square hardy tool.

edit: yeah it takes me 15 minutes to type out a single sentence
 
If I were to attempt to square off an edge, what would be the most useful place to have it? My father-in-law could probably help me build it up with a stick welder.

Josh
 
the close edge to you should be rounded, the far edge should be sharp. Atleast that's how I like it. You should not have all rounded or all sharp edges.
 
I built the edges up on my 250lb fisher with 7018. That was 12 years ago and it is still going strong. If you have a steel anvil, which it sounds like you do, just clean up the area and build it up, then grind it to shape.

Chuck
 
I would warm the anvil up good before I went to welding on it. Get it up to around 400f and you are a lot less likely to have weld stress problems. Cover it with a chunk of fiberglass insulation and let it cool slowly when you are done with the welding.
 
Soul is something this anvil has in abundance. :) I'm hoping to clean it up a bit in a way that doesn't damage it's integrity. I feel as though I'm only a caretaker, since this thing will certainly outlast me.

I checked the face with a straight edge, and most of it is very flat. The "back" edge (if the horn is on your left) has a little bowing in it. Maybe 1/16" or so. Not bad at all. The surface does have some rust pitting.

I'm going to clean it up today with a wire wheel and see what that reveals. :)

Josh
 
I'm cleaning up the anvil today, and it's going pretty well. I have a flap disc for my angle grinder that is doing a nice job of taking off the rust.

The surface has a bunch of BB-sized pits in it. I can tell that I could get them out with the sander if I really wanted to.

Should I try to get them out, even if it means the surface won't be perfectly straight?

Josh
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top