[TheForge] ranite hardfacing rods

[Demon Buddha]

Luke Thomson wrote:

> So some of my questions are:
> 
> 1. What websites would you suggest for researchings refacing anvils (links
> if possible)

	We should have a facing FAQ as this quesitons pops up with fair 
regularity.  The process is fairly simple.  I would preheat the anvil to 
about 400*F.  Some say this is not necessary.  I do not agree.  We 
(NJBA) have refaced probably 100 anvils by now, or close to it, and all 
of them have had the preheat.  I've not heard a single complaint on our 
repairs, so far.

	Prior to preheat, grind out all failed areas of the face to pristine 
metal.  If you find a laten crack, grind it out as far as you can.  They 
can go pretty far, so at one point you may have to decide whether to 
keep going.  If a given grind-out makes it to the substrate (such as the 
wrought iron base) the common consensus seems to be to fill with 7018 or 
whatever makes sense.  Fill until you are at or just below the level at 
which you want to begin laying in the hardface, then go to the good 
stuff.  Let air cool and dress the welds to your tastes.

	As to use of the hardfacing rod, I would follow manufacturer 
directions, but beware that it seems some fillers need to be tuned from 
company specs a little bit.  One year we used Lincore 50.  When we 
followed the instructions to the letter, the beads cracked a bit on 
cooling.  We adjusted the process a bit and had no problems thereafter. 
   Lincore 50 turned out to be a very good hardface material.  Moral: do 
some test beads before going whole-hog on the anvil.

> 2. What you've found from personal experience.

	See above.

> 3. Rods you'd use, I have some "Ranite Hardfacing Electrodes from Rankin
> Industries with a sticker reading
> 
>                 Ranite "A"                type of rod
>       Blue Tip        5/32"             ? and size
>       AMPS 140-160                   Suggested amperage settings
>       43-47 RC                           I assume how hard it will air cool
> to...

	The two we've used with very good results were the Lincore 50 (Lincoln 
Electric) and SmoothArc 600 (Hobart).  The SmoothArc was easier in terms 
of not having to tune thte process, but didn't come in wire form, which 
makes a big difference when you're doing 25 anvils at a time.  Doing 
one, I would not worry about it.  We've tried air hardening as well as 
work hardening material.  Personally, I don't care much for the work 
hardening materials.

	One of my smaller anvils was the guinea pig for several facing rods and 
the SmoothArc worked best, IMO.  Better than the Stoody and others we 
tried on it.  Goes on hard, doesn't require anything special in prep, 
and took the abuse of newbies for 2 years at Allaire Village in NJ 
without failure.  I think it is very good stuff ( is it still available?)
> 
> *What do you know/think  about these rods.*
>             I'm afraid of small stress cracks and don't know how welding
> will affect my rebound. I don't really mind the shinyness* that would
> probably be evident with this rod but want to know reasons why I ahould or
> should not use it.

	Never heard of them.  Do test welds, see if they crack on cooling.  If 
so, adjust.  When that's good, test the as-welded harness.  If that 
meets your needs, then you should be good to go.  Take your time. These 
repairs should last a lifetime, so it will pay to take it easy and make 
sure it's done well.


> 5. with the rod I have or just in general is it necessary to anneal and
> temper my anvil again?

	Good gravy no.  You do NOT want to try this.  Let's assume your anvil 
is just 100 pounds.  Getting that much mass up to critical temperature 
requires more heat than you may have to give.  Handling that much mass 
at that temperature, if you have not already done it, will come as quite 
a surprise to you.  If you do not know how to handle it beforehand, you 
will almost certianly not be able to figure it out on an "as you go" 
basis.  And more to the point, it isn't necessary.

	Last point as to heating large masses: you can convince yourself of the 
truth of what I say in a realtively safe and inexpensive way.  Take a 
10# scrap and take it to welding heat.  If you have not done this 
before, I think you will be surprised at what you will find.  I will not 
say anything more than than about it.  Discover for yourself, but be 
careful. :)