[TheForge] Fw: Anvil repair

[Larry Brown]

The idea of the anvil repair is to fix broken anvils. Most of the repairs 
are just building up the edges and grinding them. There is a Heat Affected 
Zone but the edges are hard and they usually work harden more with use, 
capturing the HAZ behind the edge. The anvils have already been abused or 
worked to near death in some cases, so there may be some chipping and 
cracking in the future. The original broke also, that's why it needs repair.

I see no reason that it could not be done again if need be. If you use it 
for forging hot metal the edges will last for years even if cracks develop. 
I have hard faced excavator buckets  and teeth and the hard face has 
withstood years of use even if some cracks developed after cooling. These 
buckets are shown no mercy in use.

I would not bother building up the surface of the anvil to remove a small 
sway for myself, I would work around it. If it was a problem I would keep 
my eyes open for a better one. (Once you have one they are easier to find, 
then after a while they find you, have three that were given to me) I have 
built up the sways for others and there have been no problems, but I think 
that you risk having more problems with the repair as you are playing with 
forces you cannot see, such as the original welding of the plate to base 
(Last one that day in a dirty fire, first after a liquid lunch or payday 
and other manufacturing problems).

Small dents and gouges in the surface I would clean well and Mig weld as 
they are contained and you just need to fill the hole with as little stress 
as you can. Unless you hammer cold steel in that spot a lot you probably 
wont be able to find the repair after a while (Harder than hot steel and 
supported all around by the plate.

No one can guarantee the repair for the life of the anvil as that is a very 
long time unless it is sent to the fires of mount doom for recycling. It 
may be that the repair works very well and out lives the owner as we have 
repaired a handful of anvils for schools and museums and they have never 
been sent back for more work. We have had the same places ask to have other 
anvils repaired when we ran the next workshop.

  For an anvil be remade to new condition, could be a lot of work with no 
guarantees, then I would recommend investing in a  brand new anvil as that 
is the best way to have one

Larry Brown