I just got my new anvil from ebay. It's one of those Russian jobs that I inquired about on here before. If I remember correctly, the anvil has to be dressed properly before use.
Since I have access to a welding shop with lots of tools (angle grinders, etc.), I was wondering what the steps are in dressing the anvil. I've searched the Web and have come up kind of empty.
I know you have to grind the face smooth, but how do you keep it level, etc.? Also, what's the best way to get the right radii on the face? Is it a fillet or is it chamfered?
lightly go over the top and the horn with a flap wheel grinding disc to remove tool marks and paint
using a slightly heavier touch with the flap wheel, put a radius on the corners of the anvil face
When I cleaned up the horn of a Russian HF anvil it had a few casting pits in it. I just left them.
I saw a guy the other day use a block of steel with a hardy shank on it, which had sharp corners on the top face. It's what he used when he wanted a sharp corner. I'm planning to dress a radius on my whole anvil and then make a supplementary block like that for when I need a sharp edge. YMMV.
I like to leave a portion of the face with a sharp edge. It comes in handy for calks and similar forgings. After the initial grinding, I generally finish with a 24 grit disc instead of a flap wheel because it's easier for me to get flat. YMMV.
When you're putting a radius on the corners of the face are you going for an exact radius such as 1/8" or just eye balling it? And if you are going for an exact number, how do you achieve and measure it?
(Grin) You're in danger of being called one of those "micrometer blacksmiths"!
The correct way to put a perfect radius on the corner of an anvil is to clamp the anvil onto the table of a mill, put a corner rounding 1/8" radius solid carbide bit into the spindle, and mill it. Unfortunately the solid carbide bit will cost you more than your anvil.
The point of putting a corner on your anvil is that if you don't sooner or later you're going to take a heavy angled half-face blow when you're tired, and you're going to miss the piece and you'll break a piece out of the corner of your anvil. (Look at old anvils on ebay - you'll see a bunch of cracks like I'm talking about.) Also, if you bend something over the edge of your anvil it is likely better off if it has a radius in the bend because a sharp inner corner is a very weak spot in any design, and often leads to a crack.
If you use a coarse-grit flap wheel, you will have a lot of control. If you keep it moving and blend everything well it will look real nice. If you have a radius gage then you can check yourself every so often if you're really trying to hit some number, or even to check if your radius is consistent. Don't worry if it isn't perfect, this is blacksmithing not machining!
Grant Erw> When you're putting a radius on the corners of the face are you going
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