Anvil resurfacing? and wierd vise

I don't use it much, probably because of the shape it is in, and I don't know how to "plug it in" I have a huge 200#+ anvil that looks like it went through a partial melt-down. How does one resurface part of it flat again? Is it worth it?

What do you call this vise I "found"? It has 4" jaws and is on the end of a

4' long forging with a ball at the end. The only thing I can think of is it was used in a forge. Is it worth anything? It's got to be a million years old.
Reply to
Tom Gardner
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What you have is called a post vise. And yes, it is used in a forge. The ball typically sits on a plate on the ground and you hold things that you intend on beating on in the vise. The rod/ball/plate transfer the force to the ground and keep you from destroying the vise.

Reply to
John Cochran

Post vises are very desirable, particularly if the screw is in good shape. Good ones sell for rather high prices. It's the only vise designed to be pounded on.

Anvils can be resurfaced with the right equipment, I've read of guys using hardfacing rod and building up worn down areas with that. I've no idea as to how durable such a fix would be. You might ask over on the alt.crafts.blacksmithing group, I'm sure there's one or more guys that have done it. Get a good angle grinder, you'll be needing it.

As to whether or not it's worth it, it depends on the make of the anvil, your location and whether there's other, similar anvils in the vicinity that could be had cheaply. 200 pounds is getting up there in size and rarity for my area. More guys chasing fewer and fewer old anvils.

Stan

Reply to
Stan Schaefer

Here's a link describing a couple of ways:

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Note that you will find instructions that disagree with each other... I've used the Stoody 1105 underneath, 2110 on top method. If your rod "stress relieves itself by cracking (micro fine cracks) but doesn't chip or break out", you're doing something wrong. 1105 sticks to the wrought body (if you have that type of anvil, e.g. Peter Wright), 2110 works as a top layer. 2110 needs to be hammered on to work harden. I've never had any of the welding come loose with this method, but the face does end up a little softer than I'd like. Not an issue if you're working hot iron on it, only a problem if you miss with the hammer.

Steve Smith

Reply to
Steve Smith

Anvil Repair

Several years ago I took one semester of a farrier course. My objective was to learn the rudiments of horse shoeing and to get started in blacksmithing. I found a used 140 lb English pattern blacksmiths anvil at a local farrier supply shop. It was a nice anvil and was quite suitable for my purposes and was going for a fraction of the price of a new one. The problem was that the edges had been completely mutilated. I discussed this with the instructor of my course and we decided it could be repaired. At this point, I had not yet done any stick welding so he did the welding and I did the rest. Here's what we did.

UTP make an arc welding rod called UTP7200. It is a manganese steel intended for building up impact resistant surfaces - exactly what is needed for repairing an anvil. Lightly grind the areas to be repaired to get clean metal. Using UTP7200 rod, weld build up beads on the area. Don't try to do more than one layer at a time and don't make the beads to heavy. Chip the slag and peen the welds. Use an angle grinder to bring high points down to the level needed. Repeat the whole procedure until all surfaces are built up to the desired level. It took 4 or 5 repitions of weld, chip, peen and grind to get my edges looking like new. I kept the edges fairly sharp at the heel end of the anvil and gradually stepped into more rounded edges towards the horn end. This allows me to form less sharp bends when desired.

After several years of use, the edges are still in excellent shape.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Edwards

Be prepared for a *lot* of side grinder use. If you're doing the whole face of the anvil (which is what it sounds like), you will want at least a 7" grinder. Lots of grinding.

Steve Smith

Reply to
Steve Smith

I believe what you have is a leg vise. They are favored by blacksmiths because they are typically wrought iron. Because of that they can stand heavy pounding on the workpiece without cracking.

They are usually mounted on a bench or steel stand. The leg (with the ball on bottom) rests on a block or plate to absorb pounding and resist twiting if torque is applied to the work.

You might want to check the rec.crafts.blacksmithing newsgroup for more info.

Reply to
Ludwig P. Pietz

you'll have better luck finding that at alt.crafts.blacksmithing

Reply to
rpayne

I just looked at that subject line from a new perspective and thought "Wow, it must be really buoyant."

-- "Not always right, but never uncertain." --Heinlein -=-=-

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Wondrous Website Design

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Yeah, and it keeps bringing the body back up with it.....

Reply to
Ken Sterling

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