Subject: anvil repair

From: Jack Geisler <[email-masked]>
Date: 31 Aug 96 22:23:50 EDT

I bought my FIRST (yahoo!) anvil today at a farm auction for $100.  I also got a
good 4 inch leg vise for $27.  The anvil looks like it is pretty old.  It is
marked "Peter Wright Patent" and the weight is marked in hundredweight   1  1
18.  There is one section of the face about an inch wide and 4 inches long that
looks like it has chipped off.  I can weld it and regrind it, but I am not
exactly sure what type of filler to use.   Are these anvils made of cast iron?
or cast steel?  There is a marking on it that says "solid wrought." 

 Other than this one area the anvil seems to be in good shape.  I am so excited
about this that I can hardly stand myself.  Now I have to get myself in gear and
get some type of a forge working (in a hurry)  

Thanks,
	Jack

---

From: [email-masked] (Noller, Joyce)
Date: Sat, 31 Aug 1996 23:04:21 -0700

> get some type of a forge working (in a hurry)
Congratulations!  I have a couple of Peter Wright anvils myself and can
vouch for their quality.  You didn't say how deep the chip in your
anvil's face is so there may be a couple of directions you can go on
repairs. If you look carefully at your anvil you will be able to see the
dividing line between the hard steel face and the iron body.  If the
chip isn't too deep you may be able to grind the rest of the face down
flush.  I have one PW that's had the face ground to about 1/4" thick and
it's still good and lively.  If the chip is too deep to regrind try
looking at the FAQ at alt.crafts.metalworking, the last time I was there
they had a rather lengthy dissertation on the subject.  In the meantime
don't let the damage keep you from using the heck out of your anvil. In
their weaker moments most blacksmiths will admit to instances where they
worked around defects in their equipment for years because they were too
"busy" to make repairs;^)

---

From: [email-masked] (Noller, Joyce)
Date: Sat, 31 Aug 1996 23:25:57 -0700

> > get some type of a forge working (in a hurry)
Correction, that address should have been Rec.crafts.metalworking.
Sorry.
                                                
Larry

---

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sun, 01 Sep 1996 10:22:21 -0700

Jack,
  Finding a 156 Pound Peter Wright in any kind of shape is worth more
than a Yahoo!  Ask your welding rod distributor for a Stoody Book, and
do a little research.  We have mended 40 or so anvils with a high impact
rod they make, but I can't remember the number.  We preheated each in a
little igloo of firebrick with a weed burner till we couldn't stand to
touch them with gloves, say 200 to 250 degrees.  Then skip welded all 
sorts of problems, enlarged hardy holes, bad chips, rounded edges, blunted horns, cracks 
(ground down to the bottom) and one anvil that had been attacked with a cutting torch!  
All were then ground to shape with
body grinders and polished with 120 grit on 4 1/2 inch angle grinders.
The results were very good, none of the beasts lost their temper to the
point of being too soft, it was a workshop last winter where we got together and fixed 
all kinds of stuff.
  Anyway, just owning a Peter Wright is cause for celebration, specially one you can 
use! Specially Larry's comment about working around the defect.  Even, sometimes, that
"defect" can come in pretty handy!
  Bob