Subject: Re: Need advice on old Anvil

From: [email-masked] (Andrew Vida-Szucs)
Date: Thu, 12 May 1994 20:42:13 GMT

Dale R. Custer writes:

> I recently got my hands on my first anvil.  

	Congratulations.

> Unforturely it has been abused to 
> the point that the face is almost as round as the horn.  I have a couple of 
> questions for the group:
> 
> 	1.  Is it possible to return it to serviceable condition?

	Certainly.  You could have it hard faced with a meterial like
	CM 134, reground and voy-luh!  Probably will not be cheap.
	Also, if you intend on using the hardy and pritchell holes,
	and they are in lousy shape, the cost of having them rebroached
	or however it is they`d fix them, may get real ugly.
> 
> 	2. Is it worth the time and money?

	Only way to know is to call and find out.  I think it largely
	depends on the size of the anvil, how bad its present condition
	is, whether or not it is "dead".  If it  is a 275 pounder, forged,
	then I would seriously look into refacing because a new one will
	cost you a good 1300 bucks.  If it is a 75 pound cast steel body
	with a hardened face, you might be better off retiring it to your
	living room as an ornament and searching for something else.

	In any even, I'd call around and see what the shops have to say.
	
> 	3. What is the best way to repair or get it repaired ?

	There are shops that do this sort of thing.  Any machine shop
	worth its weight in bat guano should be able to do it, assuming 
	they have the resources (like a Blanchard grinder to true up the 
	new surface).  If not, they should be able to direct you to a shop
	that can do the work.  Small manufacturers send stuff out fairly
	frequently to get parts refaced/remachined.  Big outfits usually
	have their own shops and do stuff like this in-house.  

	At any rate, help is available, however you may have to lug the damned 
	thing around with you so they can take a look and give an accurate
	appraisal of what costs are to be expected, unless they are REALLY
	nice and send a guy out to look on premises, which for a small job 
	like thast, they may not.

	One last thing you may try: see if you can find a local blacksmith
	and see if they know of a place where you could take the anvil for
	repair.  They usually know things like this.
	-Andy V.	[email-masked]		(Mr. X)