Welding an anvil?

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I've got a very old Swedish anvil.  It has two areas in which the edge of the face has been worn off some.  Extending for about four inches the 90* edge has been worn down or broken off to a diagonal depth of about 3/16 or 1/4 inch.  I'd really like to build this area back up if I can and face it back off smooth.  It's not a high impact area and wouldn't receive that much direct impact.  It's very dense forged steel and not cast iron.    Are their any actual considerations I may need to take into account concerning the differences in material and hardness?  What rod would have the best properties for such an application?   5/32 7018DC burned in  hot?   Something better?   Live with it the way it is?Thanks!
Reply:Most smiths actually round over one side of their anvil to a radius of 3/8" or so. And hit the corner pretty hard, pretty often. So what you are describing isnt too bad- Anvils came from the factory with sharp corners, but were quickly customised.The guru over at www.anvilfire.com advises against welding on anvils- it messes with heat treating, usually leaving either cracks or soft spots, lowers resale value, and seldom makes it better for blacksmithing.http://www.anvilfire.com/FAQs/anvil-3.htm But if you must, you should use a hardfacing rod, with a 400 degree preheat, and slow postheat.That seems to be the consensus of opinion as to the best, longest lasting fix.
Reply:A used anvil has character! You know what they say, if it ain't broke, why fix it? Disclaimer:- This is a cheap HF imitation of a good used anvil!! City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:I never thought about that.  I THINK a 3/8 radius would cover it but I never really thought about giving the thing a radius.   That is worth thinking about.
Reply:But it's just so, ugly. Attached Images
Reply:What tanglediver said. That isnt ugly thats character!
Reply:I got talked into refacing one years and years ago. Boy, what a mess. I learned a lesson though. "Not no but hell no, I'm not working on your anvil."
Reply:The radius is a good idea.  I thought that I'd seen somewhere before that anvils have a 3/16" to 1/4" hard face material on the beat'n surfaces.Hobart 140 Handler w/ gasHyperTherm Powermax 380 Plasmaoxy/acetylene
Reply:Originally Posted by BeezerBut it's just so, ugly.
Reply:hello, i was told by a blacksmith ive been working with that it is possible. He warned me that the faces on anvils are hardened to a certain specification, and it would screw that up, but only a really anal person would notice. Depending on how deep it is, he suggested building it up with two different rods, a softer one on the bottom, and then something of a hard facing rod on top. Maybe you could get away with just using a hard facing rod since a 1/4 inch isn't that hard to build up. Hope that helps a littleedit: id leave the sharp edge, its a pain in the *** finding a good edge to hammer on sometimesLast edited by seagull; 04-12-2008 at 05:00 PM.
Reply:I decided to leave it the heck alone.  It's only a small area and the rest is in very good shape.  Plenty of good edge and if I ever really need a radius, at least I know where I'll make it.THANK YOU ALL FOR THE SUGGESTIONS!
Reply:That's not that ugly..... I've got one that's beat all to hell. I'm considering building it up and hard facing it because it's nearly unusable the way it is now it's so beat up (hardly a flat spot on it).HH 187Miller Bluestar1EAHP AlphaTig 200X
Reply:You could try to add a new plate of hardend steel. Gramps did that. I think bored out two shallow holes in the plate then drilled/cut longer holes in the anvil and put steel rods in there to hold the plate in place. I dont remember what he did after that I'll talk to him and try to find out.And thats a hell of a lot of work to just take away a silly mark of charecter.
Reply:What that looks like to me is that someone welded something onto that spot and then broke or cut it off and it took some of the anvil with it. Hard surface rods are not meant for multiple passes. You will get cracking and maybe even sharpnel if you beat on it. If it does require more than one pass, the above advice to use a soft rod like a 6013 to fill then one pass with a hard surfacing rod. Also, if you are experienced with hard surfacing, it is not at all like running a bead.SA200,Ranger8,Trailblazer251NT,MM250,Dayton225AC,T  D-XL75,SpoolMate3545SGA100C,HF-15-1  RFCS-14 When I stick it, it stays stuck!