"B.B." u wrote in message
news
I'm finally taking a stick welding class. Somewhere along in the
semester I want to take some time to rebuild a small, abused anvil I got
when my grandfather died.
It's around the 60-70 pound mark, covered in pits, welding bbs, and
rust. I would like to brush/grind off all the crap and hardface the top.
Questions: anyone have a ball-park estimate (assuming I'm an average
welder after a little practice) to how many hours such a task would take?
What alloy stick is recommended? How much can I expect to go
through? I'll add a margin to allow for screwups once I get there.
How thick do I need to make it and how far around the horn should I
bother going?
I need to rebuild the tip of the horn and the back edge of the anvil
top. Can I just keep stacking up the hardface or should I use something
else to build it back up?
How clean do I need to get it? There are a lot of beads mashed into
the surface, creating little crevices all over full of rust, probably
about 1/32nd of an inch or so into the surface. Can I let 'em slide, or
do I need to dig that out?
It's cast iron and has no markings on it. What's the recommended way
of making it pretty? I want something worth bragging about when I
finish. (:
Yeah, I know, harbor freight has 'em cheap, but this is a project.

www.keenjunk.com
has archives covering anvil refacing. Your anvil won't be used by a serious
blacksmith, so just about any hardfacing will work. Have to do a lot of
grinding, but with time you will learn that it will work. Also, you will
learn to appreciate the old time blacksmiths.