Repairing a Vulcan Anvil

Back to appease you guys with another video before I disappear again for months.
Vulcans are made with a steel face and a cast iron base. They are often found with the edges broken out, like this one. This is because the steel face is very thin, and the cast iron beneath cannot hold up after the steel cracks.
This was repaired with mild steel MIG wire, and hard-facing MIG wire. You don't often see anvils repaired like this, and because Vulcans are especially known for being found damaged like this, it may be good for people to see a way to repair them.
This is why I modified the small cast iron anvil from China; I figured that if anything went wrong with that one, I would be able to figure out how to avoid that when fixing this.

[@mathieudube1183]

Amazing! Thanks so much. My anvil doesn't need this much work but this video is so useful for what I need to do to repair it.

[@TomSommer]

I Just found one of those the other day. Been doing the same repairs with .035 wire. Thank you for this video. It was very helpful.

[@killcharge4338]

Was rewatching the previous videos and now to watch this

[@caveofskarzs1544]

;D Sweet.

[@TottenCreekFarm]

Great job! I've been debating repairing my old Vulcan, it has some pretty bad edge damage, but not as bad as yours. It's a bit of a family heirloom, purchased by my grandfather about 1910, so I've been a bit reluctant to take a chance and possibly ruin it. I have used it the last 20 years or so only for non ferrous metals, but it's really no longer suitable for even that. My biggest concern is delaminating the forged welded steel face since vulcans used such a thin layer... but I think I'm gonna give it a shot.

[@caveofskarzs1544]

Best of luck, my friend!

[@jamesthrift1622]

just bought a vulcan 200# with face damage. video was helpful

[@alexonder1545]

Nice job thanks for sharing now onto repairing mine.....

[@caveofskarzs1544]

Best of luck to you!

[@davidbaldree1043]

What kind of wire did you use for the face edges?

[@eagleclaw1179]

Damn a year later no answer? I’m wondering same thing

[@nicholasdimarcelloiii3469]

Can i achieve the same results with an oxyacetylene torch?

[@tyjones8978]

Hi, so, I followed (as far as I know) exactly what you did on my anvil, and the welds keep poping off. What am I doing wrong?

[@caveofskarzs1544]

Interesting. I can't say I'm an expert on anvil repair, so I can only guess with my limited knowledge. If the welds are popping off, it's possible you may need to adjust the settings of your welder. Otherwise, make sure the anvil is preheated, and have it cool down slowly after you are done. You might also try some dedicated cast iron welding rod for the first layer if you are welding a Vulcan. If none of those work, I'm afraid I'm not sure. Cast iron and wrought iron quality can vary from anvil to anvil.

[@tyjones8978]

I appreciate the advice! My anvil is a Southern Cresent, they have cast body's and steel faces, but when i got mine, it had been "repaired" the untempered super brittle, badly welded face plate broke off on my second project, exposing some extensive damage to the edges very similar to the damage on yours. Two more questions, one is hotter better? Like Should I just heat the anvil up as much as possible? And two if I use nickle alloy rod, would it be easier to weld the steel to the nickel then the cast iron? Again thank you for your help

[@caveofskarzs1544]

@@tyjones8978 Ah, I have seen a couple of those anvils. Didn't know they were cast. Hotter is better with cast iron, but keep in mind that too much will overtemper any steel. As for the nickel rod, I would say weld to the cast iron first then the steel.

[@tyjones8978]

Thank you so much man, I really appreciate the help, every other person I've asked just tells me "it's unfixable" or "you can't weld cast iron" or "that anvil is trash anyway" its nice to see someone really do it

[@caveofskarzs1544]

@@tyjones8978It Couldn't Be Done by Edgar Albert Guest is a great inspiration for me. ;D

[@davidmills1874]

I bought an anvil with the pritchel hole broke off like that what kind of filler steel did you use

[@caveofskarzs1544]

I just used mild steel MIG wire.

[@vincentrosa9631]

Great job 👍

[@caveofskarzs1544]

Thanks!

[@user-vw6mv8ks2h]

Отличная работа 👍 👍 👍

[@WALLACE7084]

Good but why throw it back outside to rust again.

[@N.Cognito]

So the horns on Vulcan are steel?

[@caveofskarzs1544]

They are capped with steel, at least, this one was.

[@N.Cognito]

@@caveofskarzs1544 awesome thanks for the info.

[@lassiefish6838]

hi Skarzs!

[@demastust.2277]

Very good job for turning that piece of garbage into a proper tool. Vulcans are the lowest quality of old anvil.

[@caveofskarzs1544]

That's my opinion as well. However, I think it's still better having a Vulcan than no anvil at all.

[@demastust.2277]

@@caveofskarzs1544 I would gladly go back to using a sledge hammer in a stump than use a vulcan. I love my 53 lb fisher and my 175 peter wright. I wish my peter-wright was a fisher, though.