My anvil cracked on a cold morning and I had to rethink everything

Two weeks ago I was out in the shop at 6am trying to get a head start on a set of gate hinges. The temperature was around 15 degrees and I didn't think to warm up the anvil slowly before starting. On the third heat I struck a piece of 1 inch round stock and heard a loud ping. I looked down and there was a hairline crack running from the face down the side about 4 inches long. I tried to keep working but it spread after a few more hits so I stopped. I ended up having to weld a patch on the side and now I preheat my anvil with a torch for 20 minutes whenever it's below freezing. Has anyone else dealt with an anvil cracking from cold weather?

3 comments

3 Comments

laura_schmidt8226d ago

Yeah I remember a buddy of mine had this happen with his anvil out in his unheated barn. He was working on a small axe head and same thing, that ping sound and a crack showed up right along the face. He ended up having to grind it out and weld it up too, now he keeps a propane heater running overnight if he knows he's gonna forge early.

holly_reed5526d ago

Working cold steel is asking for trouble. I've never had a crack from a cold anvil but I always bring my work inside the house to warm up before I ever hit it. Maybe that heater is masking a bigger problem with that anvil's face or the steel you're using. @laura_schmidt82 your buddy might be better off just preheating the workpiece itself instead of heating the whole barn overnight. That propane bill has to be brutal.

kimr7426d ago

Cold weather will do that every time, I learned that lesson the hard way too. I had a similar crack on my anvil years ago after working a piece of 1.5 inch bar stock on a freezing morning. What really helped me was using the torch to get the whole anvil surface up to around 100 degrees before I struck anything, and I also started wrapping a welding blanket over the anvil overnight if the forecast was below 20. @holly_reed55 mentioned warming the workpiece inside, that works too but I found that the anvil itself needs a gentle heat soak or the shock still travels right through it. The weld patch held up fine for me once I ground it smooth and never had a spread since I started that routine.