Watched a guy at the local guild meetup try to forge weld with a completely cold anvil face

3 comments

3 Comments

Used to think the anvil just needed to be room temp for small stuff. Saw a guy at a demo try a cold weld on a big piece and it just would not stick, made a terrible mess. Totally changed how I see it. The heat gets sucked right out if the anvil is cold, kills your working time. Now I always make sure mine is at least warm to the touch before I even start. Makes a huge difference in getting a clean join.

anderson.sandra20d ago

Yeah, cold anvil is a killer. Learned that the hard way too. A quick hit with the torch on the face makes all the difference.

harper_wells15d ago

You mentioned the anvil sucking heat out and killing working time. I actually find a cold anvil gives me more control, especially on smaller pieces. That quick heat loss lets me set the weld fast before I burn the metal. A warm anvil can make things too soft and hard to manage. I just work quicker and hit it harder on the first strike. It's a different way to do it but it works for me.