TIL my forge welds were failing because of a dirty anvil face

Two weeks ago I had three horseshoe welds pop right apart during fitting. I was getting ready to blame the steel or my hammer technique. Then an old farrier walked up and pointed at my anvil face - it was covered in scale and oil residue from a rushed job the day before. I spent 20 minutes wire brushing and sanding it clean, and my next weld held perfect. So which is more important for forge welding, a clean anvil face or perfect heat control? I'm leaning toward the prep now but curious what you all think.

2 comments

2 Comments

ramirez.caleb1mo ago

That reminds me of the time I spent an hour trying to tune a carburetor on an old lawn mower. Turned out the air filter was just packed with grass clippings. Sometimes the simple stuff gets you.

jordan1841mo ago

Had a similar thing happen with my axe heads last fall. I was forge welding a new bit onto a splitting maul and kept getting cold shuts. Spent three days adjusting my fire and hammer angles. Buddy came over, looked at my anvil, and just wiped it with his glove. Came away black with crud. So I scrubbed it down with a wire cup on an angle grinder, took off about ten years of rust and scale. First weld after that stuck like it was magic. Now I hit the face with a wire brush between every heat. Simple fix but it saves me hours of headache.