I have described this stand on a few threads but I wanted to show a sketch to visually describe how my anvil stand is made. It is a sand filled stand but designed so the anvil won't sink into it with use.

Thanks for sharing.

What is the advantage of the angle irons? - my thinking being that if the compacted sand can support the anvil above the irons, why wouldnt the compacted sand bellow do the same?

I suppose they help 'grip' the sand and stop it moving around?

Sorry if this is a daft question.

The sand above the plate doesn't tightly support the anvil but it does eliminate the ring. The anvil will settle in that top sand. The space between the plate and the angle iron is small so the downward force of the anvil is able to tightly pinch the sand in those areas, preventing it from shifting. That is my understanding, whether that description is right or not the stand works very well.

If you use sharp sand with a few % fines it'll compact solidly and not shift appreciably.

Frosty

I don't know what sharp sand is. I know that with the same sand as I'm using an anvil in a box without the angle iron and plate will slowly sink if you work on one end more than another.

Mason's sand is one source. Basically it's crushed rock rather than quarried from a pit. Quarried sand is alluvial (water) or aeolian (wind) deposited and worn round like river rocks.

Sharp sand "keys" together like broken rocks rather than sliding off each other like a sack of marbles.

The fines help fill the voids between grains so they'll only compact so far and stop moving.

Frosty

I would guess that is what I have. I got it a from a hardware store in the masonry section.

Probably so, if it still shifts try mixing in a little dry clay. Just a couple % by weight, you don't want it packing hard, just not shifting around.

On the other hand if the angle iron ledgers (or whatever they are properly called) work then I wouldn't mess with it.

Frosty

I'm surprised no one has mentioned one of the main reasons for using a sand base. You can turn your anvil and use the other surfaces like a swage block. I know it's rarely done, but I've heard of Alfred Habermann doing it. There are more sufaces on an anvil than just the top.

I turn my anvil every which way but loose. (grin)

If you make a stand that fits the base of the anvil pretty tightly it isn't very possible to turn it. I have heard of doing that, but for my 335 lb anvil it just doesn't appeal to me. I like the base for the weight- it doesn't walk around but it isn't bolted so I can easily move it if I have to. The sand also takes all the ring out of the anvil making it nice to work on, and it makes it easy to adjust height- that can be really important if you want to switch anvils on the same stand. I briefly tried a tripod stand that looked to be very similar to the one Hofi posted and that worked very well also, and is more portable. It depends on what you're doing which stand design is best for you. I have heard a number of people say that sand stands don't work well, that the anvil will sink in them, and that they don't solidly support the anvil. This design is very simple, solidly supports the anvil, and prevents it from sinking.

I like your design. I have mine on wooden anvil stands. I have a Fisher with hardly any ring at all but a Trenton that rings like crazy! I love the sound but after a few hundred hammer licks my ears have had enough! I assume a sand base would deaden the ring considerably. My ears and my neighbors would appreciate that :)

It took all the high pitch ring out of my anvil.

The link to your design isn't working...

Are you talking about the attachment in the very first post? It was a picture that was either lost in one of the many upgrades or the off site host expired. It's eleven years old. 

A lot of pictures were lost when the site was upgraded and in older posts the link to off site content may be expired or the page no longer exists. Welcome aboard, be safe and remember it's supposed to be fun.

Pnut

I am planning a sand filled stand as well, I have the base already made. I wouldn't mind seeing Alwin's idea but alas he hasn't posted for 3-1/2 years on the site.

On 2/10/2020 at 9:49 AM, bigb said:

I am planning a sand filled stand as well, I have the base already made. I wouldn't mind seeing Alwin's idea but alas he hasn't posted for 3-1/2 years on the site.

Did you end up finishing the build? I’d be interested to see how it turned out. I’m about to make my first stand now and trying to decide if to go simple with 4x4’s on end,, so make something with sand. 

This is filled with play sand.

That's a really nice anvil stand, i made mine out of plywood and i really like it. I'll have to look for some rectangular steel tube like that for when it's time for an upgrade.