Stands for Anvils, Swage Blocks, etc

Hi all, Just thought I'd share some photos of the anvil stand that I finished today. I started this project about 3 weeks ago, but got called away on a work trip. This weekend I finally managed to finish it off. Here it is: The top is a 12" x 15" x 1 1/2" steel plate. I got it from a local steel fabricator for cheap. It was originally a long strip, 48" long by 12" wide, but they cut it into 3 pieces for $25. So one day I can build two more anvil stands with the other two pieces. The legs are 2" x 5" rectangular tube with 1/4" wall thickness. The angle of the legs (~9 degrees) is such that all vertical force applied at the top of the stand is transmitted direct…

I took my first class with a local blacksmithing group last week, and that inspired me to make time to finish the stand for my anvil. I bought the Hay Budden a few months ago, it's been sitting in my shop unused. It's about 130 lbs according to the gentleman I bought it from, which seems about right. I cleaned it up a bit today while working on the stand, I need to write down the numbers on it to try and figure out the age. The horn is a little misshapen, but the ring and rebound are great. The stand consists of a 9x15x3/4" top plate. The legs are 4x4x1/2", on an 8* angle from vertical. The feet are 1/2" plate, with holes drilled in the bottom so I can fill the legs wi…

I liked the steel stand for the peddinghaus anvil so much I decided to also do a steel one for my Jymm Hoffman anvil also and to pull out some stops. Used some rebar for an industrial look (plus it was available) for the bracing, rectangle tube for the legs and I sacrificed the Brian Brazeal style block anvil to use as the top plate for this stand, which adds about 30 pounds and makes the whole thing very rigid. I wanted to have the stand be the same size as the base of the anvil to allow alot of room around the heel and horn. Kerry my boss suggested the skulls for the feet which I like alot. I was thinking of all kinds of things to put on it, tool holders, racks, bendi…

An ash tree fell in my yard afew days ago, and my dad cut a section of it long enough to use as an anvil stand. I'm wondering what I would need to do to this to secure a small rail anvil. As always, any relevant comments, tips, or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I noticed that everyone seems to use straps over the heels of the anvil to secure it to a stand. My anvil (a 150# fisher farriers) has a screw hole on each heel. I used a router to make a 1/4" recess that the anvil sits in, is it adequate to use the screw holes to simply screw it to a stand or will it just "jimmy" itself loose during use?

The Peddinghaus I got is SO NICE and SO NEW I decided it needed it's own custom dedicated brand new stand, so I have been taking evenings and fabricating one. Kept it s the horn protrudes over the edge for extra free space when bending big things around it, plus extra stability over the 2 legs, Added a little tray for holding things like punches, lube can, chisels and rivets and stuff, with a hammer ring and a bending fork/tool holder out the other end. I would have liked to use something more substantial then 1/4" plate but that's what I had, hence the gusset, and figured I would ridgidize the whole thing with gussets all over. I want to add more tooling rings, and some …

I just received a nice chunk of wood and squared it off and trimmed up the sides somewhat tapered so the bottom of the stand is slightly larger then the top. My question is do I need to treat the wood with linseed oil, or is there another type of oil or substance I should use to prevent insect and decay issues? \ I'm currently working out of my garage so it's now on concrete, but I plan on moving out to my shed this fall which has dirt/gravel floor. It's generally a dry space so I don't really expect issues with water rotting away at the base.

Hey yall, I just built a new steel anvil stand, but I need to bolt it down to my shop floor, which is concrete that was poored 25-30 years ago. So what is the best type of anch to use??? Thanks, Trip

I was having a discussion with a couple of other smiths over what is a better anvil stand. I have two on a stump, another on a three legged steel fabricated stand, then one on a four legged angle iron stand that is tappered, and finally one that is on a wood stand that is made up of pieces laminated together by bolts running through. I have seen a stand made to the shape of the base of the anvil out of steel and filled full of sand with the anvil sitting in the sand, and was thinking about building one of these. Does anyone have one like this and do you like it? What do you all think? What do you have and how do you like it? Some photo's would be nice if you have them. …

Hi all, Haven't been around for far too long, but it looks like I'll having a nice forging workshop set up in the next few weeks. I want to do my anvil stand this weekend, and I've been looking at plans. The easiest material for me to get and use right now is angle iron, about 6x35mm, or around 1/4" thick and 1 3/8" wide on each side. My plan was to make a tight fitting angle-iron base for the anvil, and then weld 4 feet at a slight angle. Of course, I would then use either the same (or slightly lighter) angle iron to make bars going between the feet for added stability. Most builds I see here use tubing, that I reckon will ring a lot more unless you fill it with …

I by necessity have to have a modular mobile forge set up just bc now and then we bring the odd mower or kicker wagon or tractor into the shop and you have to clear the decks to get the floor space as a result most of my tools are on wheels of one sort or another or are at least movable with a dolly so long story short i am looking for suggestions for the best of both worlds here dose anyone out there have what they think is a good workable anvil stand for a 150lb or so anvil i have finished up or am finishing up most the the ongoing projects and look to have a few days of bad weather and free time coming up well thanks for you time all wyatt

The anvil is a 9" piece of railroad track I picked up for $5 from an estate sale. The stand is 4 - 2x8s about 2.5' long attached to a .5" plywood base. It is filled with adobe (cat litter clay and sand). The railroad track sits vertically on top. I later added a fullering tool. The setup works well for knives.

Hello. My first anvil is coming tommoro and i still havn't found a suitable stand. My father's friend donated this anvil to me. All I know thus far is that it weighs 250 pound and has its weight stamped on the side in big letters. Not sure who made it yet. (will post pics when it arrives tommoro). Anyway, back on track, i need to find or manufacture a stand ASAP. Where would I find a suitable tree stump? there are no logging places near us. The best place i can think of is the vegitaion section of the local scrapyard. Is there a quick stand I can make/find that will hold this beast of an anvil for the time being until I weld up a propper one, or find a good hardwood tree…

Hi all, I recently got hold of a big chunk of poplar (my friend thinks) tree, which I would estimate weighs about 100kg. It certainly wasn't fun lifting into in the boot of my car. But I got it for free, so its all good! I deliberately got a chunk of tree trunk higher than I would need, as I don't have an anvil yet. I'm getting an anvil this Saturday and will be getting a friend to cut it to an appropriate height with his chainsaw, when I get the anvil home. My question is, should I leave the bark on the tree, or strip it off? And should I treat the wood in any way to preserve the wood and keep it useful for longer? I'm also currently presuming that I don't need …

So I'm getting my first anvil and before now I was using a steel plate with holes in it so I could just nail it down. But how exactly do I go about securing this anvil http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/for/2436465176.html to a tree stump?

Some of you may remember the portable anvil stand I built some time ago. Well I modified it some, centered the anvil on the stand, and added a large tool tray to the side. It is much more stable now and will neatly and professionaly contain all of my tools. So this is before! And this is after!

My ol' faithful Trenton has ever been mounted on a stump. However, we are considering hitting the craft fair circuit on a much larger scale, doing extended routes lasting several weeks at a time. With that in mind, my current packing space and forge arrangement would no longer be sufficient. So, I am needing to build an enclosed trailer and have a space efficent forge set up. Today I finished some custom work, cleaned up shop, and before starting on my next job, decided to make a steel stand for my old 86 pound Trenton! I still have to add some tool racks for hammers and tongs, and give it a nice coat of paint. I'm also going to add wheels onto the legs under the …

Went to the scrap yard today and picked up some steel to (finally) get to work on my anvil stand. I came across a grate on the ground that looked like it would be perfect to not only mount my anvil but also to hold hardies, hammers, etc.. I'd still like to put some racks on the sides for additional hammers (some day I'll have more than 2 Also, the posts will be beveled and angled out 30 degrees when I do the permanent welds to the base. I plan on moving the main supports under the anvil itself, so the back two supports will be directly below the heel and the front under the front part of the heel. The grate will overhang under the horn and will be a little storage …

Hi all, I needed something to do this weekend, so I built a stand for my anvil. I think the traditional term is "raising" the anvil? ...so I guess I raised an anvil this weekend. I got a lot of my ideas from reading these forums, so thanks everyone! It took two easy days...4 hrs Sat and 6 hrs today. I purchased the steel at the "Bargain Barn" at the local steel yard for $75 and had a good bit left over for future projects. Probably could have got it a lot cheaper if I took my time and searched around longer. Combined, the welds took 17 sticks of E6011 welding rod. The Legs are filled with sand to add more mass and reduce vibrations. I drilled 3/8" holes in the f…

Arrrgghhh.....I was sorting out the piles in the smithy, preping for some limited forging time this weekend, when I noticed a stream of sawdust running down the side of my anvil stump, and a pile of sawdust on the ground. This is a California Black Oak stump under my PW. I've got many hours of time invested in flattening and prepping this stump and I'm NOT gonna let the bugs (bug) get it. In the immediate moment, I splashed some lacquer thinner on the hole and then tipped the oil can into the hole till the oil ran down the side. what's my next step? Polyurythane the whole thing? boric Acid wash? Way too much work just in getting a decent sized log section to let …

I need to build a stand for my anvil. The anvil is a peddinghaus #12 - 125kg/275#. And in my shop I really have to be able to move the thing around with a pallet jack (I have a very narrow pallet jack available.) My welding is pretty basic, so I want all right angle fitups. The stand design shown in the picture is what I propose to build. I'd use 2.5 x 2.5 x 0.250 tube and 2.5 x 2.5 x 0.250 angle, and 1" steel plate. I had thought about using leveling feet rather than wood blocks, but now think that would might hold up better to being pounded on. I also thought about using 3 feet, but with the square uprights and cross stretchers, I was concerned about the thin…

Hi all, I am a newbie setting up a hobby forge on the cheap and I managed to secure myself a hardwood stump to mount my anvil on free. The problem is the top isn't parallel to the ground There is a slight (one side is about 3cm higher than the other) and my baby chainsaw isn't long enough (or powerful enough) to work through it. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to even it out (electric plainer, router etc I can hire for a few hours). I would rather avoid using a bigger chainsaw for the job as I am only taking off a small amount. Images attached.

Got my first anvil today Its a 77# Trenton. Now I need a stand. My question is, with a light anvil will there be any benefits to putting it on a heavy stand (ie. sand filled base) as opposed to a tripod style? With little access to hard wood stumps, i plan to make a stand.

I decided to put up or shut up. 1" OC ball swage for size reference.

Hello, This is a ‘request for comments’ for an ‘open standard’ anvil base, please contribute your ideas and opinions. What I had in mind was an affordable, well designed and easy to transport anvil. Today we have the ability to communicate with a large number of smiths and the vendors who wish to service them. I was thinking an ‘open standard’ anvil base would be a great benefit to many smiths and manufactures of smithing equipment. We should use this to develop an ‘open standard’ anvil base that vendors can depend on to receive their tooling with confidence. What I think should be required is an anvil base that can be built by modern machining or manufactured by a …