Iron Kitten Forge

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.

I'm curious what you ended up doing, I'm dreaming of a shop upgrade but i can't quite justify the cost at the moment.

That's a really cool build! I considered getting a shipping container, but I'm not sure if they'd be able to get it to where i want it without a crane. Where did you get your containers?

This thread has got me thinking, have any of you made a shower curtain out of solid steel? It's beyond my skills, for now, to work something that long, but I think a twisted wrought iron curtain rod with some simple wrought iron hooks would look nice and rustic. There shouldn't be too much sag on a 4-foot span.

Small update on the sandbox, its holding together wonderfully though the sand has compressed and i had to add more in to re-level my anvil. But I'm very pleased with it.

Ya, i figured it's easier to build it taller then it would be to try to extend it later,I may end up cutting it down if it gets in the way. For now though its a nice place to keep tools

That's a good idea with the wood, I'll have to try that. I haven't burried the feet yet as I'm still working on getting the height right, but so far just being on the sand has quieted it down a ton. Honestly my forge is louder then my anvil.

This anvil is an absolute pleasure to use, finally having something this solid and at an appropriate height is a game changer.

Took a week but it's done! I'm gonna play with the height a bit before adding sand to cover the feet.

It's been a few days, i got the sand in and packed down tight. It took 340 pounds of sand to get to the level i think i want and I've got another bag of sand so i can bury the feet once she's in place. Got a friend coming after work to help get her in place.

You're probably right, even empty it's already heavy, but it seemed to be the easiest way to get a really solid box. I could have used 2x2s in the corners but I was worried considering the weight of both the sand and the anvil itself. I already had the plywood and the construction adhesive so I figured why not go a little overkill. Do you have any suggestions on how to lift the anvil once I get to that stage? the best option I've thought up so far is a chain hoist but I'm not super confident in the strength of my rafters in my little prebuilt shed workshop.

I'm still no Carpenter but the char makes it look a lot better

I'm thinking ill char the wood and put a matt clear finish on it, I've never been a good painter.

After rethinking the trashcan plan I went back to my original plan and build a wood box for the sand. I used 3/4 plywood for the bottom and sides with 4x4s in the corners for strength. Everything screwed and glued together with construction adhesive and steel angle supports. It's strong xx xxxx, ugly but strong. I'll give the adhesive a day to cure before fill it with sand.

That's a good point, I didn't think about the risk of the can splitting, they definitely aren't designed for that amount of force being applied on them.

I was thinking plastic so I could easily cut it down to the right height, though if I happened to find a steel one that was ~28 inches tall id think that would be a good option too.

I've pretty much decided to do a sandbox stand for my new 288 lb anvil and I'm trying to think of the easiest way to make the box and it popped into my head that I could use an outdoor trash can, fill it with sand, and be done. I haven't seen this done before which makes me wonder if there's a reason for that since it seems like such a quick and easy solution.

That makes sense to me, they look like chisel marks

There's a lot of shallow marks on the sides which i can't quite explain but the table is flat. I need to get going on a sand box for it. The base is 12x14 inches so i was thinking if i made the sandbox 13x15 inches inside that would be enough room. What do you think? I have some 3/4 plywood leftover from another project, so I'm thinking i can use that for the box. What do y'all think?

I plan on it, had to stop by the harbor freight to get the flat dollie so I figured I'd give it a try

Here's a size comparison of how big of an upgrade this anvil is

I didn't, i used one of the parts vans from work though so i was pretty well separated from it. If I have to move it again I'll definitely strap it down

It's mine, and it's heavy! I'm defiantly not gonna wanna move it once i have it in place

Awesome, I think that's what I'm gonna end up doing. I'm getting the anvil tomorrow and I can hardly wait.

I like the idea of the sandbox stand, does the anvil just sit on top of the compacted sand or is there something i can't see clamping it down? It seems like a tighter bond then gravity would be required to keep it really stable. Nearly all of the videos I've watched have stressed the importance of bolting the anvil tightly to the stump for both noise reduction and energy conservation. Mobility won't be particularly important for me as if i wanted to work somewhere else i still have my railroad anvil that i can easily toss into my car