Anvil stump outside, needs preservation?

[ichudov]

My 206 lbs anvil sits on top of a vertical cylindrical wooden log, perhaps 20 inch in diameter, that weighs approximately 200 lbs. I got it for free and it was new at that time.

This log sits outside, as does the anvil. I spray the anvil with LPS-3 and so far it is staying free of rust.

The question is do I need to do anything to preserve this log, or will it naturally weather and stabilize.

thanks

[ThomasPowers]

After a number of years outside your stump may rot and or get termites. However it may be easier to just replace it as needed than to try to stabilize it. Having it rest on a piece of concrete to break the ground/wood interface will help quite a bit; as will having a cover for it to keep the rain off. (One smith I know of made a dog house on wheels to cover his anvil and discourage theft of it as well.)

[Sam Thompson]

Wood rots quicker with the bark left on.

[archiphile]

Having it rest on a piece of to break the ground/wood interface will help quite a bit

I do not agree with that statement. Concrete is a porous material. Concrete also holds moisture, so setting wood on concrete is a bad idea. For example, building codes state that any wood that comes in contact with concrete must be rot resistant and there also must be a barrier between the wood and concrete. This is why builders are required to put sill seal between the sill plate and the stem wall in your house.

My recommendation would be to put a piece of Tyvek or building paper between your stump and what it is sitting on. Also I would try and find some black locust, it is extremely rot resistant and you could double you protection. Do not use pressure treated lumber as the chemicals in the wood when handled or cut are extremely toxic and are also bad for the environment. These are just my thoughts on the matter. Edited July 27, 2009 by archiphile
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[PICKETTR]

If you are not afraid of the epa, used motor oil works well at preserving wood (just don't sit on it!). Ideally, you would dilute the oil with a little diesel fuel in a shallow pan and set your wood in it, end grain down, and let it wick up the wood.after a day or so, turn the log over. After a few days your wood will be fairly well protected. The volotiles will evaporate in a few days and should not easily catch fire from sparks or the occasional hot steel. :d

[thecelticforge]

I have a chopping block I have been using for years. The area outside of my wood shed is all covered with old mining belt so as to keep out of the mud. I put the cutting block on shims of fatwood aligned so the water could just flow underneath. The block is very sound still with no sign of rot yet.
I also worked for 3 years at a living history museum. To keep wood that would be contacting the ground dry, (posts, fencing things, and such) we would dig below and beneath and fill with packed gravel, so when it did get wet, it did not stay wet.

In short, do what you can to keep it dry, when the rains come, that is fine just let it dry out. If you worry about termites, paint it every year with a boric acid solution.

[ThomasPowers]

Archiphile, tyvek is designed to let moisture pass through it; so how will this help?

[archiphile]

Good catch Thomas Powers

[dimenickel]

borax or antifreeze works very good to stop mold and fungus.... theres the other glycol that works aswell.. ( forgot the name...?? its not poisonous like antifreeze )

an if that isn't good enough.. what bout pine tar.. ?

somethin like this stuff
PINE TAR PINT 103266



take care
Greg

[Finnr]

PEG is commonly used to protect woods . Polyethylene glycol Polyethylene glycol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Finnr

[welder19]

I normally paint the bottom and up 1"-2" from the bottom on the sides with tar and then put a couple inches of stone down for it to sit on, the stone keeps it from sitting in moist dirt or water at all as well as helps keep bugs from living under it.
The top and sides get coated in CWF or Thompson's or whatever kind of weather sealant I have at the time, when the stump is thoughorly dry (a year or two old with the bark off) I take and let it sit in a pan filled with the sealant (inside) and keep filling the pan as the stump draws it in, once a day or so as it sits in the pan I tkae a brush and coat the sides, think of it as baseting a turkey, then I just give it a good heavy coat of sealer every couple years, mine is outside but under a roof if yours sits fully outside then you may want to coat with sealer once a year.
I have one stump that is over 10 years old and looks just as good as it did when I fist did it 10 yrs ago.

I do not agree with that statement. Concrete is a porous material. Concrete also holds moisture, so setting wood on concrete is a bad idea.

My Dad has an anvil on a stump that has been sitting on concrete floors (inside) since the 60's, from the body shop, and has never had any coatings and shows no sign of rot and is still solid as it always was. Concrete and blocks do have moisture in them but are still way better than sitting on the ground.

All of the stumps I have are oak, hardwoods are the best choices for anvil stumps.

welder19

[cami]

I don't worry so much about rot as end-checking. I would paint the ends so they don't dry too quickly and split; you want sound wood to secure to.

Finnr: I remember visiting the Centre for Maritime Archaelogy in the Netherlands (in Lelystad) where there was an elderly German fellow working. They were spraying wreck parts with polyethylene glycol.

I was working through the language barrier...I was wondering what was being used to preserve the wooden parts....he produced a card with an ingredient list and pointed to the PEG....and said that that was what was used on the wooden parts...but the card was actually a list of ingredients of some cardiac medicine he was taking....he said that PEG was used to help "old wrecks"...we had a good laugh.

[Hill]

Looks like a big stump of maple, which won't last very long at all outside. Try to find a sawmill or someone who sells stove wood for a living and ask if they have a big block of either locust or white oak, preferrably locust and then heed the suggestions of these other fine folks. I use locust for anything outside that needs to last and it's never let me down. Grandaddy always said locust would last 2 years longer than stone :-)

Oh, and if you do use locust and plan on nailing or lag screwing anything in to it, drill a pilot hole first. It's a dense wood. Not so much when green, but when it's seasoned, you're hard pressed to blast a nail in it with a stick of dynamite

Edited July 28, 2009 by Hill

[Francis Trez Cole]

down here mostly get pine not the best bugs love it. Keeping my eye out for a piece of cypress. I spray the underside of mine with auto body undercoating works well.

[Hill]

down here mostly get pine not the best bugs love it. Keeping my eye out for a piece of cypress. I spray the underside of mine with auto body undercoating works well.

If you or any friends do any vacationing in the mts of NC and they wouldnt mind hauling a stump, it wouldnt be much to get you a good stump of whiteoak or locust if you wanted. Be more than happy to :-)

[ThomasPowers]

Out here the only good sized wood locally is cotton wood. I ended up using *old* creosoted bridge/mine timbers that had been reused by the ranch next door and then donated to me.

Back in Ohio I'd use whatever was handy and replace it every 10 years or so. Less hassle than maintenance on a piece.