To Caulk or not?

[Avadon]

So I am starting to put the wraps on the Brazeal anvil i'm making but i'm at a crossroads with the caulking. I'm going to drill two through bolts through the large plate to secure it to the sides of the welded box shape it sits in.

Here is the dilemma. If I caulk it in place and then drill the holes i'll have to keep in mind that caulking height (should I ever have to tear the anvil out and put it back in with new caulk) space because the anvil will not bolt in or align properly trying to squeeze it down or lift it up till the bolts align. If I don't caulk it all i'm a little worried about the ring. I could also drill some slightly vertically eccentric holes in the sides so that if I do more or less caulking the bolts can ride up and down a little making the alignment easy. HOWEVER the only bad part about this is that now the bolts can travel vertically which gives a possibility of undermining the very thing the bolts are in there for to begin with, to stop the anvil plate from jumping. It may also increase vibration. So i'm kinda stuck.

First I guess I have to decide to caulk the bottom of this type of anvil or not, then secondly if I'm going to caulk how am I going to make sure it aligns each time. I guess whenever I have to recaulk it I can always squeeze it down in there until the bolts align.

Here is another question. How thick normally is the caulking bed under an anvil? 1/64?

The bottom of the plate is by no means perfectly straight so I would thinking the caulking could help compensate a little. Here is the diagram frosty did that will give you more of an idea of what i'm messing with.


Opinions? Concerns? Outrages? :P

Edited August 2, 2009 by Avadon

[Frosty]

If you leave an opening at each end you can simply calk and using a couple screw drivers slowly lower the anvil till the bolts slide through, excess calk will just extrude out the ends. Let it set and cut it off with a utility knife or razor blade.

It's how I'd do it anyway unless someone came up with something I liked better.

Frosty

[Avadon]

So would you drill the initial holes with the anvil sitting in it, without any calking underneath it, in the hopes that it will still align (because most of the caulk will squish out) when I set it in there the final time with caulking under it.

Also what is the function of caulk. I always thought it was to glue it in place. Since this is bolted in this setup it's not like the caulk is helping hold it really in place, it's more just filling in gaps and reducing vibration if it does anything. correct?

[arftist]

I don't see why you need caulk. Once you bolt it together,asuming you use large enough bolts and tighten them properly, it will be essentialy one piece. Caulking goes between an anvil and a stump, though I don't use it there.

[meinhoutexas]

I was under the impression the caulk helped kill the ring. Am i wrong?