Drifter Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 I finally got my material together. 1 in plate top and bottom with a piece of 4 in tube 5/16 wall. The plates are 10X12 and the tube was cut to 18 1/2 in long. I connected them with 3 passes of 1/8 in 7018 . Ground out for the irregularities of the anvil base and got the rocking down to less then1/32 in. I am thinking of cutting a radius to fit the sides of the anvil and welding them onto the base plate. Good or bad idea? I have no plans of doing real heavy work on it just forming drifts and such not trying to straighten a plow LOL. Drifter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Thompson Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Are you making an anvil stand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 An anvil stand does not have to be very fancy. Here is an example of an anvil stand made from 2 by 6 lumber. The anvil simply sits in an additional layer at the top that is cut-out to match the anvil. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drifter Posted August 23, 2009 Author Share Posted August 23, 2009 Made my stand already but want to make sure my anvil doesn't walk around. I am thinking of using redhead anchors thru the bottom plate as well to anchor the stand as my base isn't big . I made the top and bottom plates the same 10X12 inches and it is 1 inch thick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 My concern is that the arrangement looks a bit top-heavy and potentially unstable, due to the small base. You may wish to read through this thread, as it shows stands with legs arranged at an angle to provide stability and enable the smith to stand comfortably in relation to the anvil. http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f83/anvil-stand-help-10503/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haasum Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 My concern is that the arrangement looks a bit top-heavy and potentially unstable, due to the small base. That's exactly what I was thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragons lair Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 threes a crowd. Anchor it or a bigger base plate. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welder19 Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 If your not going to be moving it around then the easiest thing to do would be to anchor it to the floor, if your going to need to move it around then I would give it a bigger footprint, or make the base heavier, one or the other. welder19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgtwister Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 i would go with all of the above me personaly i like an old pieace of oak or stump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 My concern is that the arrangement looks a bit top-heavy and potentially unstable, due to the small base. You may wish to read through this thread, as it shows stands with legs arranged at an angle to provide stability and enable the smith to stand comfortably in relation to the anvil. http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f83/anvil-stand-help-10503/ Unicorn forge is correct, there is a lot of good info in that anvil stand help thread that I solicited from the old salties of this forum before I tried to make a steel anvil stand myself. Now i'm just parroting the sage advice i've put to use on both my steel anvil stands. An anvil stand needs these three things... #1: Means to secure the anvil to stand (straps, bolts, brackets, etc) #2: Mass (weight) This will decrease vibration and add to the mass the hammer see's. #3: Stability. This is primarily is for safety but the more stable the anvil is the more the ring is reduced. You definitely have some nice thick plate there but you have a very heavy anvil on what is essentially a pedestal. Here are a couple options. The most severe being cut off the supporting column and weld on three legs. This will give the stability you need. If that sounds like two much work the next option would be to weld 3 pieces of steel to the bottom plate (think a crows foot) to give that bottom plate some stability. Or you could bolt that bottom plate to the concrete. I might also suggest some steel gussets under the anvil stands top plate that go from the vertical column to the underside of the top plate. This will give that top plate a great deal more rigidity. Also as told to me by countless people when welding up steel anvil stands "Weld the snot out of it". It's good advice to do some multipass welds on critical joints. Outside of just enhancing your anvil stand these additions/upgrades will drastically improve the safety aspect. The last thing anyone here wants to see is you have a catastrophic failure on your stand and an ensuing injury of yourself, an other, or property. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 Made my stand already but want to make sure my anvil doesn't walk around. I am thinking of using redhead anchors thru the bottom plate as well to anchor the stand as my base isn't big . I made the top and bottom plates the same 10X12 inches and it is 1 inch thick. You could also take 4 pieces of 2.5" sq tubing 1/4-3/16 wall thickness and weld them between the bottom and top plate in the four corners. That would really stiffen that whole assembly up exponentially. Then if you welded some tabs onto the bottom plate or simply bolted right into the bottom plate itself you'd have fixed up your issues quite quickly. (well at least thats my 2cents) As you can see on these attachments the angle'd gussets/brackets i've welded into stands out of 1/2" thick plate cut to fit in the joints. This gives incredible strength and is used frequently in automotive and aerospace fabrication to stiffen and add support. Best of luck.. looks good so far. Glad you got some thick plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 A fairly easy way to secure the anvil on that plate is to get some bar and weld it at an angle at the front feet. Then get some bar and drill and tap it for some nice heavy bolts 1/2" or so and weld that to the back. As you tighten the bolts it will push the anvil into the front bar(s) and actually wedge under them securing the anvil to the stand with incredible strength. Of course you'll want to lay down your caulking/sikaflex before doing this. Here are some pictures to describe what i'm talking about. The 1" bars that don't have bolts in them are actually angled to meet the same slope as the anvil. This way when the bolts from the other side are tightened it actually pushes the anvil's feet up under that bar that is welded in (on a slope) securing it extremely tight in there. I think I scored this trick off of Frosty, but i've also seem people create a clamp that pushes down over the feet tightening them down to the stand. To me that seems like a lot more work. But for some who don't have a welder that could be an option too. Cheers, and show us pics of any updates. Av Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urnesBeast Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 I am just learning to weld, and I am in need of a new anvil stand. I suspect I will start with a stump and then weld a stand as shown here. I am at the point in welding of "Unconscious Incompetence" (I don't know enough to know how bad I am at it!) I plan to do something like Hofi or Avadon have done. I figure I need to buy the base since it is way thicker than I can cut. How will I know my welding is up to snuff enough to accomplish this task? I really do not need a #325 anvil falling. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 The original stand looked noisy, flexible and subject to tip over. The stack of wood stand would work better if the wood pieces were going vertically rather than horizontally---a lot less bounce. I would not post that one as a suggestion myself. You will need someway to tie the anvil down. My main shop anvil is 500+ pounds and it will still shift on it's stand when I'm doing heavy pounding on it! Tieing it down helps the noise aspect as well. Doug, build a design where you can bolt things together and then weld it up so the bolts are a "failsafe" backup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drifter Posted August 26, 2009 Author Share Posted August 26, 2009 I am in the process of gathering more material to modify the stand. I have found some 2 inch shedule 40 pipe for legs and maybe some more 1 inch plate for feet. I don't want to end up wearing my anvil. I may try to laminate the 2 pieces of 1 inch plate I have 10X12 for the base under the anvil itself then attach legs to that and splay them out for better stability. Drill in for plug welds as well for the lamination. Drifter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Speak softly, approach from the left, never from behind , and no sudden moves. Always keep an eye on the horn, as they can really hurt ya with it :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewOC Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 yes-siree biggundr, those horns are so vicious! A large workshop in Sydney had installed big rubber condoms on the anvil horns due to so many compo claims. standing orders were the rubber things had to be on when ever the horn was not in use. so look out! regards Andrew O'C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sorefingers Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Well to be honest my first steel anvil stand was a huge let down. Part of that could have been poor design on my part but I went back to wood. I built one out of 4"x6" instead of 2" material though. First one I ever had was a huge block of oak that my grandpa let me have out of the saw mill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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