Is it a good idea to make an anvil stand out of reinforced concrete? I was going to put tubing in in it so I can secure the anvil with crossed bands.

i imagine it could work...i'd put something like a strip of leather between the anvil and the stand for stability and too keep down the vibration , as long as its of good hight for you and the anvil is properly secured it should work. but thats just me, perhaps someone who has tried this will chime in.

I was going to use mining belt between the anvil and the concrete. I have about a ton of it.

good idea...seen a few people on here use concrete as filler and weight. the rubber belt is good for the concrete longevity (crumbling if no steel top plate). i use rubber under mine...two big strips, but when you fasten yours with belt under i dont think you will have any probs. (less you only have a push bike and need to do a demo 50k away and want to take the stand):o

I have a little 90 pounder for demos connected to a hollow maple stump.

I've seen lot's of iron stands filled with concrete never seen a solid concrete one though, should work pretty much the same as an iron stand i should think, maybe better seeing as it'd be heavier, you could get a 1/4" steel plate for the top and weld a load of rebar to the bottom and cast the concrete so that the steel top is held on by the rebar that'd be very similar to an iron stand filled with concrete

I've just been making a solid oak stand for my "new" 214lb and it's looking good

Does cedar work good for stands?

would be a bit light i would think, most people seem to say oak, elm, beech, and the heavier the better..

If cedar is all you have it will be OK. If you have the choice, then a heavy, hardwood stump is the usual choice.

Does cedar work good for stands?

Jumbly, I have used cypress and I had some problem after a year or so with the wood cupping because of hammer blows, but it really was not enough to be concerned with. I just drove a shim here and there to level it every 6 months or so and it only took all of two minutes.

I have my anvil right on a concrete floor and I use a bit of leather between for protection and it works just fine- granted it's a light 83lb job and I don't do any sledge work and a floor's a bit different than a reinforced concrete stand, but I don't get any crushing, powdering or any kind of damage to the concrete...

Jumbly, I have used cypress and I had some problem after a year or so with the wood cupping because of hammer blows, but it really was not enough to be concerned with. I just drove a shim here and there to level it every 6 months or so and it only took all of two minutes.

Okay because I removed a couple hundred year old cedar and the tree is very thick and hard for its type. I'm rather new to black smithing so I appreciate the help.

Jumbly, have you found your way to SWABA, SouthWest Artist Blacksmith Association, yet?

We are the ABANA affiliate for NM and would be happy to see you at meetings, our website is at:

ABANA-chapter web page

We'll also be doing demo's the entire State Fair over at the Street of Yesteryear (on the way to the livestock barns) stop by if you're at the fair!


What kind of stuff are you needing? I hope to go to Quad-State Blacksmith's Round-Up in a couple weeks and they will have EVERYTHING for sale both new and used there!

Thomas Powers
President of SWABA

I actually was wondering something similar I was thinking about pouring basically a concrete stump around a tube stand I was thinking about making and have the block of metal I want to use attached to the stand so the concrete actually goes a few inches up onto it and set rocks into the outside of the concrete. I was wondering if the shock of using the anvil would destroy the concrete or if it would be better to use masonry mix.

I worked with my father for years in construction. Here is what I know about concrete which will help you build a decent concrete anvil stand that would hold up.  Concrete is strong under compression.  When you reinforce concrete with rebar, the rebar adds tension strength.  A good example is a concrete beam. The top of the beam is under compression and the bottom of the beam is under tension.  The rebar adds strength to the part of the beam under tension.  A concrete wall or foundation applies the same principles as the beam.  Even a reinforced concrete slab can be thought of as a beam. The top or bottom of the slab (depending on what is going on with the soil or the load on the slab) is under compression or tension.

Concrete takes time to cure and will take weeks and even months/years to cure completely.  The amount of Portland cement is important.  Concrete mixes have a ratio of square feet of aggregate to Portland cement.  A 6 bag mix (cubic yard of aggregate and 6 cubic feet of cement) is stronger and harder than a 4 bag mix.  A cubic yard has 27 cubic feet.  One bag of cement (98 pounds) is one cubit foot.  Premix from your local hardware store would be sufficient.  See if they have extra strong mixes.  Just calculate how much you need. You can find a concrete calculator for how many bags you need.  

An anvil stand made of an 18 inch square (or cylinder) and to the height you need and reinforced with 12 inch horizontal squares(or circles)  of 1/2 #2 rebar every 6 inches starting with the first one 2 inches from the bottom and 2 inches from the top, tied to vertical 1/2 rebar at the corners would make a very sturdy stand.  You could put some j-bolts that tied to and under the horizontal rebar to bolt your anvil down to.   

Make a simple concrete form from 1/2 plywood or what ever you have around.  Use 2x4s on the corners and screw it all together.  Allow the stand to cure for at least a week before using it.  

I have thought about making one.  I think I will now. With the anvil bolted down well, it would add mass to your anvil.  If you made it a cylinder you could tip it on one side and roll it around.  If you made a steel frame from angle iron and incorporated that into the concrete mold, that would protect the corners from busting over time.  

So the tension/compression explanation and why I explained that.  As you hammer on your anvil you are applying compression to the anvil which is transferred to your concrete stand.  The concrete is very strong under compression, but since it is not going anywhere down the force is transferred outward as tension in the stand.  Think of upsetting a rod of iron.  The horizontal rebar every six inches will hold it all together.  If you were concerned about it being stronger you could even add an "X" horizontal tying the opposite corners together.  Add some additional j-bolts to the sides to bolt some hangers and tool holders to it.  

A cubic foot of concrete weighs about 150 pounds. An 18x18 stand would weigh about 350 pounds with the rebar in it.