hadley perdue Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 I have a 350 lb cast iron "box table" measuring roughly 24 inches on all sides. It is machined on two sides and has keyways. I am told these things are used in machine shops as holding devises and other purposes. I plan to bolt a 6 inch diameter by 16 inch round steel on top of this casting to serve as my anvil for the junkyard hammer I am building. Can someone tell me whether this casting will stand up to the wolloping that these hammers deliver? Thank you for your help. Hadley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 With the 16" round to spread the load, I'd say "go for it"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkunkler Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 If it were 16" diameter by 6" thick I think it would spread the load ok, but at 6" in diameter in the middle of that cast iron top may be a problem. Also 24" for the table plus 16" for the round steel puts you at 40", that's a little high for anvil height. Grant, did you read his post as 16" diameter ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadley perdue Posted September 28, 2010 Author Share Posted September 28, 2010 If it were 16" diameter by 6" thick I think it would spread the load ok, but at 6" in diameter in the middle of that cast iron top may be a problem. Grant, did you read his post as 16" diameter ? Mr. dkunkler: You were correct, it's a 6 inch dia. round. The spread idea sounds logical. I have a bunch of 1/2 inch plate I could stack up and weld to achieve that spread...say a 12 inch square stack?? What do you think about that idea? Thank you, Hadley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 Never mind,I was too slow! He answered it,it`s a 6" diameter piece of round bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 I would forget the cast iron and just use the plates and the 6" round bar, If for no other reason than for the ease of welding. If the cast iron box was solid, that would be another story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 If it were 16" diameter by 6" thick I think it would spread the load ok, but at 6" in diameter in the middle of that cast iron top may be a problem. Also 24" for the table plus 16" for the round steel puts you at 40", that's a little high for anvil height. Grant, did you read his post as 16" diameter ? I would forget the cast iron and just use the plates and the 6" round bar, If for no other reason than for the ease of welding. If the cast iron box was solid, that would be another story. The top surface of my bottom die is just 39" from the floor. Guess it depends of your height and length of your arms. However, I agree that the plates would be easier to weld. That being said, the stacking of plates has its issues such as a deadening affect. I was warned against that on my hammer. I used stacked 1.25" x 8" diameter plates for a major part of my anvil. To help overcome the deadening, I put them in a hydraulic press and welded them under pressure. $0.02 please. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadley perdue Posted September 28, 2010 Author Share Posted September 28, 2010 Thank all of you for your helpful responses to my question. Hadley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkunkler Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 Stacking plate horizontally as thin as 1/2" would absorb some of the energy of the impact and decrease the efficency of the anvil. If you have access to a 36" length of 6" dia. round, use that with plate as a base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 If it were 16" diameter by 6" thick I think it would spread the load ok, but at 6" in diameter in the middle of that cast iron top may be a problem. Also 24" for the table plus 16" for the round steel puts you at 40", that's a little high for anvil height. Grant, did you read his post as 16" diameter ? No,..........I ah..........was thinking too fast...........that's the ticket, or reading too fast maybe. Yeah, thought it was 16" diameter. Well, cut the length down and slip in something at least 2" thick X 10" square to spread the load. Weld the plate to the round and bolt the plate to the block/table. Don't stack thin plates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkunkler Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 No,..........I ah..........was thinking too fast...........that's the ticket, or reading too fast maybe. Yeah, thought it was 16" diameter. Well, cut the length down and slip in something at least 2" thick X 10" square to spread the load. Weld the plate to the round and bolt the plate to the block/table. Don't stack thin plates. I knew you would offer good advice once you slowed your brain down and read the post correctly. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 We were posting at nearly the same time. Great minds think alike! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted September 29, 2010 Share Posted September 29, 2010 You know, this thread and another one in the store, bring to my mind the idea of efficiency in general. One of the first air hammers I ever saw was home made by a smith in my town. He was actualy french but happened to be living on the coast and doing some high end jobs at the time. I learned a lot from him, like every other decent smith I have ever had the pleasure to meet. It was he who convinced me of the value of using a four hundred pound anvil for general hand forgeing. Until then I had always been satified with my 160 or so hay budden. He used simple physics to convince me. Interestingly, his power hammer was the simplest afair imaginable and ran on a sears 60 or 80 gallon air compressor, likely 5 hp at the most. I cant remember every detail of the machine by any means, but I do remember him stacking a good amount of 1/4" plates,loose, on top of a box of sand for his anvil and then smacking the snot out of a peice of steel with it's 2" piston. And this from someone who clearly knew better. He used what he had, it worked, though maybe not perfectly, and was way faster than hand striking. He moved along many years ago, and I have no idea if he ever put a better anvil on his power hammer or not, though I tend to think he did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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