Anvil stands

[BLZR]

Is it better to have your anvil on a metal stand or on the traditional log? Thanks in advance.

[Jocko 58]

G'day i use Logs this way

Cheers John

[K. Bryan Morgan]

I suppose it would depend on what kind of floor you have in your shop. If I had a dirt/ground/gravel floor, I think I would like to use a log burried 3-4 feet into the ground. If I had a concrete floor, I think a tripod style metal stand with the feet lagged into the concrete floor would be a good way to go. I don't want my anvil moving because that looses energy when I strike, besides which it is just annoying to have to adjust my stance all the time.

As it is I have a wooden floor. I use a stump and I have placed some strip wood around my stump and screwed it in. When I deliver a very heavy blow I can feel the whole floor flex. But I didn't build the shed so I have no control over that.

[CurlyGeorge]

I have my 150# Trenton traveling/demo anvil on a stump. My 250# Trenton shop anvil is mounted atop a 2X12 box (2X12s are vertical) that is filled with sand. The shop floor is concrete, and the box full of sand helps keep the bounce out of it and also seems to deaden the ring, somewhat. :)

[pkrankow]

"yes"

It is better to have the anvil well restrained and the stand fastened to the floor or ground. Having a metal stand facilitates an arrangement that can be moved about and pinned down, and burying a log with the end out is about as good as it gets. Having a free to move log with a well fastened anvil is a compromise.



Have a look at some ideas.

Phil

[pkrankow]

Welcome Aboard!

Phil

[matto]

it all matters on how you are going to use the anvil and what kind of work you are going to do. stumps where used because it was easier to find a four or five foot long log than to find and wast metal that could be used for a prodject. most traditional shop floors where dirt so it was also easier to dig a hole deep enough to put the log into. as for log vs. metal today, it is fully up to you. remember that the point of the stand is to support the anvil making work easier on you. a bouncing anvil is not effective and dangerous. with a metal stand you can put a little of you into it and is a little easier to bolt down if it is not heavy enough. a log not buried is harder to do heavy work on. so that said it is really up to you. if you have the time make and try both to see what you like better. matto

[Dillon Sculpture]

This one is 11ga. full of sand with a lead cap, the anvil doest move or ring.

[DClaville]

if its a anvil you want to have movable/drag-able then i would recommend say a metal tripod have used a few at others workshops and like em will be making one for my 2nd. anvil
if you can dig it down into the ground then a wooden one, log sawed square or made from 4x4s or similar i find a round one tents to make it hard to get in close to the anvil, but make sure if you use wood that its on end grain and you don't have anything sandwiched that will take up force when working

[Ted T]

Anvil ~ Form and Function of an Anvil Support

You asked a very good, simple, strait forward; question that I believe has several underlying factors that should be considered in order to meet YOUR needs.

Many here have covered important aspects that should be consider when deciding on what type of anvil support (stump) that will meet your needs.

I will add my thoughts although it is mostly repetition
As a seemingly simple question that you asked, I feel the type of anvil support you end up using should be based on a broad spectrum of information, just as you are asking for.

Here is my approach to most issues:
Most undertakings we do in life can be done in one of several ways based on the immediate circumstances and funds available.
The process we choose to achieve a certain results is sometime referred to as “Form and Function”.

An example: You are planning to take a trip and travel to a certain destination.

To keep this simple, the “function” would be to reach your destination.
The “form” would be what manner of transportation you use to travel.

Many issues must be considered when making the decision on how YOU are going travel such as how far you need to travel, weather conditions, time element, availability of vehicle use, and so on!

Based on your situation and needs, you may choose one or a combination of the following ways to fill the “FORM” part of the equation to get to your destination.

You may choose some of the following options; Walk, Bicycle, Motorcycle, Automobile, Bus, Fly, Hitch Hike, Hand push cart, or Hand pull cart.
Or, Horse Drawn; Pull cart, Buggy, Wagon, Stage Coach. Or, Oxen drawn cart, and so on as a means to fill the “FORM” part of the equation.
I am sure you get my point! It can become endless. Only you understand your needs and abilities.

And so it is with the type of STUMP or anvil support you choose to use also.

The function is to find a “support “that will hold your Anvil securely and that will meet all of your needs so as to allow you to use it to your maximum advantage.

Some factors to consider:

1. A safe anvil is a secure anvil.
In the 50’s I learned from an old Blacksmith, “Konger” was his name.
He said to “make sure you secure your anvil and anvil stand”. He knew of blacksmiths who have tipped over
un-secured anvils.
He called them a floater anvils, usually a smaller anvil they would move around the shop and was placed were needed.
He said the problem can easily surface usually when using a bending fork in the hardie hole of an unsecured anvil or stand.
As they were bending a piece of long stock, it would start to cool.
Like most of us, they were trying to get the most out of each heat as they could. Because they would push the window to the limit, now instead of bending the stock, the long piece of stock would cool off (stiffened up) and has turned into a lever .

Now as a lever, it would start to tip the unsecured anvil or stand over as you tried to bend it.

When the smiths tried to catch the anvil, yup, you guessed it! I’ll bet they limped for awhile. Most of us say we would not try to catch an anvil. But I have seen it myself!
It is a good thing that I cannot remember very well, it may have been ME!

2. Anvil Height v. Functional Effective Use.
Just my thoughts only!
Before I would install a stump buried deep in the ground (as is desired for a permanently installed anvil stump location) vs. (a floater or a demo anvil support).
I would consider identifying what the ideal height would be for my best use.

If you are young and still have growing to do, I would consider a style that allowed me to adjust height. Once you feel good about it, plant your stump if that is your choice.


3. Consider what anvil you will be using on a permanently installed structure.
The height and the area of mass of the anvil must be considered so it will fit up properly
when you size the stump. !

Note: How to establish the proper height for your self is another issue in its self!

Just my thoughts, best to you as you proceed in the craft of Blacksmithing!

[HWooldridge]

My anvil stand is a truncated pyramid of concrete with an angle iron frame fastened to the top. It was pretty easy to build a wooden form, put in a little steel and fill with concrete, so my "stump" weighs 300 lbs under my 250 lb anvil, which does not scoot around at all. The top of it can be seen in my avatar.

[Drewed]

I like logs. But then again, that is what I had laying around. Cost $0.00

[BLZR]

Thanks to everyone. This has helped me greatly.

[r smith]

This one is 11ga. full of sand with a lead cap, the anvil doest move or ring.

May I ask what do you mean by lead cap? Is it just a plate of lead "floating" on the sand that fits inside the steel box? How thick?
Thank you
r smith

[Dillon Sculpture]

Couple inches? Been awhile.

[coolhand]

I got logs 3 ft in the ground and love them! 3 logs 1 for the vise and 2 for the anvils. then I changed my setup and had to jack all three logs out and and move them over 18 inches or so. Terrible experience.

[Frank Turley]

My personal anvil is in a box of sand. I have a flat bar with a hole either end across the front foot area and one across the back foot area. Four sections of allthread are welded to the sides of the box fore and aft at angles to protrude through the four holes. Washers and nuts hold the anvil fast into the sand. If not fastened, the anvil tends to sink into the sand at odd angles. I first saw this sand idea in Schmirler's book, "Werk und Werkzeug des Kunstschmieds." The fastening method is in the old book, "20th Century Toolsmith and Steelworker." I'm on a concrete floor, so that the anvil can be moved close for small work or moved away for large jobs. In most shops, 'close' means about 4 feet from the center of the fire to the center of the anvil. For heavy work, that distance can be increased to 6 feet or so.