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anvil stand question


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I noticed that everyone seems to use straps over the heels of the anvil to secure it to a stand. My anvil (a 150# fisher farriers) has a screw hole on each heel. I used a router to make a 1/4" recess that the anvil sits in, is it adequate to use the screw holes to simply screw it to a stand or will it just "jimmy" itself loose during use?

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A good way to keep screws from working loose is to use glue. Simply fill the drilled holes with good glue and then run the screws in. The screws will force glue into the wood grain by hydraulic pressure so when the glue dries it'll reinforce the wood. Elmer's Wood glue works just fine as will paint though paint isn't the best. Epoxy is good, much better if diluted with xylene so it penetrates the wood grain. If you warm the screws to about 350f in the oven hot glue will work well and it's the easiest to remove, simply warm the bolts to around 355+f and it'll liquify.

For the most part I think just the screws will work just fine, long screws are better, the more wood they contact the stronger the join and the less vibration can affect them.

Frosty the Lucky.

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A good way to keep screws from working loose is to use glue. Simply fill the drilled holes with good glue and then run the screws in. The screws will force glue into the wood grain by hydraulic pressure so when the glue dries it'll reinforce the wood. Elmer's Wood glue works just fine as will paint though paint isn't the best. Epoxy is good, much better if diluted with xylene so it penetrates the wood grain. If you warm the screws to about 350f in the oven hot glue will work well and it's the easiest to remove, simply warm the bolts to around 300+f and it'll liquify.

For the most part I think just the screws will work just fine, long screws are better, the more wood they contact the stronger the join and the less vibration can affect them.

Frosty the Lucky.
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Brian Brazeal made a point at the last Meet I saw him at, Have you ever worked on an anvil that does not move? It was a good question and I had to admit, "No I haven't"
Once the question was asked I had to give it a try. Of course it makes sense. It makes a 200 lb anvil act like a 500 lb anvil. If you can give it a try.

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Speaking of moving anvils my brother and I were making some pins and wedges for a timber job and we were upsetting the heads on some 3/4 bar and by the time we had headed two pins we had walked the 275 lb anvil and stand about a foot and a half across the floor. I normally like my anvil free so I can reposition for bigger work if needed but I may consider locking the feet. The anvil is loose on the stand just trapped on the sides of the feet.

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My smaller anvils travel to give classes and so my stumps have blocks of wood curved to fit the lower parts of the sides so the anvils lift on and off easily for transport---could have routed the bases to fit; but the bases are old creosoted mine timbers and so applied blocks were *nicer* and can be changed for different anvils.

My shop anvil is a 515# Fisher and just sits on a large baulk of timber from a rr bridge, (found it floating in a stream during a flood...) It is held in place by a couple of fence staples along the sides to prevent walking under heavy use.

When the big one goes out to the "dirty shop" It will be on a buried large creosoted mine timber and get fastened down securely for security and liability reasons...

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