newbieforge Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Hi all, Just thought I'd share some photos of the anvil stand that I finished today. I started this project about 3 weeks ago, but got called away on a work trip. This weekend I finally managed to finish it off. Here it is: The top is a 12" x 15" x 1 1/2" steel plate. I got it from a local steel fabricator for cheap. It was originally a long strip, 48" long by 12" wide, but they cut it into 3 pieces for $25. So one day I can build two more anvil stands with the other two pieces. The legs are 2" x 5" rectangular tube with 1/4" wall thickness. The angle of the legs (~9 degrees) is such that all vertical force applied at the top of the stand is transmitted directly down into the floor. If the legs were angled out more, then vertical forces would try to spread the legs apart, giving the stand some springiness. Using wide pipe stock, and keeping the leg angle so that the tops of the legs vertically overlap with the leg bottoms, eliminates the springiness. The feet are 7 1/2" long pieces of 3" x 1/2" strap. I put holes in the feet in case one day I want to permanently fix the stand in my shop. The welding was done using a 120V Lincoln Electric Migpak 140 with 0.035" flux core wire. Taking some cues from forum topics and chat discussions here on IFI, I didn't bolt the anvil to the stand. The 1" x 1/4" steel straps keep it from rotating or walking during hammering. So far it seems the anvil is heavy enough that it does not need to be bolted down. If it turns out it does need to, then it will be an easy modification. Thanks in particular to TechnicusJoe for fruitful discussions. Last night when I seated the anvil inside the straps, I found that it rocked back and forth unacceptably. The anvil base was not perfectly flat. So I flipped over the anvil, and using another piece of plate as a flat reference, I ground down the base to make it flat. About 30 minutes of careful grinding eliminated the rocking motion completely. To make the fit even more snug, I cut a piece of rubber floor mat and put it between the anvil and the stand. This anvil (a 217# Wilkinsons) does not have a very loud ring to begin with, but the rubber seemed to make it a bit quieter nonetheless. Thanks for looking. Comments and criticisms welcomed! All the best Markus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel.85 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Very nice, looks like youre doing great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jymm Hoffman Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Looks nice. A question for you, do you put your horn opposite of your hammer hand? If you are right handed as I am and put the round horn on my left, then I recommend you change so the 2 legs are under your horn and the single leg under the other end. This allows you to stand closer to the anvil, a great advantage to this type of stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbieforge Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 Daniel -- Thanks. Jymm -- I have not yet worked at the anvil enough to know the answer to your question. (I would guess my total time working is only around 30-40 hours.) I find myself working at the anvil from all sides, depending what I am doing. I expect with time I'll settle into more routine work patterns, as I discover how the material, tools, and I all work together. The stand design allows the anvil to be rotated 180 degrees, so I will try out your suggestion to see how it is. Markus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Beautifully done. Those welds look great, and I love the beefy legs. Did you backfill the legs with sand and oil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbieforge Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 Thank you, VaughnT. The legs are empty. I did some light work on the anvil today, and I liked how it worked as-is. The whole stand weighs over 100#; do you think sand + oil would be a benefit in this case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Well, the oil and sand goes a long way to helping quiet the whole thing, and it helps to prevent the legs from rusting from the inside out. A heavier stand certainly isn't a bad thing and will only help with the performance of the anvil. Putting a pair of removable wheels on the back legs, like on a hand-truck, would make moving even the heaviest stand a whole lot easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Good Morning, Sometimes if the anvil rings too much, I put a single layer piece of inner tube between the anvil and the base. Another way that Tom Clark did it was to use some silicone between them. If it isn't too bad, leave it alone. Wear your ear protection!!. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbieforge Posted October 23, 2012 Author Share Posted October 23, 2012 So far the anvil seems quiet enough, with the piece of rubber mat between it and the stand, just like what you suggested, Neil. Good tip about the hand cart wheels, VaughnT. That sounds like the way to go. Now I just need another Saturday where I'm too lazy to practice forging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monomoit Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Newbie, great job! The stand is a thing of beauty... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbieforge Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 Thanks, monomoit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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