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Securing my anvil


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Hey guys, I'll include a pic if I can figure out how, but I made my stand to be rather light out of 2x12's, and I'm wondering if y'all think 4 lag screws with chain tightening the anvil down will take the stress. My concern is that lag bolts will pull out of the 2x12 over time, I was going to tighten it pretty good with a air wrench. Also I want to put a layer of silicon to deaden the noise. I wish I had put bolts and washer in before I glued and screwed the xxxx out of it. Hindsight is always 20/20.... My other idea is to glue and screw 4x4's to the sides running lengthwise with the anvil. And run washers and bolts through that. Just wanted some second opinions. Thanks!

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I wouldn't bother with the chain and lags.  Chain around the waist gets in the way when you're doing a bend sometimes, and just adds more to the whole system.

 

Instead, allow the silicone to do its thing. It will silence the anvil like you won't believe, but it will also glue it into place rather well.  I actually used masonry adhesive because that's what I had.

 

A good beginner project would be to forge a few simple, but elegant, spikes that will hold the anvil in position and look good doing it.

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Spikes would keep it from walking, I wouldn't have any problem repurposing a few of my RR spikes for that, but I want to torque it down to that base, not using an adhesive, I won't have a shop built till closer to Christmas. So it's all about portability for the time being.

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I plan on cutting some plywood footings from 3/8 scrap from work, and doing a layer of silicone in that, but this anvil rings like a bell, I'm not hot on the chain around the waist, but torquing it down on silicone should have it at a manageable level. Bolts I can remove, adhesive I can't. Just figuring out how to torque it down is my problem.

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Hey guys, I'll include a pic if I can figure out how, but I made my stand to be rather light out of 2x12's, and I'm wondering if y'all think 4 lag screws with chain tightening the anvil down will take the stress. My concern is that lag bolts will pull out of the 2x12 over time, I was going to tighten it pretty good with a air wrench.

 

 

I don't really see any issues with bolts pulling out. I have to be careful running lag bolts into deck framing with an impact wrench, or I can suck the bolts and washers down so deep the heads are inaccessible in the wood. I can't remember ever having one that I stripped the wood out on and had it spin. Bigger bolts have more holding force than the smaller ones do. I've snapped a few bolts off though with the impact.

 

The only issue I might see is if you run the bolts in and out a lot. Then they might loosen up eventually. There are a few "tricks" that can solve that issue. Woodworkers often fix stripped screws, by drilling out the "bad" area and glueing in a dowel. This is also common where they have to run screws into end grain that can be weak in some woods. They'll drill in from the side and glue in a hardwood dowel. The screw threads then can bite into the cross grain and garb better.

 

 

I did strip out 4 1/4" drive lags from the end grain of a 4x4 pot holding up my leg vise last week. That's because the guy "helping" me, simply slid the vise and post to the tail gate and dumped it to the ground. 50 lbs of steel plate on the base, plus the weight of a 70+ pound vise and the leverage of a 2' base, pulled the drive screws out no problem from the end grain on the old wood post, but end grain on wood is always weak like that. I just backed out the 3" ones and ran in some 4" ones and all was good.

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Why run bolts in and out all the time? Why not a threaded metal stud (think like an exhaust manifold) with a nut, or if you're really taken it apart all the time, maybe even a wing nut.

 

Or you could spike/staple it in and just use a dolly to move the whole thing as needed. I like big staples. They loosen up eventually, but one or two taps and you're back in play.

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Stand is not completely hollow, there are support boards in there. I saw a pic on here of a anvil stand with like 6" casters screwed in on the bottom of one side. With conduit brackets screwed in the side to run pipe through and wheel it around. I just don't want to trip on one of those while holding something warm...

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I am digging the nut idea, but I'll need to mount something to the side to put the bolts through. The stand is enclosed, no way to get inside the stand to mount from there. I bet some Simpson angle brackets, along with glue and screws would hold a 2x3 pretty well. I need to make sure I'm not adding to much to the side where it has me bending over to work on the anvil. One more idea to hit you guys with, y'all have given me lots of good ideas. What if I took 4 pieces of 1/4x1 about 3" long, drilled a hole at each end and in the middle, then ran 4" lag screws half way in through the 2 end holes and put a nut on the bottom of the middle hole and ran a blot through the chain into the nut.... I may be over thinking this...... I just got to have this thing portable until we build a shop later this year. It's pushing 200lbs right now. Not a matter of ability, but of will power haha.

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About the impact wrench:

I dont know if this ever happened with an anvil, but go easy on the bolts, tighten the bolts in a X pattern, bit by bit.

If you tighten only one really good and then go to the next you could break a feet.

This can happen with cast machine stands on uneven concrete

better safe then sorry 

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Very good point, I only bought this one new because it carried the blessing of the anvilfire guru, and quenchcrack. It is a cast ductile iron anvil, face hardness 52Rc, and I would need counseling if I broke it. Thank you, very good point, tighten it like a cylinder head, follow a pattern and move a little at a time. I don't think it would happen, the feet are quite thick, but I will definitely move as though that is a serious risk. If I broke it I would probably just go crazy and start hoarding cats......

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You don't need to remove the anvil from the stump to move the whole contraption in and out of the shop.  You can buy a cheap hand-truck from Lowe's or Home Depot for around $20, and probably get one cheaper at a yard sale.  Hand-trucks come in mighty handy for a lot of other things, too.

 

Or, you can turn your stump into a hand-truck by making a removable wheel/axle set up that can be quickly mounted to the bottom on one side.  Firmly fixe a piece of 1/2" black pipe to the stump so you can slide an axle through it.  Screw the wheels onto the end of the axle, or cotter pin them in place.  A similar pipe attached higher on the stump will hold the handle extensions.  It's been done a lot and there are a bunch of pictures of it on the net.

 

This example is very simple, though I would have used much larger wheels and placed them so they are on the sides of the stump.  Gotta use what you got, though.  A 200lb anvil/stump GVWR is easy as pie to move with a hand-truck, and I'm an old man!

 

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With the Anvil firmly fixed to the stump with some silicone and spikes, you could roll her all over the place and not worry a bit about it.  Don't overthink the problem.

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Lots of options for putting bolts or studs into wood. You can use threadserts to put a machine thread into wood so you can use standard bolts, or you can use lag studs if you want the studs to stay in place all the time so you can use wing nuts or standard nuts. Most home centers carry both kinds, though selection on threadserts would be better in a woodworking store.

 

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You're making a common beginner's mistake, you're really over thinking this. When I mounted my anvils on wood stands they were morticed in to the top of the feet and never went anywhere. I could lift them out if necessary but just a rim was all it took to keep them secure. I used those spruce block stands for probably 25+ years and they were getting so rotten where they met on the ground they were just dead gone when I replaced them.

 

Now I use steel stands, they're much quieter, more solid than wood, more mobile, lighter, I can work closer to the anvil, hammer and tong racks just clip on.

 

Anyway, your anvil stand is good to go as it is, if the anvil wants to hop out over the rim then bend a couple 22d nails across kitty corner feet. Silicone is a pretty good noise deadener but you don't need to glue the anvil to the stand, just lay a couple generous beads on the stand and smooth them flat with a putty knife spatula, ruler, etc. just something with a straight smooth edge. Let it dry and it's good to go.

 

Don't worry about getting too complicated with things, it's really easy to get carried away looking for the perfect solution. Nothing is perfect, sure some things work better than others but it isn't the tools that do the work, it's those clever monkeys with thumbs that do it. There's only one MUST have tool, your brain. . . Oh okay, eyes, fingers and the rest of your upper appendages are really handy too.

 

Learn from doing, trying to figure these things out before you start is of very limited value, it's the experimentation and failure analysis that do the teaching. I don't know if you cook but here's an analogy: How long should I cook rue before adding the water? Should I buy a new pan? What's the perfect spatula? Should I use a gas, electric or induction range? Should I stir constantly? Should I use a spoon or whisk? What kind, how big? On and on, a person can get really lost trying to figure out all the details and believe me most of what you figure out in advance will be wrong and you'll have to un-figure it out. The answer to the example question is by color or smell if you want a dark rue and the more you brown it the less thickening power it'll have. There's only one way to learn the color or smell and that's by burning a few pans of rue. (If you're interested<grin>)

 

I'm not trying to be a mean old fart, I think a majority of old hands here have wasted time over thinking things. I'm just trying to help with perspective. Making perfect tools is the tool maker's job. If you want to blacksmith build a fire and start beating hot steel. If there's a problem with how your anvil performs you'll notice and have a basis to adjust it.

 

If you can't figure out what's wrong, we're here for you, bring it to the forum. Just don't fix something unless it's broken. <wink>

 

Frosty The Lucky.

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Constant stirring, low to medium low heat. and okra for the last bit to thicken. NOT file powder......dang it. Now I want gumbo. :D

 

I always want gumbo but I developed a shrimp allergy and have to do other flavors. <sigh> Of course chicken makes good gumbo, as does turkey and moose or caribou or. . . Well, darned near anything. Crawfish Etouffee is heaven on tongue.

 

Ever notice how many blacksmiths cook? I mean REALLY cook.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

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Don't worry about getting too complicated with things, it's really easy to get carried away looking for the perfect solution. Nothing is perfect,

 

Learn from doing, trying to figure these things out before you start is of very limited value, it's the experimentation and failure analysis that do the teaching.

 

a person can get really lost trying to figure out all the details and believe me most of what you figure out in advance will be wrong and you'll have to un-figure it out.

 

 If you want to blacksmith build a fire and start beating hot steel.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

 

This should be a sticky.

 

BTW - I like a dark rue and if shrimp is off the menu, chicken and sausage ain't too shabby. I'm a country boy, so its squirrel and sausage here on occasion.

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