hey guys, made this anvil stand several years ago for Lisa's traveling set up..Has always worked great on grass,dirt etc..Well mounted it to concrete floor in new shop until we move the rest of the old shop in..So big anvil is still in there with power hammer and block..Anyway the stand legs are made from 3 1/2" x 1/4" angle, fairly heavy..Braced all around. the plate is 3/4"..Well its solid but this thing has a decent amount of vibration on the concrete floor..There is one inch of plywood between anvil and stand now and it helps some but when you have to "get on it" the vibration is noticeable..Its more of a aggravation than a problem. The stand is pretty heavy and put together well..Im thinking maybe its because the legs are angle instead of tubing..What do you think?

I was thinking of trying something like that. I have some belt lining that should work..Does that work well for you?

10 hours ago, KYBOY said:

the vibration is noticeable....Im thinking maybe its because the legs are angle instead of tubing..What do you think?

Square heavy wall square tube or pipe will be more rigid than angle iron of similar size. Anyone who has used a cheap landscape trailer and a heavy duty equipment trailer of equivalent dimensions can attest to that. Weight vs strength vs cost is always the battle.

As a frequently moved portable unit designed to be set up on dirt for demos, cheap and light is the way to go. Big feet to keep from sinking is the main consideration, and the earth will absorb the vibration. You can wrap the legs in logging chain to add mass and dampen the vibes like Brian Brazeal does. You could also add an expanded metal shelf between the legs, pipe sections as receiver brackets for tool trays, racks, etc.

A stand designed with hollow legs also has the advantage of filling the legs with oiled sand for additional mass and vibration dampening. Mounting holes in the feet are helpful as well, as even the best stands can dance on hard surfaces. Timber spikes will work on dirt or asphalt for demos, threaded concrete anchors in a permanent shop.

The difference between it's original use when it didn't ring and it's current use when it does ring is the floor it's standing on, hard floor = ringing, ergo soften the floor. A plywood foot or similar will likely suffice, it's no great effort to try it out.

My personal preference is for stumps if you can find them big enough or if not composite wooden. (my forge is only a few meters from my neighbours homes so noise is a BIG issue!)

 

The pads work well for damping vibration however the stands are heavy pipe. the big fisher is on 2x4 pipe that is 1/2 in thick. As John mentioned above the vibration could also come from the use of angle iron rather than pipe.

It may well be the choice of angle iron is a big factor causing the vibrations to resonate, but as it's already made from angle iron and it wasn't a problem on soft ground, then damping the effect of the hard standing is surely the solution unless one intends a completely rebuild.

I have a steel stand. In my opinion - the angle iron is fairly stout in dimensions, I'd be more focused on the horizontal leg supports which appear to be flat bar. I my experiences, flat bar has a ton of flex. On soft ground, I bet the legs dig in and that absorbs the vibration and flex on the flat bar. On hard surfaces - the feet are probably flexing and moving a little- so not so much dampening. Putting pads under it will help I'm sure, but if you are willing to modify the stand a little - I'd try replacing the flat bar supports with angle iron and possibly making it into a shelf with either a solid piece of thin plate or grating to make it rigid. I also seem to remember someone mentioning putting a large magnet on the legs and vibration being reduced significantly???? But I never had to try that so i'm not sure if it works. Here's the link to my post - I don't have very much vibration problems.

http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/41426-new-steel-anvil-stand-with-removable-wheels/#comment-424162

Im going to try some belt lining for now. I knew when we made it that is was just for demos and I was afraid this would happen when it was moved in the new shop. Its just temporary there anyway. Replacing the flat bar with angle is easily doable. Probably a very good idea to do anyway..Might go ahead and try that too..That anvil is actually a bit too small for what's being done but we cant move the main anvil in until the power hammer is moved and that wont be for a couple months probably..Theres no ring, its just that dang vibration LOL