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Asking for design help for an anvil stand


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I just scored two pieces of 4" x 8" steel I-beam from a demo job near my home, and I'm thinking of making a stand for my anvil. Before I start cutting, I made a couple of scale models, most of which were pretty awful. This one strikes me as the best so far, but I'd appreciate some critique.

As this sits, it would be 22"tall, 30" side-to-side, and 8" front-to-back. I've shown the addition of a couple of feet to increase the depth under the heel, but these should probably be a little bigger than shown.

This is the stand by itself:

IMG_20160203_220625424.jpg

And this is with a mockup of the anvil's footprint:

IMG_20160203_220642152_HDR.jpg

And this is the stock with which I'll be working:

IMG_20160203_124438193.jpg

Thoughts?

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Will the anvil fit between the flanges? If so lay a section of the I beam on it's side and set the anvil in it so the flanges hold it in place and provide handy places to hold tools.

A tripod is far more stable than a quad.

Just because you HAVE a thing doesn't mean you HAVE to use it.

Frosty The Lucky.

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4 hours ago, Frosty said:

Will the anvil fit between the flanges? If so lay a section of the I beam on it's side and set the anvil in it so the flanges hold it in place and provide handy places to hold tools.

No, I thought of that, but the space between the flanges is about 6-3/4" wide, and the smallest dimension of the anvil base is 9-1/2".

4 hours ago, Frosty said:

A tripod is far more stable than a quad.

Very true.

4 hours ago, Frosty said:

Just because you HAVE a thing doesn't mean you HAVE to use it.

Frosty The Lucky.

True, but since I have it, I might as well use it.

Okay, I'm getting some ideas here. Back to the drawing board. Thanks, everyone.

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Okay, here's Version II. Version I has been turned 90° to go under the heel end of the base, the leg on the smith's side has been brought to vertical (less to trip over; thank you, ThomasPowers), and an angled leg now extends out under the horn. A couple of flanges have been extended vertically to form a rigid corner for the base, and a bracket can be attached to the leg under the horn to hold the other side of the base.

IMG_20160204_082359042.jpg

View from the horn end:

IMG_20160204_082451638_HDR.jpg

View from the smith's side:

IMG_20160204_082516233.jpg

View from the heel end:

IMG_20160204_082529001.jpg

Since building this model, it's occurred to me that I could make the off-side leg similarly to the horn-end leg, with the web running vertically.

Thoughts?

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Your first design is good. The 2 extensions on the left leg make it like a 3 legged stand. Maybe like you said make each 3 inches wide. That makes your contact points 14 inches apart on the left which i think is fine. Put a plate on top similar to to your mock up so the beams have maximum stability then tie the legs together near floor to prevent spreading. Do an image search for anvil stumps and we see most of the stumps really are not that much wider on the floor then the anvil base. So your dimensions are good.   Dont overthink this and make it overly complicated:-)

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Your second design is much better.  Angle the two back legs out 22.5 degrees both to the back and the side.

As was said in a couple of other posts, just because you have it doesn't mean you have to use it.  You might find a better use for it sometime later.  I build my stands with 2" square tubing and I have one that is made from 3" I beams.

The height should be about your wrist when you are standing up straight.  With the 3 legged stand your feet can be under the anvil with you closer and up straight with less back pain.  A 3 legged stand always has all three legs firmly on the ground and is much more stable.

Let me know if I can help you,

Wayne

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22 hours ago, Frosty said:

Will the anvil fit between the flanges? If so lay a section of the I beam on it's side and set the anvil in it so the flanges hold it in place and provide handy places to hold tools.

Okay, I take it back: the anvil won't fit completely between the flanges, but most of the base will. Some strategic cutting will create notches for the feet. Looks like I'll be going with a section on its side for the top and three legs angled out as described above.

Time to make another model....

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Sounds like your making a dedicated anvil stand to THAT anvil. Then start with the anvil and the anvil foot print and build down from there.

Build a box from angle iron to place the anvil into. The box will allow you to adjust the anvil higher by adding wood etc under the anvil. Next decide how you want the legs oriented, one under the horn, two under the heel or what ever you decide. Try rotating the legs so they are 90* to the previous design. Imagine all the possibilities and so a mock set up to see how it works. Do you have room for your feet? Is the design super stable? etc.

Cut the top of the legs to match the box, and cut the bottom of the legs to match the ground. Be sure and round all the metal corners so they do not become pinch points or other hazards.

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Here's Version III. The top is as I described to Frosty: lying flat with notches in the flanges for the corners of the anvil base. The leg under the horn is angled out 22.5° from vertical, to the front. The two rear legs are angled 22.5° from vertical both to the rear and to the sides. All three legs are welded to the underside of the top; the rear legs have the tops of their webs welded to the bottom edges of the side flanges of the top.

IMG_20160205_231453155.jpg

Rear view:

IMG_20160205_231609950.jpg

Striker's view:

IMG_20160205_231910302.jpg

Frankly, I'm not crazy about this version. I'm not sure the compound angles are worth the trouble, and I'm thinking that Version II with the vertical leg kicked out an inch or two at the bottom might be better.

(I'm also not crazy about how much the cardboard twisted as I was making this, but that's another matter!)

Thoughts?

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Okay, I think I've got it. Version IV:

Three identical legs at 22.5° from vertical, welded together at a single vertical seam under the center point of the anvil. The leg under the horn points straight ahead, while the two rear legs are angled out approximately 15° from that center line. The top plate is slightly longer than the base of the anvil, to intersect with the outer flanges of all three legs. The flanges (not shown) of  the top plate will be notched to fit the legs and to hold the anvil, as in Version III.

IMG_20160206_110146232.jpg

With top plate removed, to show center joint:

IMG_20160206_110112215.jpg

View from above, also with top plate removed:

IMG_20160206_105950178_HDR.jpg

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The width of the heel end is approximately 16" and the length from heel to horn is about twice that, so the anvil is well within the footprint of the base. 

This version strikes me as the best combination of strength, simplicity of build, and low risk of toe stubbing. I think I like it best.

Thoughts?

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Version IV is a winner,it looks to have strength and consistency on its side (id much rather make three identical cuts then multiple compound cuts).As Das said it will weld together nicely and id imaging the vertical weld would be nice and strong,I could be wrong i am a fairly "simple" guy.

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In a fortuitous happenstance, the three legs will fit precisely into the longer of the two sections of I-beam. Taking the top plate from the end of the shorter section will leave a 59" section for other uses.

Now, if I can just find a nice heavy post vice....

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When you get it built lay down a bed of silicon calk and set the anvil on it.  This will make the anvil and stand one piece and will increase the effective weight of the anvil.  It will also dampen the ringing.

I think that this last design will work well and as others have said, the parts fit well together and will weld into a really solid unit.  Be sure and put feet on the bottoms of the legs.  Since the legs are so big you might add a second smaller foot under the full foot, or weld a 1/2 13 nut on each foot and screw a bolt in to be able to adjust for level.

Let me know if I can help you. 

[email protected]

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