So I got a piece of I beam to use as an anvil without really looking into it first, I guess out of excitement. If I filled the gap between the top and bottom to add support and mass would it work as an anvil? Or would it be better to cut my loses and get something else?

If you live in the USA I would cut your losses; other locations it would depend on how easily solid masses of steel can be sourced.  Strongly suggest you add a general location to your profile as so many smithing questions have a location component and over 150 countries have participated in this website on the World Wide Web.

Well I got a lot more than I need so I was going to use the extra to fill in the gaps along with some foam for noise reduction but thinkingabout it now that just sounds like a lot of work.

Did you get enough to use it as a vise stand upright?

I'm sure I did, it's about 220 lbs and probably about 3-4 feet long

So not a loss; just a replan!

I suppose, I'll just go back to the scrap yard. They had a circular piece that I thought about, it didn't have much surface area but it was solid. 

the area you use will normally be about the same size as the face of your hammer,

depending on size stand the I beam on end and weld the circular piece of to it, that way you have the mass of both

Yeah I'll probably cut it in half and use it as a forge and anvil stand.

Here is an example which appears to have good age. While not good for heavy work it may have served someones

lighter needs. Note the forged horn and lean of he beam's web toward the horn. 

So I went back to the scrap yard and came out with this for an anvil. 

is it solid?  Even if not a huge improvement to the I beam!

Oh yeah it's sold. There is a small hole in the bottom that looks like a bolt went through it but other than that it's a sold piece of 73 pound metal.

4 minutes ago, MikeL said:

Oh yeah it's sold. There is a small hole in the bottom that looks like a bolt went through it but other than that it's a sold piece of 73 pound metal.

I would love to get an anvil like that!

I'm pretty sure that's a connecting pin from a large piece of machinery.  The hole in the end is for a cotter pin.

As an anvil, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better one.  All the mass is right under the hammer, so all you need to do is make a nice stump for it with some dimensional lumber.  

Or you could save yourself the hassle and just ship it to me!

 

7 minutes ago, VaughnT said:

I would love to get an anvil like that!

I'm pretty sure that's a connecting pin from a large piece of machinery.  The hole in the end is for a cotter pin.

As an anvil, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better one.  All the mass is right under the hammer, so all you need to do is make a nice stump for it with some dimensional lumber.  

Or you could save yourself the hassle and just ship it to me!

 

Haha next time I'm at the scrap yard I'll see if I can find you one, but I don't think I'll find anything better for under  $25 so I'll probably stick with it for a while. 

So heat some steel and try both of them out for a demo and see if you agree with us...

2 hours ago, MikeL said:

Haha next time I'm at the scrap yard I'll see if I can find you one, but I don't think I'll find anything better for under  $25 so I'll probably stick with it for a while. 

I wonder how much it would cost to ship?  

Looks like she's at least 4" across the head of it.  Maybe 10" long?  With a stout stand, she'll get the job done and look good doing it!

Okay, now take your I-beam, cut it into three angled pieces, and weld them to your new cylinder to make an integrated anvil/stand!

2 hours ago, VaughnT said:

I wonder how much it would cost to ship?  

Looks like she's at least 4" across the head of it.  Maybe 10" long?  With a stout stand, she'll get the job done and look good doing it!

It's 5" across and 13" long. I'm still trying to decide what kind of stand I want to do because I don't have a lot of tools at my disposal.

1 hour ago, JHCC said:

Okay, now take your I-beam, cut it into three angled pieces, and weld them to your new cylinder to make an integrated anvil/stand!

Actually they gave me a refund on the I-beam. I don't have a lot of tools to work with so cutting that thing up would have been more than difficult. 

24 minutes ago, MikeL said:

It's 5" across and 13" long. I'm still trying to decide what kind of stand I want to do because I don't have a lot of tools at my disposal.

Actually they gave me a refund on the I-beam. I don't have a lot of tools to work with so cutting that thing up would have been more than difficult. 

Angle grinder with a cutting disc is all I needed for my anvil stand (see my profile pic).

However, since you don't have the I-beam any more, I'd suggest a stand made from heavy boards bolted together, like the one IFI member j.w.s. made (see http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/44551-my-new-block-anvil/).

3 hours ago, JHCC said:

Angle grinder with a cutting disc is all I needed for my anvil stand (see my profile pic).

However, since you don't have the I-beam any more, I'd suggest a stand made from heavy boards bolted together, like the one IFI member j.w.s. made (see http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/44551-my-new-block-anvil/).

That's actually perfect. I don't have a welder so anything metal would be difficult to attach to the anvil. Thank you very much.

Now THATS an anvil, get a wooden stump or post and recess the pin into it about 2" and get forging. Dont ever throw that pin out.

I don't have a welder either, but I bartered use of the rig in the scene shop at the college where I work in exchange for guest lecturing in one of the Tech Director's classes.

Nice, I've considered going to the local high school shop class and have them make me a stand in exchange for some donated metal.

J.W.S.'s wood stand is about as good as you could ask for, and it takes only the most basic of tools.  You can even dress it up a bit more by adding stepped feet to it with various widths of 2x dimensional lumber.  This makes it very stable and easy on the eyes.

If the main body of your anvil is 4" in diameter, that means she'll weigh in right at 46#.  If it's 5" in diameter, you're almost doubling that at 72#.  I wasn't sure if you were measuring the head when you cited the diameter, so I looked up both weights.  Either way you go, that's a nice anvil and I'm a good bit jealous.