While I understand the temptation to "flatten" the top of an anvil, I have to concede that it IS an anvil, not a machine surface. If it were the bed ways of a lathe or mill, then I would really want flat surfaces. But for something to pound on..... how flat does it really need to be? It NEEDS to be THICK. So grinding away the work surface would seem counter-productive. 

It sure is a nice tool just as it is. Do pass along my compliments to your uncle. 

This is why I joined the forum, to learn...

8 minutes ago, tanglediver said:

It sure is a nice tool just as it is. Do pass along my compliments to your uncle. 

Oh, I will do

I've started working on a stand, working from the guidelines in this thread. Anvil height, how can you tell if it is the right height

However, this stand was posted in that thread, I think I'll pinch this idea, but without the tool holders. I need to work first to figure out where & what I want or need.

I also need the stand mobile, as I don't have a fixed site for my forge yet. So I will need to modify the design a little to make it mobile.

 

3 hours ago, tanglediver said:

While I understand the temptation to "flatten" the top of an anvil, I have to concede that it IS an anvil, not a machine surface. If it were the bed ways of a lathe or mill, then I would really want flat surfaces. But for something to pound on..... how flat does it really need to be? It NEEDS to be THICK. So grinding away the work surface would seem counter-productive. 

It sure is a nice tool just as it is. Do pass along my compliments to your uncle. 

Not to mention that a perfectly flat surface is only one of the two surfaces. The other one is the hammer that is neither flat nor square to the piece being worked and changes angle with each stroke. If you then compare to the anvil in a power hammer, you scratch your head and say ... why on earth am I fussing over a flat surface when a power hammer does not even have a flat surface from new? 

Make the stand so the anvil "drops in" from the top and is easily removable, then those tool holders turn out to be handles for moving the stump....

My plan was to make a box out of 10mm Plywood, that will have in the base, 3" thick end grain timber, butchers block type of thing. The idea being, as it needs to be mobile, the chances of busting a base made from 3" thick end grain timber, is less likely than a plywood bottom. Next Dry sand will fill the space half way up, then the thicker end grain block, which the anvil will sit upon, slides down into the box, resting on the sand.

The height adjustment, will be via holes in each face of the plywood box, which will be capped when the work height is established.

Just picked up some more angle iron today, to make the frame.

Photos will follow shortly.

13 hours ago, Northumbrian said:

I've started working on a stand, working from the guidelines in this thread. Anvil height, how can you tell if it is the right height

However, this stand was posted in that thread, I think I'll pinch this idea, but without the tool holders. I need to work first to figure out where & what I want or need.

I also need the stand mobile, as I don't have a fixed site for my forge yet. So I will need to modify the design a little to make it mobile.

 

 

Best stand you can make is the tripod. Also very easy to alter the height with wood blocks and plenty of room for your feet to stand close to the anvil if you need to. 

https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/28676-anvil-stands/

I vouch for the tripod steel anvil stand. They're stable, strong, quieten the anvil, are light easy to move and don't require anything special to secure the anvil. The hammer racks are made from 1" angle iron and wedge between the anvil's foot and the rim of the stand. NO plate steel, just 1/4" x 2" x 3" angle iron wide flange laid flat under the anvil. It makes a usable shelf for: hardy, hand tools, markers, scale, etc.

Frosty The Lucky.

I also vouch for the tripod (see my profile pic), especially if you bed the anvil down on a layer of silicone caulk. That deadens the noise even further.

Well that's just dropped a spanner in the works 

Arghhh, so many ways to skin a cat....

20 minutes ago, Northumbrian said:

Well that's just dropped a spanner in the works 

Arghhh, so many ways to skin a cat....

Yes there are. Just wait till we start trading recipes. 

Frosty The Lucky.

On 2017-04-13 at 11:55 PM, timgunn1962 said:

e. It seems to me that the contact area is important, allowing the initial sound wave to travel on into the base, rather than getting reflected back into the anvil and bouncing around to produce the ring.

 

 

To decrease the ringing it is important that the contact between the anvil and the stand is good around the edges. I use the traditional tree stump and dish the top surface just a little bit. A small anvil I will bolt or nail down at the edges of the feet; a large one can sit in a routed depression. Even Swedish cast steel anvils become reasonably silent this way. If the contact is not good, the heel and the feet below will form a nice tuning fork with the heel acting as a loudspeaker.

The above photos of tripod stands, all appear to use box section for the legs, is that for any particular reason, or just what was available.

Getting box section here, with a decent wall thickness is not easy. I have some heavy T-section which I think would do nicely. But I just want to check if there is a particular reason to use box section. Such as filling with sand or something...

 

Box sections usually have telescoping members with, usually, holes for height adjustability.

SLAG.

4 minutes ago, SLAG said:

Box sections usually have telescoping members with, usually, holes for height adjustability.

SLAG.

OK, so nothing in particular, various uses, but not one specific reason to use box section over T-section?

RHS 100x50x5  would be my choice, but an old lintel section be it T or angle with a decent thickness of 6mm or 1/4" would do just fine.

Some prefer the hollow section so that they can fill it with sand. Can't say I know if it works or not. Probably does. 

Glue the anvil with some tough silicone to the stand and Bob is your father's brother. 

The T-Section I have is 60x60x8mm, so structurally it'll be fine. I've also got a load of Cork sheeting... Any good?

Postscript:

If I understand Frosty right, his stand supports the anvil only around the edges. By that he achives the same effect as I do by dishing the stump and his stand silences the anvil well, so does mine.

Well given how I had already started the wooden stand, thought I'd finish it just so I can get the work height sorted at least.

This week I've got loads of deliveries arriving with building materials, which some of which need to go in the workshop. So not much in the way of time to make up a proper stand.

Anyway here's some pics...

Oh, it looks like i got the height almost right.