I'd like to silence my Boker Trenton anvil and have read everything here in the threads.  I forged two Z clips for the front & back feet and I routered out the shape of the anvil base into my stump.  I'd like to silicone calk it down before bolting down the Z clips.  My question is if I just put a bead around the edge or do I cover the whole bottom in silicone calking? I don't want a super mess but want it to work.

I've been using it for about 6 months just sitting in the routered-out stump and because it's 179 lbs it doesn't move a whole lot except when I'm out on the horn.  I don't particularly like wearing ear protection so it'd be nice to get my old gal to stop singing.

My last question is how durable is the silicone calking?  I have to move this anvil/stump outside together each time I forge.

 

 

This is how much I used on mine; it’s worked great. 

 

I used a tube of liquid nails on the entire underside one of mine , it muted it nicely ,and is secure on my stand. My stand is like yours except the ends of the anvil are pinched by boards on the ends also holding and quietening the sound.

Lionel H & JHCC - sounds like this will work great for me.  Thanks for responding.  I'm thinking maybe most of a tube of silicone will do it.  Looks like it's pretty durable too.  I won't need it to keep my anvil stuck to the stump, more just for the silencing effect.

7 minutes ago, MC Hammer said:

I won't need it to keep my anvil stuck to the stump

You won’t need it — but you’ll get it!

Bonus!  I'll take it because between the stump and the anvil I'm wheeling out probably around 400 lbs.  I had to get an antique barrel cart to be able to move that kind of weight.  Now I have to slide the anvil toward the cart and strap the stump to the cart with a tow strap.  But, those carts have metal wheels and man they don't buckle or bend a millimeter. 

JHCC did you prep the anvil base in any way?  I removed the rust when I wire wheeled it.

Just a quick once-over with a wire brush. You should be fine.

Bedded down in silicone will certainly knock out the ring for you, but I would still recommend ear protection. There will still be enough noise to cause damage over an extended period. Earplugs on a string work well for me, they go in once the fire is lit, come out when hammering is done, and I can still hear the radio. Plugs are cheaper than hearing aids.

Be safe

Steve

Good point Stash.  It's still creating a loud noise even if it isn't ringing.  I wonder how many guys out there on IFI use ear protection every time they forge?

Every single time. 

(Hand raised) Yup, mee too.

Steve

I know I should all the time but usually only use the ear plugs when using the power hammer & power tools grinders & such.... head biff.

My blower is annoyingly loud, so I have to wear ear protection whenever I forge. My ear defenders (20db nrr) have built-in speakers, so I get ear protection and tunes. 

I neglected my ear protection in my woodworking youth, and I’m paying for it with tinnitus now.

My blower is  loud too . I use molded earplugs on a string, not the foam ones.  They are washable and reusable and cheap, besides easy to use/ insert.

One of the first blacksmiths I met was a big quiet guy and I thought maybe he didn't care for my questions but it turned out he just couldn't hear me.  I hope to silicone up and bolt down the anvil this weekend so I'll see how quiet she is after the silicone cures in a few days.

Just put the silicone caulking down on my anvil this morning.  All I can say is Wow!  It's at least a 70% reduction in ring and I feel like the rebound has increased.  I obviously haven't forged on it because I need to let the silicone cure, but my test taps have me very impressed.  If anyone is on the fence about doing this, don't hesitate to pull the trigger and use the silicone.  The heel still seems to have a ring to it, but nowhere near what it was and the sweet spot has hardly any ring now.

As a side note, I have a square block of steel I use my flatters on for things that need a super flat and smooth surface.  I used some silicone under that and it went from a deafening ring to a thud - no kiddling, it sounds like a cast iron anvil now.  Attached is a picture of my flatter "station".  Yes, I have to come up with legs for it, but I want to use it a few more times to determine where the legs can go so they don't interfere with how I like to use this thing.  

 

Told ya!

I have Howard Leight by Honeywell Sync, am fm radio or jacked, muffs so I can listen to radio, tunes or my Cell phone and make all the noise I want. I don't recall the DBR but it's significant. If it'd just damp out the tinnitus I'd wear them all the time.

Frosty The Lucky.

I knew you wouldn't steer me wrong JHCC.  Thanks for your encouragement to do this, works awesome for sure.