Bruno Medeiros Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Shared my first anvil a couple of weeks ago and now wanted to share the stand I made for it. Got a fancy anvil and a stump that was too big. Step one. Rented a chainsaw and did rough cuts to get it close to where I want it. First step after rough cutting with the chainsaw was to make sure the top and bottom where flat and level. I made "good enough" router sled rails and a quick router sled to make it smoooooth. Router sled working on the sides. Also, at some point I used a low grit carbide cup wheel on my angle grinder to cup the bottom of the stand. The purpose of doing this, or so I've read, is that it greatly reduces any wobble that might show up from something getting lodged under the stand. Stand all smoothed out! Put the anvil on top so I could trace the base and rout out a 3/4" hole to place the anvil into. Top routed out for the anvil and started working on the steel banding. It's just made of 1.5 x 1/8" mild steel that I welded for a tight fit and then lag screwed into the stump. I'm not sure if that's the best solution, but it's what I did. Cold blued the steel to patina it black. Also did a quick job of it on the caster hardware because I didn't want shiny zinc on this stand. Casters added so I can easily move it around. An overly-heavy dose of silicone caulk to reduce anvil ring (It works *really* well, by the way)! I did a bad routing job and there was about a 1/8 gap around the base, but it didn't end up mattering. The silicone holds it real well. I didn't want to see the silicone so I kinda jammed sawdust on the top layer after this picture. Finished product! (I also added a 1/4" layer of rubber underneath the base because I had a bunch left over from building my home gym) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Pretty darned nice stand! I love the grain in the block. Putting the casters under the tail is good they'l be less a trip hazard, the tail will keep you bumped out and away. Well done. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Hardy hole makes a good place for a 1” Barr for a handle... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Richter Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Very well done. The ‘Mercedes’ between the anvil stands! What’s the wood (American oak?) and the moisture’s of it to avoid further cracking you already cover well with the steel banding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Nice stand. Good idea with the wheels to move the anvil around. I suppose you will bolt the anvil down before you tip it to move it? Wouldn't want to trust the silicone on end grain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Olson Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 How about that floor. Love it. How many of us have a wood floor in our shops. I have floor envy now :-) Beautifull anvil and stand also! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Medeiros Posted April 8, 2018 Author Share Posted April 8, 2018 Thanks for the kind words everyone! 21 hours ago, Hans Richter said: What’s the wood (American oak?) It's some kind of cedar that a neighbor had cut down. Probably western red? 17 hours ago, Marc1 said: I suppose you will bolt the anvil down before you tip it to move it? Wouldn't want to trust the silicone on end grain. The silicone is holding strong and I've already moved it around a couple of times without issue... BUT I am adding some "just in case" tie-downs tomorrow. 15 hours ago, Kevin Olson said: How about that floor. Love it. How many of us have a wood floor in our shops. I have floor envy now :-) Beautifull anvil and stand also! Thanks! It's actually some relatively inexpensive laminate from Home Depot. Not an ideal floor for red hot steel, but it's my leatherwork shop and I'm just starting to get into blacksmithing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted April 8, 2018 Share Posted April 8, 2018 Are you also on leatherworker.net? There were some beautiful cedars around the SF area, Very aromatic. I grew up in Fairfield and we spent a lot of time in the Bay Area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Wonderful job. The only thing I'd do is to pull out the lag screws one at a time, square up the heads in your forge, on that nice new anvil stand, and then reinstall them. That way you get the old-timey look and a nice forging session. Overall two thumbs up for design and execution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave51B Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Nice build Bruno. I do have one question for the experienced. How hard will it be in the future to separate the anvil from the base? Say to change height for another smith or change to a metal stand . Will that silicone release ok? I've thought of doing this to quiet my A&H, but the way I change my mind on things nowadays.....It has me wondering Thanks Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Silicon’s bond is dependent on cleanlyness. Even then the bond is easer to break than say epoxy. A wack or two with a dead blow under heal and horn and it will come loose, or converly lay it on its side and stand on the anvil. You will need to scrap it off and wire brush a bit to get it all. I’ knocked plenty of Transmition pans and other OEM silicon gaskets on GM vehicles over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 On 4/9/2018 at 7:11 AM, Dave51B said: I've thought of doing this to quiet my A&H, but .... Do it! There's nothing more enjoyable than working on a quiet anvil, and nothing more annoying than working on something that rings like a church bell! When I needed to break my Wilkinson loose from the stump it was caulked to, I just tipped the whole thing over and let gravity to the work for me. She popped free right quick! The joint is pretty dang solid. I didn't do anything to the bottom of the anvil other than wire brush off the heavy rust. Used a whole tube of caulk, too. After the caulk set, it went from church bell to oak plank. What an absolute dream! Not as quiet as a proper Fisher anvil, but the next best thing, for sure. You won't be sorry if you caulk your anvil to the stump. Best invention in the history of blacksmithing, in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave51B Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Thanks, Charles and Vaughn. That sounds good to me. I think I'll just box the base of the anvil in with some 1x1s and squirt in the silicone and chain it back down. Maybe later put plastic down on the floor and silicone the bottom of my stump to take out the wobble in that while I'm at it. Life is Good Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Do you think that wood base will shrink anymore? I banded mine over a year ago and it's still shrinking. In fact I just had to cut my bands so that I had more room to tighten it up. I figure I'll wait until it stops shrinking in order to permanently affix it with nice lags or screws. My stand is made out of ash and I think it would have split nearly in half if I hadn't banded it up right after removing the bark. I'm just worried yours will shrink a bit and the bands will become loose making you have to take them off, resize, and screw everything together again. Otherwise, that's a first class anvil stand. I wish I'd put more silicone under mine as it still has a slight ring, but only about 20 % of what it was before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Well furniture several thousand years old is still expanding and contracting with changes in ambient humidity...(From King Tutankhamun's tomb.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Greetings fellow blacksmiths. Many years ago, I constructed a wooden anvil stand (a portion of a tree trunk or a lamination of wooden planks), and stabilized it by drilling holes through trunk. Larger hardware stores sell long drill bits that can drill right through the trunk. Those drills are called "bell hangers' drills". They were originally designed to be used by electricians to drill through thick wood in order to make holes to accommodate wires. After drilling the holes, I ran a threaded rod into the hole. The rod was then cut to length, so that the rod traversed the whole drilled hole and protruded about three eights inch of an inch on both ends. I then placed a large washer on both ends of the rods. That washer contacted the trunk. A large bolt was then threaded onto both threaded ends. The assembly was then tightened using wrenches. This stabilized the wood. An added touch would be to drill countersink holes on both ends in order to accommodate the washers and bolts. The diameters of hole should be ample enough for your wrench or ratchet to work. That recess shortens the protruding rod length so that the ends are less likely to catch the smith's pants or apron Mr. T. Powers is correct when he denotes that wood is a dynamic substance. It expands and contracts according to the ambient humidity and temperature. The nuts on the rod can be loosened or tightened to accommodate that wood's movement, and keep it tight Just my two cents worth, Regards to all I.F.I.'ers. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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