could use some anvil advice

[boattlebot]

stoped by the scrap yard. didn't find anything I really liked but I did find a 15 pound sledge hammer head. and a nice pair of tongs. I figure I can use the sledge head untill I can find something a bit bigger. any ideas how I can mount this thing?

[JHCC]

[Daswulf]

However you mount it, mount it with the face up for starters. It'll work better for you in that orientation. 

Could use a stump, 4x4s or 6x6s on end. I believe another member here mounted a hammer head as an anvil. Try looking in the improvised anvil thread or the show me your anvil stand thread. 

[boattlebot]

Works for me. thanks

think I know what i'ma do. a trip to lowes is in order. I'll post a pic when done. but I also got an idea for something to look for at the scrap yard too. an axle shaft. 

[boattlebot]

so last question. should I do something to this sledge head? like make the face flat or something? 

 

for the stand I decided I'm gunna burn it into a old table leg and strap it to the side of my box to hold it up. eventually I'll stick it in a bucket of concrete

[ThomasPowers]

Burning it into the wood will destroy the temper on it. I'd have to *SEE* the face to tell you what, if anything, needs to be done to it.

[boattlebot]

it's in the shop. I'll take a pic tomorrow. I'll see if I have a hole saw big enough then. I'll cut a hole and just hammer the thing in the rest of the way. 

and I was just about to ask a stupid question. I was about to ask if I could heat treat it after burning it into the handle but then I realized that wouldent be a good idea unless I want the table leg to be on fire

[ThomasPowers]

If you mount it to use as an anvil it doesn't need a handle and few table legs are made from wood that makes for good handles---so what are you trying to do?  Note a slightly worn farrier's rasp is excellent for shaping handles to fit.

[boattlebot]

I ment stand. I'm a little tired

[Daswulf]

We'll be here in the morning when you are more awake. Fear not. Many of us are tired too. Other then the aussies that are just waking up. 

[boattlebot]

I'd love to go to Australia one day. but I'd be afraid everything wants to kill me eat me or both...

I'll figure it out tomorrow. I'm betting I can use a hole saw to make a decent hole in the table leg and then just beat the thing in to the hole. (man that sounds dirty) then I'll figure out a way to stick it to my old bottom box that my current anvil is sitting on. I'd love to drill a hole through it and just stick it in but I like functioning drawers on this one. 

[ausfire]

8 hours ago, Daswulf said:

Fear not. Many of us are tired too. Other then the aussies that are just waking up. 

**Yawn**

 

8 hours ago, boattlebot said:

I'd love to go to Australia one day. but I'd be afraid everything wants to kill me eat me or both...

Nah! There are only two things that will go out of their way to hurt you here: sharks and crocs. For all the other nasties you hear about,  encounters are accidental or you have to go looking for trouble.

[Frosty]

That doesn't include bars does it Aus? Lots of . . . things in bars can hurt you if you're not careful.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Marc1]

8 hours ago, boattlebot said:

I'd love to go to Australia one day. but I'd be afraid everything wants to kill me eat me or both...

Mm ... we don't have bears, wolfs, moose or big cats. That should count for something.

Actually we do have big cats but the numbers are so low that no one knows where they are.  

And you sort of get used to lift the toilet seat before you sit down to check for red backs. 

And you don't go rummaging among a big pile of rocks or bricks, and you take a walking stick hiking, you never go for a swim north of Brisbane, you don't climb big trees in Sydney, and you somehow get used to the thought of swimming in the river even when you see the mullet run and the bull sharks behind them.   

Politicians on the other hand ...

All is relative. 

[ThomasPowers]

But what about the dingoes and drop bears? 

("but I'd be afraid everything wants to kill me eat me or both"  Personally I am more afraid of the things that would eat me without taking time to kill me first...)

I had a European colleague visit out here once and he was scared of the rattlesnakes, scorpions, centipedes, black widow spiders, etc; where for us it is just business as usual, don't put your hand in a glove without checking it (or hammering it) first. look when reaching someplace---basically being aware of your surroundings.  My daughter did a spider round up one time and found 32 black widows in close proximity to the outside of our house.  They are not allowed inside; but do fine outside.  Just like rattlesnakes do fine in the brush but are not allowed in close proximity to the house.   I believe that more people are killed by cars in the USA than by all the wildlife combined and yet we are quite comfortable associating with them...

[boattlebot]

this is the sledge head. 

 

and the basics I know about Australia are they have the cool fords and koalas look cute and fluffy but will murder you

[JHCC]

Here's my suggestion for the sledgehammer head: Make some kind of stand that holds it solidly, but allows you to quickly remove it, flip it over, and lock it back in place. Grind both ends smooth (being careful not to overheat it and ruin whatever temper it may have), but make one end a rounder than the other. That will give you two different working surfaces that will do two different things.

[boattlebot]

I like that idea. it'll take time tho. 

[Frosty]

14 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

I believe that more people are killed by cars in the USA than by all the wildlife combined and yet we are quite comfortable associating with them...

I don't know about that Thomas, it's been years but I never worried about rattlesnakes even though they showed up in subdivisions now and then.  If someone found a scorpion all the kids in the neighborhood came running to see it. It's about knowing the hazards and the correct behavior. None of the natural hazards here hold a candle to a teenager behind the wheel texting something more important then life itself. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[boattlebot]

don't even get me started on people texting. 

[JHCC]

3 minutes ago, boattlebot said:

I like that idea. it'll take time tho. 

No, it won't. Slam together some scrap lumber to make a stand: a vertical post under the hammerhead to put it at the right height, more wood around the side to hold the head upright (leave just enough room for some wedges to hold the head in), more wood around the base to keep it from falling over. A couple of pallets will give you all the wood you need, or the guys at a construction site might be happy to have you get some scrap lumber off their hands. Get the whole thing done in an hour or two.

1 minute ago, boattlebot said:

don't even get me started on people texting. 

LOL.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Don't get aggressive when smoothing the ends, just knock the rust off at first. The heat treating may not go all the way through the head.

[boattlebot]

I ment I don't have lumber so I'd have to go find some. and I'm not gunna get much done today outside the shop. I got the forge goin

2 minutes ago, JHCC said:

No, it won't.

 

[JHCC]

Gotcha. Cool.

[ThomasPowers]

Your point?   You can do a lot of smithing on a gently curved face, but working on a semi flat can be easier. 

A hole in a stump will generally loosen with work and a simple knock out wedge will make flipping it easy.

(associating with cars.  I've been amused by the folks claiming that various other car "fuels" would be too dangerous for use---like hydrogen, gasoline is extremely dangerous yet we use it casually....the devil you know vs the devil you don't.)