Hello,

I'm just started pounding metal a few weeks ago.  Up now, I used rocks as anvil until they cracked. Today, I found a chunk of steel plate thats about 6 inch long, 3 inch wide and 3/4 inch thick. I intend to secure it to a log and use it as my anvil. What are the best way to mount it? Should I just try to drill a hole in it and bolt it to the log? Also, is spruce log good enough or should I try to find something else. I only have spruce and aspen on my property.

Robo - I see nobody responded to this.  I'd suggest you read this thread:

Lots of improvised anvils like what you have and it'll show you how many of them were secured.  I have a square chunk of steel that I use as a flatter station and this is a picture of how I mounted it with 2 brackets, routered out the top of the post and secured it with silicone to stop the ringing.  I made the brackets - nothing fancy just quick and dirty to hold it in place.

A piece of steel that is 3"x 6"x 3/4" may seem heavy, but when it comes to moving hot metal, too much mass below your hammer is just right. A big sledge hammer clamped down tight makes a good improvised anvil.

Edit:- but as for mounting a piece of plate like that, I'ld hollow out a log for it to nest in. But I am sure you will come to find that there are much better options out there.

On 7/25/2018 at 11:45 PM, tanglediver said:

 A big sledge hammer clamped down tight makes a good improvised anvil.

Very new to the craft. I keep seeing post mentioning using a sledge hammer head as a make shift anvil. How big would the sledge head have to be to work for this application.

As big as you can get, but I used an 8-pounder since it's what I had.  I ended up taking a bit off the flanks so I could work some bends/corners a little easier.  It works well enough for starting out.

As

I keep stumbling over 16# sledges at the fleamarket.  What did the hoarder leave you?

Maybe you should be more careful when walking around there, TP!

Why I wear combat boots...I'm more worried about all the dealers with axes with the sharp end pointing toward the aisle and the handle up against their table; kids run around.

Thank you. I had the handle fall off a 12lb sledge that was in one of the piles of tools.

He left me everything from entire cases of shower curtains, to a full workshop with many of the tools I could think of wanting(drill press, a miter saw, a wood lath capable of handling 36" stock, hand tools galore, etc) a 50 year old tractor. Two old motorcycles that are missing parts. The list keeps growing as I go through the various buildings.

HojPoj's sledge head mount is as nice as they come though I'd probably use a heavier strap to anchor it. Something I could run a couple lag screws through and really cinch it down.

A sledge head mounted in a similar manner is all the anvil traveling blacksmiths used for I don't know how long and many still do. There is a video of a Japanese master swordsmith forging highly desired swords on a block of steel about that size. Your anvil really only needs to be a little bit larger than your hammer head.

If you watch some videos of 3rd. world and the Japanese smiths working do ONE thing differently. Mount yours at a comfortable height to work at standing up or sitting in a wheel chair. Correct height is more important than size. 

Frosty The Lucky.

2 hours ago, Eventlessbox said:

a 50 year old tractor

 Ok....more details please. Just happens to be another obsession of mine.......                      Dave

It's a kubota  L305. Beat up quite a bit. And yet I'm sure with just a bit of work it will probably outperform a lot of newer models. Not that I have any use for it. Hoping to sell it to cover probate costs for the estate.

For correct height am I looking for my hammer to strike flat if I'm swinging it naturally? I'm building the mount this weekend. And will be using some 4x4s in a manner similar to one I saw in another thread.

Yes, that is correct. If you put a board (say 1/2" thick) on your anvil and hit it with a natural swing, the hammer should leave a circular dent. If the anvil is too low, you'll get a crescent with the curved side away from you. If the anvil is too high, you'll get a crescent with the curved side toward from you.