Jump to content
I Forge Iron

Striking anvil plates


Recommended Posts

Hello everone. 

I am making a striking anvil from 2.5" steel plate. My plan is to weld it to a another .5" plate slightly larger with 3 2x2" 3/16" thick legs. My issue is that most of the striking anvils I have seen the second plate is much thicker or there are a series of stacked plates of varying thickness.  Is there something I am missing or are those just extra plates there for a good reason?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Plates stacked horizontally are a poor choice, unless they have a FULL penetration weld between each plate. Each air gap absorbs energy and efficiency.  A better choice would be to stand the plate up vertically and have a 2.5 inch wide anvil face. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I were you. and I had a section of 2.5" plate in about 8X10 or 8X12"  (2.5X8X10)   I would simply punch or file the square hole in and weld the legs to the bottom of the plate. 

The reason for the thinner plate is because of not having a welder able to get enough penetration on the thicker plate. But with proper cleaning and fillets/spacing one can get a good penetration weld root pass and then lay beads like with any thicker material to reinforce the root pass. 

The 2.5" is more than most will ever need and in fact 1" or 1.25" is plenty thick enough for a striking anvil if you are doing a Brazeal style. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...