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I Forge Iron

Stump for anvil


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I fabricated an anvil from a couple chunks of steel, and now need a stand for it.  I've found a gum tree that's died, and not fallen yet.  I think it may still be solid enough if I cut it down tomorrow.

 Some of the bark is starting to come off, but I think it may just be where the horses chewed it.  Will Sweet gum be a decent anvil stump?

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Sweet gum is not used for lumber because the wood has a spiral twist to the cross-linked grain. Makes for warped boards and miserable to split without a massive hydraulic ram. Cuts easily with a saw when green, badly when dried out. It rots very quickly in ground contact. Overall, considered a trash tree like elm and southern ironwood.

However, it makes great stump as long as you keep it dry. It will check around the edges, but never split. Strip the bark off, seal the base, put three treated lumber feet on it to keep it off the concrete*, and it will give you years of service. 

*ANY untreated wood will rot and get buggy here in the south if left in contact with unsealed concrete. A four inch scrap of treated 2x4 lagged to the bottom makes an ideal standoff. 

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