DennisCA Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Still a work in progress. I am laminating first the "core" from scrap wood I have got lying over, fir and pine mostly. Then some hand planing and routing the end grain flat happened, then I tried to put the anvil on the core and it's exactly the size of the base. I think it can do with being a little wider and longer yet to make it more stable, though it feels pretty stable now. So, the plan is one more layer of lamination on all sides with some nicer wood, might still use pine, just better quality / more uniform size, rather than this puzzle it currently is. I also want to use the router so I can sink the foot of the anvil a bit into the stand. Then I want to wrap up the corners in flat iron and angle iron. To be continued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Make the outer layer all around 2.5+ cm longer so the anvil is trapped in a tray and add some arc blocks on top on the sides to hold the anvil in place. Lets see I have a picture of Anvil stands with longer end pieces somewhere...Just bolted mine together as I can "fit" them to an uneven floor by loosening the bolts slightly and lifting the stand and thumping it on the floor and tightening the bolts. Mine are made from rough sawn oak as that was what was free. Air dried for decades! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisCA Posted August 11, 2020 Author Share Posted August 11, 2020 I was out looking at the anvil and the stand and looking at what suitable material I have got that would work. But the more I looked at it the more I realize I like it the way looks now. Thinking I'll add angle iron to the corners and let them be taller than the base, they would capture the anvil base pretty well then. Oak doesn't grow here naturally, pine and fir and arctic birch is what we got mainly. I have some oak but it's expensive stuff so I hoard it like gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Mine was used as the floor for a horse trailer that then sat out in the New Mexico sun for several years before being scrapped. I asked for the oak boards from the scrapyard and they were happy to get rid of them. The good condition ones made heavy duty shelves in my smithy and the less good condition ones were cut into sections and made anvil stands---including one stand made from the worst pieces. (When I realized one more stand and every anvil would have it's own stand!) If I had access to a planer I could make them beautiful as well as functional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Using angle iron as described will work nicely to hold the anvil. However, if you put longer lumber around it as Thomas describes the room between the feet on each side of the anvil become handy shelves for commonly used hand tools. I keep my hardy on the far side of my anvil in a similar space. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisCA Posted August 15, 2020 Author Share Posted August 15, 2020 Well I mulled it over but eventually I just added the metal banding as I had planned. I figure I can add loops and such with the flat bar I got left over for hanging tools from. This is what it looks like now. I used the angle iron itself to help hold the anvil down. The anvil bottom is not flat underneath though so it's been difficult to get it to seat on all corners, think the high spot is between two corners. I assume as the anvil is beaten on, the wood will conform to the anvil bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisCA Posted August 16, 2020 Author Share Posted August 16, 2020 I am considering now to weld a 10mm (3/8") steel plate to the bottom, that is bigger than the base, to increase the stability of the stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 Stable is a tripod. Second best is by drilling 4 holes into the stump and inserting a large lag bolt into each hole. Three of the large lag bolts will contact the floor and the 4th will cause it to rock. Adjust the forth lag bolt as needed to make the stand stable. They use the same concept on the clothes washer to make the washer both stable and level. Even with all the moving and shaking the clothes washer remains stable and level, or can easily be made stable and level again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 Good Morning, Silicone under the Anvil takes the ring out. Nice idea with the folded corners. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisCA Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 Yeah I'm gonna add some silicone. I have a suitable piece of plate here, not welded in place. Adapting Glenns advice a bit, I think I can drill and tap some holes in the corners and fit bolts on the plate, then I can use that to adjust for uneveness if needed by turning a bolt. Since the stand will be moved about a lot, the base will change constantly. I hope though when my new shed is built that I can find a permanent place inside for the anvil. If so I will cast a reinforced concrete foundation (shed will have a gravel floor, perhaps tiles on top) and bolt the stand to the foundation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Never understood the need to mimic a tree stump by joining lumber together. Make a tripod with heavy RHS or angle or H beam or anything else in steel and you have a good stand. Make a box out of heavy plate and fill wtih sand, and you have a nice silent stand. But laminated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisCA Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 Well, I liked the idea of reusing free material I had on hand, that was basically scrap and taken out of the firewood shed or was cutoffs from other projects. And I thought it would end up looking nice. I think it does look nice and a bit unique. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 I think it looks good! Use whatever works. After all it is just a stand. I still really like that anvil with it's narrow face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 No problem with flattening the base of the anvil either. It's the *FACE* of the anvil that shouldn't be ground or sanded or milled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 I like your stand too, after all wood is "traditional". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 Nice anvil stand Dennis, lots of thought and well made. Better still it's got marc1 wondering about normal folk again. Gives him something to aspire to. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwms Posted August 23, 2020 Share Posted August 23, 2020 YES! like the folded over corners!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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