4447 Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 So I recently acquired two sections cut from forklift tines to use as an anvil. As the cross sections are quite small I have been considering joining the two sections to give me a 3"x4.75" anvil face as opposed to a 1.5"x4.75" face. I made a post about this earlier and people recommended either welding or bolting the two sections together. However I don't have access to a welder like I thought I would have and one of the sections is proving too hard for me to drill into. My original plan was to just sink them into a bucket filled with concrete while clamped together and hope that they stick together well enough as the concrete hardens. My other idea was to score up the inside faces of both of these with my grinder and then glue/fill the gap between them with epoxy or JBWeld before building a wooden housing around the post that would provide additional clamping force and elevate/balance the post. Looking for any suggestions you guys have as I don't really know what I'm doing and have minimal experience doing heavy metalwork/concrete work (Picture of the sections attached) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 As one who first tried sinking his post anvil into concrete my first go around I can say from personal experience that within a a week or two the concrete will break apart and your anvil will go all wiggily on you. Have you considered nesting the two pieces in a wooden base of 2x4s and or 4x4s? Long pieces around the perimeter and shorter ones underneath to bring it up to the appropriate height. Bolt the (wooden) pieces together with some all thread rod and you're good to go. There may be better solutions, but that's what's coming to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4447 Posted December 9, 2020 Author Share Posted December 9, 2020 Would the wooden structure provide enough clamping force to prevent the two pieces from moving relative to one another while forging or would I still need to epoxy them together to hold them in place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 I don't think I can answer that with certainty. My gut instinct says yes, if done properly (a reasonably tight fit between your stand and the tines prior to tightening the bolts), and that a bolt will provide much more clamping force/impact resistance than any epoxy. I'm looking through the "a collection of improvised anvils thread, linked here, and I see a few different ways people have successfully mounted post anvils of a rectangular nature, some of which are better than I suggested above. Might I encourage you to poke around in there to take some mounting ideas that may work for you. Don't let the fact that there are two separate pieces throw you off. It actually doesn't complicate things that much IMO. It could even be as easy as something like this (taken from that same thread), except rather than the plates that are holding the feet of the rail, you would have steel bands/straps that wrap around the exposed sides and are bolted at either end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 I would think about taking 4 or 6 pieces of flat stock (probably at least 1/2" thick) about 5 1/2 - 6" long, drill holes about a 1/2" from the end, and put them on opposite sides of the tines and fasten them together with 4" nuts and bolts or thread stock. You are basically making permanent clamps which can be tightened or loosened as necessary. Then, mount the assembly vertically in a stump or stand. This is still going to be a fairly light anvil. So, you want the stand to be either heavy or rigidly secured to the floor/ground to keep the whole thing from walking during use. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4447 Posted December 9, 2020 Author Share Posted December 9, 2020 That seems like a good idea to keep them together, though I am really liking the stand idea that Frazer posted above. I will probably end up doing some combination of both. You think it will be too light? The steel itself weighs almost a hundred pounds. Plus the base I don't think I should have a problem with it moving. I had an older anvil that was only maybe 10lbs of steel plus 60lbs of concrete that wouldn't walk at all (although the steel did jump around a bit) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 OK, I was estimating the weight at about 60-70 pounds. I just did some quick math and estimated your 2 tines to be about 18" long. 3"x4.75x18=256.5 cubic inches. 1 cubic foot =1728 cubic inches. So, your steel is .1484 of a cubic foot. Steel weighs 489 pounds per cubic foot. So, .1484 x 489 = 72 pounds. This is only an estimate. The bathroom scale will confirm or deny. If you are not getting any movement you are OK but if you are you are wasting energy. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BsnNFrnt Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 There are lots of folks with similar interests in the DFW area. Finding a kind soul to help you weld those plates up might be easier than you think. My thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 My thoughts exactly---there are NO welders in a major US city? I used to get "off the books welding" done at a small welding shop by showing up with a sixpack about an hour before closing on a hot Friday afternoon. Doughnuts early in the morning works too. I had a friend who made a forklift tine anvil---he paid US$25 for the welding on it. Perhaps checking in with a local community college to see if they have a welding program and seeing if they would do it for a reasonable fee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4447 Posted December 9, 2020 Author Share Posted December 9, 2020 This is what I have just done. I went to a local shop and got a reasonable deal on getting the pieces welded together. Not as good as your friend, but not either. Now I'm going to start working on the stand while I wait for the steel back from the shop. I'm thinking about going with a block of 4x4s with the steel mounted similar to how Frazer showed earlier. Thanks for all the help guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 GREAT! (Subtract the cost of the JB weld and time to score the surface, etc and it may look a bit better to you...My current job pays much less than my previous one; but it's only 5 miles from our house instead of 200 miles and when you subtract out all the costs of renting a place near work the take home isn't that much different! And my smithy is a stone's throw from our houses back door...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud in PA Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 If I couldn't weld I would bring it to a weld shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 Exactly... or try and find a friend with a welder or check with most autobody shops have welders. JB weld won't hold with the hammering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 We have a blacksmith club member who often makes anvils from forklift tines. He stacks 4 or 5 pieces, each about 12-14" long, grooves the joined edges and welds the dickens out of them. Unbelievably solid. He makes a horn (out of what, I don't know) and welds that on one end. They make great beginner's anvils and he sells quite a few of them at a reasonable price. Until a person finds their "real" anvil, they work well until then. He even puts a slight radius on one edge, leaving the other sharp. Buyer can alter the anvil to their heart's content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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