Anvil Stand

[John Morris]

I had fun in the shop today. Awhile back I purchased a generic off brand 66lb anvil for my beginner blacksmithing self. I made a stand from big box over priced 2 x 10 and long lag bolts and some chain to secure the anvil. 

 

The boards are sandwiched with construction adhesive and lagged. I threw a skirt on the bottom for more stability and my son and I had fun torching the wood. Applied a big sloppy coat of oil on the whole thing.

 

When I lagged the chain I drew the chain tight by angling the lags downward and sucking the chain tight. It's heavy, solid, now I gotta build a dirt box forge so I can get to forging. 

I'm starting on the very cheap, the forge will be some boards for the box, fill it with dirt, dig a little hole in the dirt, fish a pipe through the dirt to supply blown air to the coals and there ya got it, a forge for about 50 bucks😊

 

Here's my Anvil setup.

 

 

[John Morris]

Dirt Box Forge.

 

 

 

 

[Gunny]

Not being much of a smithy why do you chain the anvil down verses bolting it?

 

 

[Bubba]

What you got planned for your first project, Excalibur? 😁

[John Morris]

1 hour ago, Gunny said:

Not being much of a smithy why do you chain the anvil down verses bolting it?

 

 

No holes for bolts Gunny Also the chain helps deaden the anvil ring.

[John Morris]

1 hour ago, Bubba said:

What you got planned for your first project, Excalibur? 😁

Hey Bubba, just little training things I'll be learning from books and videos, the first things beginners make are coat hooks and curly heart hooks and I'll also make more tools, like cutting chisels, and other small items.

[Gunny]

11 minutes ago, John Morris said:

No holes for bolts

 

I have some drill bits that can rectify that issue.   

[Fred W. Hargis Jr]

Actually, that chain strap arrangement looks pretty cool.

[Larry Buskirk]

 Fancy!

I just used a chunk of tree and a couple of metal straps for my anvil. 

[Bubba]

John, there used to be a blacksmith in my home town that made me a couple of nice fire pokers with hooks on the end. They were made out of square iron rid, he flattened one end and made a bobiepen shaped handle and in the middle he twisted it into several spirals. They looked cool and we're very functional. He made several other things for me as well. 

Edited September 30 by Bubba
Spelling

[Ron Dudelston]

This is my great grandfather, Andrew Matson.  What I wouldn’t give to have his anvil.

[John Morris]

8 hours ago, Gunny said:

 

I have some drill bits that can rectify that issue.   

I'm new to the craft Gunny, but been watching enough of the veterans doing this, I think that's not normally done, nor a good idea, now why it's not a good idea I'll have to find out for ya. but for now my ignorant uninformed answer will have to do

[John Morris]

2 hours ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said:

Actually, that chain strap arrangement looks pretty cool.

It does Fred! I was looking around for some old rusty chain, that would of been my preference, but had to go buy new.

[Fred W. Hargis Jr]

I have a pair of holdfasts that are handmade by a fellow that used to frequent the Woodsmith forum, he's a hobbyist blacksmith. They work really well although he had to use 3/4" rod to make them and it won't fit in the 3/4" holes of my bench, I had to open then up to 25/32" or something like that.

[John Morris]

1 hour ago, Larry Buskirk said:

 Fancy!

I just used a chunk of tree and a couple of metal straps for my anvil. 

A chunk of tree would of been my first choice Larry, but there are a lot of reasons why I went with this setup, I was even going to go as far as cutting down a tree in my backyard just for the in ground stump and spike an anvil into it, but since we are moving soon, I'll leave the tree for the next guy.

I had thought of a big ol log for my anvil too, but as easy as it would seem to be to do, I felt the vertical two by tens on end like many of the other blacksmiths do would be better for my use, a dead flat registration to the ground or concrete floor, no rocking at all, very stable, many other reasons.

I do love the log ones too, but I just saw more issues and work trying to get the log dead flat both ends and squared up, this stand I made took very little time and is not on the fancy of end of stands, a lot of the guys fabricate some really nice steel stands.

[John Morris]

1 hour ago, Bubba said:

John, there used to be a blacksmith in my home town that made me a couple of nice fire pokers with hooks on the end. They were made out of square iron rid, he flattened one end and made a bobiepen shaped handle and in the middle he twisted it into several spirals. They looked cool and we're very functional. He made several other things for me as well. 

Hey Bubba, fireplace tools are top of my list!

[John Morris]

1 hour ago, Ron Dudelston said:

This is my great grandfather, Andrew Matson.  What I wouldn’t give to have his anvil.

 

Hey Ron that is one cool image! I see the resemblance too!

That is one nice anvil there, much bigger than my beginner anvil, what also caught my eye was the awesome post vise to his right as well!

[John Morris]

4 minutes ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said:

I have a pair of holdfasts that are handmade by a fellow that used to frequent the Woodsmith forum, he's a hobbyist blacksmith. They work really well although he had to use 3/4" rod to make them and it won't fit in the 3/4" holes of my bench, I had to open then up to 25/32" or something like that.

Also on my list of items Fred!

[John Morris]

Hey @Ron Dudelston, was your grandpa a Farrier? That anvil he has is shaped for shoeing, not that it can't be used for other disciplines, but that's definitely a farriers anvil. I see his horse pictures on the back wall too. That forge is so classic too!

Or, perhaps he was a horse owner and did his own shoeing?

 

Looking further at the image, looks like he has some round stock in his left hand readying it for a shoe. What I've learned so far, for the most part if you want something flat, you start with round, if you want something round you start with square.

[Ron Dudelston]

Yes John, he was a farrier in Montpelier, Indiana at the turn of the century.  He also raised and sold thoroughbred horses.  This is an earlier picture.