Justin Presson
Well-Known Member
Ok guys, with the new anvil I have acquired I need to build a stand for it. Can you guys share your pictures of what you have made and your thoughts on different designs?
Thanks!
JP
Thanks!
JP
Let's see your anvil stand!
- Thread starter Justin Presson
- Start date
Chris Railey
Well-Known Member
Mine is very simple. I took four 10 x 10 posts (I am lucky enough to have a friend with a sawmill) and ratchet strapped them together top and bottom. Then I mounted my anvil to the top and added hooks and stuff to hang my hammers. Then a wrapped a piece of logging chain around the base and went to beating hot steel. I get no ring and it barely moves even when I use my big hammers. Will your anvil be indoors or open air?
Justin Presson
Well-Known Member
Got any pics?
I'm going to move it in and out. I was thinking about pouring a concrete footer in the yard for it to sit on.
John Wilson
Well-Known Member
I am a total noob when it comes to forging, so please don’t assume this design had any form of intelligent design based on experience. But so far it is working great for me.
I used 2x4s to make a Lincoln Log box. This also allowed me to put 2x4 runners on the bottom so that I can get a dolly under it to move it around. Then I filled the center cavity with concrete.
The stand / concrete came out to about 230 pounds. My dinky little anvil is about 70lbs. So 300lbs mass altogether. No ring, and it doesn’t move when I hit it.
Having a top tray to lay hammers and tongs has been extremely handy.
I used 2x4s to make a Lincoln Log box. This also allowed me to put 2x4 runners on the bottom so that I can get a dolly under it to move it around. Then I filled the center cavity with concrete.
The stand / concrete came out to about 230 pounds. My dinky little anvil is about 70lbs. So 300lbs mass altogether. No ring, and it doesn’t move when I hit it.
Having a top tray to lay hammers and tongs has been extremely handy.
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Justin Presson
Well-Known Member
John that looks good, I was eye balling those Atlas anvils. How do you like it so far?
John Wilson
Well-Known Member
For the price I am very happy with it. It is definitely a compromise anvil. As I mentioned, I don’t have a ton of experience forging on various anvils so I can only tell you what I like and don’t like about it.
Pros:
All of the mass is in one big chunk centered over the base instead of a heel and horn. Atlas says this 67lb anvil is therefore the equivalent of a 120lb anvil. I have no way to verify that but it seems logical and legit.
Each edge of the face has a different radius. This is useful.
No horn to walk into in my tiny shop.
Cons:
No horn, so limited usefulness in general blacksmithing.
Pros:
All of the mass is in one big chunk centered over the base instead of a heel and horn. Atlas says this 67lb anvil is therefore the equivalent of a 120lb anvil. I have no way to verify that but it seems logical and legit.
Each edge of the face has a different radius. This is useful.
No horn to walk into in my tiny shop.
Cons:
No horn, so limited usefulness in general blacksmithing.
tkroenlein
Well-Known Member
I posted a pic of this in shop talk a day or two ago. I had a metal stand that I made for a year and a half. I can't overstate how much I prefer this new wood "stump" to the springy metal one. 
tkroenlein
Well-Known Member
There is a fellow in one of the FB blacksmithing groups that recommends building a stand like this:
Build a box a few inches bigger in square than your anvil base and fill it with sand. Mount your anvil on a plate that just slips in side the box. Set the anvil on the plate in the box and you're done. Now you can add or subtract sand to fine tune the height of you anvil.
Build a box a few inches bigger in square than your anvil base and fill it with sand. Mount your anvil on a plate that just slips in side the box. Set the anvil on the plate in the box and you're done. Now you can add or subtract sand to fine tune the height of you anvil.
Jon Buescher
Well-Known Member
I built my new anvil stand out of 6x6 pressure treated timbers, used 8 hex bolts and washers and bolted the whole thing together, with my 150”ish” pound anvil mounted on it it doesn’t move around on me at all.
Edited to remove pictures of my dog that somehow got attached
Edited to remove pictures of my dog that somehow got attached
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Chris Railey
Well-Known Member
Here is mine, like I said, very simple. If you will be moving it around I suggest building one like this or the other two above, the mount two HD wheels toward the bottom of the heel side of the anvil stand. That way the stand will “stand” flat the all you have to do is lean the whole thing back (toward the heel side) and the wheels touch, then you can roll it where you want easily. Think like if it were a hand truck. 
Chris Railey
Well-Known Member
Hey John if you got a bickern for the hardy hole then you could forget about a horn for most work. The main thing you cannot do on the bickern is draw material out like you can on the horn but most of the rest a bickern will do well.
John Wilson
Well-Known Member
Thank you! I had no idea what that was called. I figured something like that must already exist!
EdCaffreyMS
"The Montana Bladesmith"
Wood is the only way to go IMO....and if you can in any way get your hands on it..... hardwood such as Ash, Oak, or Hickory!
4- 6" square whit oak ties, surrounded by 2" thick X 6' wide white oak board. About 12lbs of 5/16" deck screws, and then metal banded. After I got it all done, I found an old can of teak oil, dosed it down, and let it dry for about 3 days. Love it!
My biggest enemy in Montana is the low humidity.... if you look closely in the first pic/background, you can see the oak ties under my Say-Mak air hammer..... dried out, shrunk, with that huge gap between them??? Those ties were put there 4 years ago....and when installed they were "dried" by Indiana standards (where they came from), and fit nice and tite...... now they look like an old wooden bridge, about to collapse!
(That's the 509lb Peter-Wright sitting on it)
The hold downs......
And the final setup, with all the hammers hanging.....
4- 6" square whit oak ties, surrounded by 2" thick X 6' wide white oak board. About 12lbs of 5/16" deck screws, and then metal banded. After I got it all done, I found an old can of teak oil, dosed it down, and let it dry for about 3 days. Love it!
My biggest enemy in Montana is the low humidity.... if you look closely in the first pic/background, you can see the oak ties under my Say-Mak air hammer..... dried out, shrunk, with that huge gap between them??? Those ties were put there 4 years ago....and when installed they were "dried" by Indiana standards (where they came from), and fit nice and tite...... now they look like an old wooden bridge, about to collapse!
(That's the 509lb Peter-Wright sitting on it)
The hold downs......
And the final setup, with all the hammers hanging.....
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Justin Presson
Well-Known Member
Holly cow that is a beast of an anvil!Wood is the only way to go IMO....and if you can in any way get your hands on it..... hardwood such as Ash, Oak, or Hickory!
4- 6" square whit oak ties, surrounded by 2" thick X 6' wide white oak board. About 12lbs of 5/16" deck screws, and them metal banded. After I got it all done, I found an old can of teak oil, dosed it down, and let it dry for about 3 days. Love it!
(That's the 509lb Peter-Wright sitting on it)
The hold downs......
And the final setup, with all the hammers hanging.....
Jon Buescher
Well-Known Member
That anvil is so big it makes the hold down chains look like those cheap wire made dog tether chains hahaWood is the only way to go IMO....and if you can in any way get your hands on it..... hardwood such as Ash, Oak, or Hickory!
4- 6" square whit oak ties, surrounded by 2" thick X 6' wide white oak board. About 12lbs of 5/16" deck screws, and them metal banded. After I got it all done, I found an old can of teak oil, dosed it down, and let it dry for about 3 days. Love it!
(That's the 509lb Peter-Wright sitting on it)
The hold downs......
And the final setup, with all the hammers hanging.....
Chris Railey
Well-Known Member
Go to blacksmithsdepot.com and search bickern.
Casey Brown
Well-Known Member
I used 2x12 pressure treated lumber, with 4 threaded rods running through them to lock them together. I also added drop down casters to be able to easily move the anvil around when needed.
Chris Railey
Well-Known Member
I have been looking at the Kanka Anvils what do you think about it? Does it work as well as other ambles you have used
Casey Brown
Well-Known Member
I really like it. The only other anvils I have used were in a couple of classes that I have had. I've had it for a couple of years now, and it's worked well for me.