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Thread: Buying an Anvil

  1. #16
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    Good question. There are many ways to satisfactory mount an anvil on it's stand.
    A stand for a 30K anvil does not need to be too big since that size is considered to be a portable anvil.
    I have a Kohlswa 25 and when I need that size, I just have it on the bench or table wherever I happen to be. Actually I have also a 40K anvil, I tend to use that as portable too.

    If you want to build a stand for it, it will depend on what type of floor you have in your workshop. A stand will have to absorb the remanent of the impact of your hammer (whatever was not absorbed by the anvils inertia), and keep the anvil steady.

    You can have a stand made of a wooden stump, a metal tripod or a metal sand box.

    For a 30K anvil your stump will not need to be in the ground as the case for a heavier anvil, so even with a concrete floor you can use a wooden stump. It can be chainsaw cut from a log not smaller than 10", or 4 bits of sleepers bolted together. The most important thing is for it to be square and leveled. You can achieve this by making a jig for a router and get both faces parallel.

    The height of the work surface must be the distance from the floor to your hammer in your hand, with the handle horizontal and your arm hanging down. If the floor of your workshop is dirt or pavers, I would take a longer log and bury it to gain stability. The anvil legs can be fixed with spikes, coach screws and a flat bar or even with a few large nails bent.

    You can make a metal tripod using heavy angle. If you do so make sure you weld a square or round shoe to the end of each leg to avoid damage to the floor or to stop it digging in the ground, and don't give it too much taper so that the legs are not in your way when you work.

    My preferred stand is a sandbox made of 5 mm plate. Think of a truncated pyramid each 4 sides are trapeze the base 50 mm wider than the top.
    All welded together including the base. The top is open and the base for the anvil is a rectangle that sits (floats) on the sand you fill the box with. The box base is rectangular so there will be two sides smaller that the other two. The sand absorbs the noise and the height can be regulated by taking sand out or adding some more. Having said that I don't think a sand box stand will suit a 30k anvil, the small mass will make the anvil bounce around too much for comfort. It is suited more to larger anvils 80k and over.

    Noise from the anvil can also be reduced by using a large magnet attached to the horn also a heavy chain wrapped around the body. You have a very useful anvil but don't forget it is a small anvil and there is a ratio between the weight of the hammer and the wight of the anvil....well that is debatable but I leave that to whoever wants to start such debate.
    Civilized man is the only animal clever enough to manufacture its own food,
    and the only animal stupid enough to eat it.
    Barry Groves

  2. #17
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    I went through a blademaking phase and had a need for an anvil. Being a pauper the purchase price of a "real Anvil" was out of my range.

    Visiting the scrapyard I chanced upon some Bisalloy offcut about 450 x 50 x 70W.It was shaped and weld to formed 20mm plate and filled with as much lead as I could get my hands on.

    Not a purists anvil by any means but good enough to belt knives out on. It weighs about 60kgs

    Grahame
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  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grahame Collins View Post
    I went through a blademaking phase and had a need for an anvil. Being a pauper the purchase price of a "real Anvil" was out of my range.

    Visiting the scrapyard I chanced upon some Bisalloy offcut about 450 x 50 x 70W.It was shaped and weld to formed 20mm plate and filled with as much lead as I could get my hands on.

    Not a purists anvil by any means but good enough to belt knives out on. It weighs about 60kgs

    Grahame
    There are a few descriptions of how to make your own anvil on the net. Most need a massive amount of cutting and grinding.
    Finding a piece of scrap plate that is 75 to 100 mm thick is not easy but possible.
    THe process is rather obvious, cut the anvil shape out of the plate with an oxy cutter, device the legs with the same material to be welded across the base, grind and shape like crazy for days on end, drill the hardy hole out, possibly machine the top, add a hard steel plate on top, figure a way to weld the plate to the body, ( not a problem for you) grind the round horn ... gee, I am tired just by describing it ... ha ha

    A better way may be to use fork lift thingies, what are they called again?
    Civilized man is the only animal clever enough to manufacture its own food,
    and the only animal stupid enough to eat it.
    Barry Groves

  4. #19
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    And if you want to do blades, particularly damascus steel blades, rather than hammering forever on an anvil, build a MacDonald rolling mill. Australian invention to roll hot iron without effort, silent and with a pitiful 3/4 hp motor. Home made is the only option since Big Blue stopped production of their version of it.

    http://www.anvilfire.com/bookrev/mcdonald/mill.htm
    Civilized man is the only animal clever enough to manufacture its own food,
    and the only animal stupid enough to eat it.
    Barry Groves

  5. #20
    Ueee's Avatar
    Ueee is offline Blacksmith, Cabinetmaker, Machinist, Messmaker
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    Isn't it funny how I mentioned just a couple of weeks ago that Bruce Beamish was making and selling rolling mills right here in aus and now your saying no one makes them. Or are you just grumpy after his somewhat pushy attempt to get you to try one of his hammers? Anyhow, they are available and they are really good to use, be it home made or bought.
    1915 17"x50" LeBlond heavy duty Lathe, 24" Queen city shaper, 1970's G Vernier FV.3.TO Universal Mill, 1958 Blohm HFS 6 surface grinder, 1942 Rivett 715 Lathe, 14"x40" Antrac Lathe, Startrite H225 Bandsaw, 1949 Hercus Camelback Drill press, 1947 Holbrook C10 Lathe.

  6. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Marc View Post
    There are a few descriptions of how to make your own anvil on the net. Most need a massive amount of cutting and grinding.
    Finding a piece of scrap plate that is 75 to 100 mm thick is not easy but possible.
    THe process is rather obvious, cut the anvil shape out of the plate with an oxy cutter, device the legs with the same material to be welded across the base, grind and shape like crazy for days on end, drill the hardy hole out, possibly machine the top, add a hard steel plate on top, figure a way to weld the plate to the body, ( not a problem for you) grind the round horn ... gee, I am tired just by describing it ... ha ha

    A better way may be to use fork lift thingies, what are they called again?
    Forks?

    re my anvil, I had a set of circumstances line up for me

    The steel, 75mm x 75mm x50mm Bisalloy was a trim off cut at the scrappies- -they build dragline buckets here you could park four utes in - crikey I had to pay $2 for him.
    I worked in TAFE and had access to tools other people don't normally see - straight line cutter, profile cutter, press brake. 3 phase welders
    I did happen to score some mine site 22mm thick discarded welding practice coupons which the base and sides where made from.

    I grant you hard work yes! but I cheated on the horn and weld a laminated extension on it ,gouged it, to shaped anvil prepped the weld edges,welded and ground the whole lot off with a real grinder, a 9".

    The thing is is you have limited cash there's cheap alternatives and the more effort you can put in -with limited tools I grant you- The better it will be.

    When I find my Lincoln welding project book I'll post some fabbed anvil stuff from there.

  7. #22
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    Some good photos on anvilfire about making your own anvil.
    http://www.anvilfire.com/21centbs/an...king/index.php
    http://www.anvilfire.com/21centbs/an...ail_anvils.php

    Uee, yes I remember a comment by you, but thought/interpreted he was importing the mills not making them here.
    As far as character remarks, I think it is best if they stay unsaid.
    It is much more fun to play with metalwork than argue about metalwork whilst trying to dodge crude ads.

    For example I would love to have some welding lessons from Graham if only he was in the same state.
    Civilized man is the only animal clever enough to manufacture its own food,
    and the only animal stupid enough to eat it.
    Barry Groves

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