My DIY Anvil...

[Guest Broomhead]

I decided it was high time I get a working anvil going. This will be used primarily for blades, therefore the work face doesn't need to be huge, just larger than the face of a hammer. I had an older 12lbs sledgehammer head laying around that I found at my old house...ding, ding, ding. I figured I could make a bucket anvil using concrete and a 6gal bucket. Then, I had a friend give me several scrap metal plates that were all uniformly sized. Awesome, now I have a lot of mass that will transmit the kinetic energy down to a 3/4" steel plate under the anvil and back up to the face...I think that's a good thing. I know the extra mass is good.

 

Here are my materials, minus the Quickrete.

 

Now, never use a hammer to break out the bottom of the bucket, because you will crack it.

 

 

I cut out the bottom of the barrel so I wouldn't end up busting it out sometime down the road while in use.

 

I also had to grind down the corners of one of the plates so it could sit flat inside the bucket.

 

I forgot to take pictures of how the plates are arranged, but, when viewed from the side, they'd look like this.

        

         __|__

         |||||||||  The plate I ground down sits on top of the other nine plates with the hammer head centered on it.

 

Then, I set the  bucket on a piece of wood, filled it halfway with concrete and gently pounded the nine plates in place. I filled the bucket some more till the concrete was even with the top of the plates, then I set the tenth plate on top with the hammer head centered on it. I filled the bucket with the remainder of the concrete. I let the concrete start to set, wiggling the hammer head as it set. I wanted the hammer head to sit loosely so I could use some silicone caulk to mount it to reduce vibrations into the concrete around the head, it will also quiet any ring that the head may produce.

 

Here's the bottom plate I will use.

 

The concrete is setting.

 

Sitting on a scale...I was barely able to lift it enough to get it on the scale.

 

Now I just have to finish letting the concrete dry and use the silicone to mount the hammer head.

 

[RED333]

That might work for a bit, but the vibration will break up the concrete after time.

[Trekbike]

I was following you until you got to using the silicone to mount the hammer head. Please explain.

[Caster]

Ask around and get you a section of railroad track.  I think I gave $8 for mine.  You can whoop tha piss out of them.

[UncleJak]

I saw a video where a guy had a 4x4 metal post set in a bucket of concrete, it seemed to work well.  Let me know how this turns out.

[Guest Broomhead]

Red, Trekbike, The silicone is do dampen the vibrations going into the concrete from the hammer head. The head will still sit directly on the plate beneath it.

 

Caster, I have a section of RR track...it's 8 feet long...and weighs over 300 pounds. I have tried to cut it with an angle grinder, but after having three blades explode while trying I have given up on using that to cut it. I don't have a cutting torch nor can I find anyone with one that is able to come cut it for me. It is too big and heavy for me to take anywhere to have cut. I really want it cut as I owe the guy who helped me haul it home a piece. I want it cut into a 3' long vertical post anvil and a 2' long horizontal anvil. The other 3' piece goes to my friend. At this point I'd be willing to pay someone a small fee to cut it with their torch if they would come to my house and do it.

 

Jak, I'll keep you updated on it. I saw a guy with a few different types of anvils all done with various pieces of steel using buckets and also those tubular concrete forms.

 

Before the concrete had set, when the hammer head was still a tight fit, I lightly hit it with my 3lbs cross-peen and it has some great rebound. It was almost as good as Spots's traditional anvil.

Edited May 13, 2013 by Broomhead

[Trekbike]

Could you cut it with one of those portable band saws?

[Guest Broomhead]

Yeah, as long as the cut depth was deep enough. I guess I could cut it as far as it would go on one side then line it up and cut the other side.

[seez52]

local pawn shop had a couple of anvils, not in the best of shape and wanted $300+ for each of them.

[Guest Broomhead]

Yeah, folks seem to be really proud of their anvils. I've seen them on craigslist for $800 for beat up ones and the sellers were very serious about their prices.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I wouldn't waste the band saw blades trying to cut the rail steel. You need a torch. Sometimes, laying

around the tracks, you can find a piece of scrap rail about 6inches to a foot long. They just pitch it off the

roadbed. If you see them working next to a crossing, and ask real nice, one of them might point you in

the right direction. Pieces like that never get used again.

[bigbabysweets]

I read in a knife mag once about machete making in the philippines. One guy held one sledge hammer on the ground while 2-3 others used their's to pound out the blade. Precision. They used old hoe heads to make the knives. Looked good too!

[UncleJak]

The 1st knife I made at my forge was on a sledgehammer.  I kinda forgot about it until now.  I have a section of RR track now, but use whatever you have that will work.

[Guest Broomhead]

I got the sledge head mounted with the silicone. There was about a 1/16"-1/8" gap so it was a snug fit and I was quite liberal with the silicone. Now to let that set. I tapped it with a small ball-peen and had the hammer rebound as high as it started, about jumped out of my hand. I'll give it 24 hours to set and then I can test it with a lawnmower blade that needs straightening. I'm really hoping that after all this work, it will be usable and work for my needs for the time being.

Edited May 15, 2013 by Broomhead

[Viracnis]

That looks like a great setup.  I'll bet even if you had a "proper" anvil you'd find yourself using that one for small stuff just for the easy size.  I know I would.  Layering that metal in the bucket was a great idea.

 

 

There was an SCA smith that I saw use a sledge hammer head set into an old wooden stump for his anvil.  He had to sit cross legged on the ground to work at the forge (a hole in the ground lined with rocks, usually) and anvil and produced BEAUTIFUL work on that old setup.

 

I wonder if you could set a piece of square channel in the concrete to hold hardy tools like hot-cuts and fullers?

Edited May 16, 2013 by Viracnis