MadModder
Gallery, Projects and General => Project Logs => Topic started by: Andrew Wildman on June 27, 2016, 02:32:49 PM
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I have been after an anvil for a while but I cannot justify paying the price they seem to fetch for the amount I would use it. so on Saturday I spotted a big old 14lb sledge hammer head for 1 quid at the local autojumble and though that it would make a good anvil substitute for small jobs.
I brought it home and had a look around the shed to see how I could mount it. I found a bit of 4" SHS and it fitted nicely inside. so I welded a little platform for it in the SHS and bolted it to the side so that it can be tuned either way. The platform is made from angle and flat bar and I welded it through a window cut in the side of the SHS where I could not access the inside to do a fillet. One side has been polished flat (shown) the other side has a big radius ground onto it.
Hammer head in SHS, still waiting for it's base:
(http://i1031.photobucket.com/albums/y373/dreeewman/anvil/002.jpg)
Showing platform detail from the inside:
(http://i1031.photobucket.com/albums/y373/dreeewman/anvil/004.jpg)
I will have to make a base for it to increase the height and make it more stable. I am also going to fill it with concrete or something similar to add a bit of mass.
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just a thought but i do know that banging 2 hammer heads together is not a good idea . but i dont know what sledge hammer heads are made from .
johno
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That actually looks like a good idea, just few thoughts:
Mass of the anvil and foot is your friend.
I would first think of a wood stump/something as a bottom part of the base. Stable, nice to roll on the rim and does not chip the concrete floor when need to straighten just something fast.
I would try to fill the metal column with sand instead of concrete. Concrete shrinks and loose metal skin might ring, sand would absorbe some ringing.
How does it sounds when you strike it?
Pekka
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just a thought but i do know that banging 2 hammer heads together is not a good idea .
johno
Why ?
Rob
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Iff you bang two claw hammers together realy realy hard one of the claws will break , becaus of the different tempers in the claws to the face , but its got to be a super human blow or cheap hammers .
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:headbang:
I think my anvils needs will be sorted with a big sledgehammer head, or two. Very much like your platform for it.
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just a thought but i do know that banging 2 hammer heads together is not a good idea.
johno
Yes, quite right.
http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/17562/reader-says-mythbusters-missed-on-hammer-strikes
This is why things like chisels, whilst having hard cutting edges, have softer ends where the hammer strikes. Not difficult to work out. :doh:
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just a thought but i do know that banging 2 hammer heads together is not a good idea . but i dont know what sledge hammer heads are made from .
johno
#1 Funny that , I spent 7 years in the joinery trade when I left school refurbishing old house ,shops and banks and we often used to claw hammers in that way ,to get under nail heads and the likes and not one hammer head shattered , I mean using an Estwing to hit a Stanley not once was there a ding,crack or shattering of the hammer head . Its an old wives tale .
#2 Why would he be striking the two heads together anyway ? he is forging so there will be hot/soft steel between the two .
And
#3 What do you think the working surface of and anvil is ? its hardened tools steel ,,,,,,,,,,,,,oh just like the hammer head .
Rob
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Nice idea for a post anvil Andrew :thumbup: :med:
Rob
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It'a nice little job, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised just how much work you can get done on an anvil like that.
Hope you don't mind if I make a couple of suggestions though?
Here's one that I made a few years ago. This is actually the MkII version.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5294/5547949456_36373ffe75_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/9sfG5Y)Cutlers anvil (https://flic.kr/p/9sfG5Y) by Mick (https://www.flickr.com/photos/one_rod/), on Flickr(https://c8.staticflickr.com/6/5092/5547367303_6d2e5aedf2_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/9scH2R)Cutlers anvil (https://flic.kr/p/9scH2R) by Mick (https://www.flickr.com/photos/one_rod/), on Flickr
MkI was more like yours, but I couldn't live with the noise it made. Not the pleasant, bell-like ring of a proper anvil, it was a horrible clanging from the hollow section.
I ended up cutting it apart and welding a piece of 20mm thick plate to the top, cutting the hammer head in half at the eye, and putting a piece of old conveyor belting between it and the thick plate. This acted as an impact absorbing layer, stopped the metal-on-metal noise from the two parts and made the work absorb the energy from the hammer blows better by killing the rebound.
When you put the base on it make provision for bolting it solidly to the floor. As heavy as it will be, if you don't it will walk all over the place when you use it.
As has been said, if you do fill the hollow section don't use concrete. Sand, shot, or similar "loose" material will be far better. I didn't use anything in mine, and once it was bolted down didn't have a problem.
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:headbang:
I think my anvils needs will be sorted with a big sledgehammer head, or two. Very much like your platform for it.
If you want a simple way to get started, you can always go proper "hillbilly" and simply plant the hammer head, face up, in a bucket full of sand.
Stand it on a box or stump to raise the height, and away you go.
No need for any fabrication... :thumbup:
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Nice one :thumbup: one_rod :clap: :clap:
Rob
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Thanks for the suggestions. The anvil has decent rebound but without filling the post with sand it does clang.
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just a thought but i do know that banging 2 hammer heads together is not a good idea . but i dont know what sledge hammer heads are made from .
johno
The OP may be expecting that some hot, pliable material would be between the two hammer heads.
Don't usually hammer directly on an anvil.
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So I filled the post with sand and plugged the end with a tight fitting wooden plug to keep the sand in place and well packed in. I also welded on some feed and screwed the whole lot onto a load of too be forz that are tied together with some lengths of M12 studding. I was going to make a more substantial base but when I tried a higher base it felt too high.
The anvil now has a muted ring and is sufficiently stable, even without fully bolting it down. Cost to build £1 (plus some stuff that I had kicking about!)
(http://i1031.photobucket.com/albums/y373/dreeewman/anvil/001.jpg)
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I like this quite a bit! :thumbup: