Questions on anvil stand | "Traditional" Blacksmithing | Forum

I have a 300 lb block of concrete under my 250 lb anvil - cheap to build and very solid. Also portable if you have something to pick it up with.

I suppose concrete might crumble if sitting directly on a concrete slab but mine is over 15 years old and shows no sign of any damage (on a dirt floor). It's likely the impact is spread out over such a large area that there isn't enough stress to break it down. If power hammers can successfully rest on concrete, my puny arm won't count for much...LOL

I can vouch that it makes for a very solid foundation. Jerry Hoffmann (The Blacksmith's Journal) did a demo at my shop several years ago and liked it so much that he mentioned it one month. The only downside is lack of height adjustment but that's not an issue for my one man operation and an occasional workshop.

I never cared for the sand in the barrel method because the anvil does settle with time, although I will admit it is pretty easy to reset.

Pete Kielty;14575 wrote: Jerry Hoffman was a demonstrator at the CBA octoberfest 5 or 6 or ? years ago. He brought a 200# hay budden on Approx 300# concrete stand. Angle iron embeds on the top edges, inserts on top to bolt the anvil down and inserts on the side to bolt on tool holders or whatever. Nice taper to the sides. I bought it at the end of the event and have been using it since. Works great and easily height adjustable on my dirt floor.

That's interesting. He was at my shop about 10-12 years ago - your description very closely matches my block. BTW, I got the idea out of "Practical Blacksmithing" by Richardson so it's not an original design. IIRC, the one in the book was a steel box filled with concrete and then capped with lead to keep it from moving.