[TheForge] Anvil height

[Bruce .]

Most of our anvil stands ARE stumps -- which is to say they aren't
sunk in the ground, but that they are made of a hardwood log.  (Thanks
to Sandy, there are currently VAST numbers of appropriate logs at the
Jersey Shore!)  One friend will take an oversized log and, using only
a chain saw, level top and bottom and square off the sides.

Logs are kinda heavy.  We move them on a hand truck, up and down a
ramp when needed, with no particular problem.  If I had to lift a
stand into a vehicle, I'd look into something welded up from angle
iron, to save weight.

We also tried an idea of mine -- an anvil stand made from two
adjustable car stands, with screws to lock the trammels and a place
between them for a bottle jack.  It works, but is heavier than we
prefer and we usually just adjust the stand height by hand w/o using
the jack -- before placing the anvil on it.  (This is for demos where
we have to set up anyway.)

In either case, have a place to put sharp hardy tools out of the way,
and a "rack" to hang the tools you're currently using is very handy.

As to height -- it's my opinion that the "height of your knuckles"
rule was for a commercial shop, with a striker available.  When
striking, that's about right.  When working alone at an anvil, it's
too low for me, by maybe as much as 6".  The smaller your work, the
higher your anvil.  Old steam hammers had really low anvils -- why
raise a 6" shaft to waist height to forge it?

In the shop, we have one low log with an anvil of maybe 175# on it.
One tall fellow made up blocks that fit securely under the anvil so he
can raise it a few inches for his use.

Bruce
NJBA

On Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 2:20 PM, Blakkpawss <blakkpawss at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> I'm currently in the process of setting up a new shop and the monster known as layout has reared its ugly head. In particular an age old gripe of mine. Anvil stands and anvil height. A lot of what I've seen over time suggests putting your anvil on a stump. However, I've see a lot of purposely built wooden stands in the last several years that make think it would be more useful to me if I designed and built something for my needs. Second, everything I've ever been told or read is that your anvil should stand at a height where your knuckels come to rest on it's top when you drop your arm to your side. This has always seemed fine till I work. I always feel like I'm bent and stooped over the anvil. My back begins to hurt pretty bad after working for a couple hours. Seems like I'd feel better if it was taller, so that I stood straight while working.
>
> Question one: Do you prefer a stump or a stand? List pros and cons as you see them, please.
>
> Question two: do you use the traditional height or do you set it taller? If so why? Once again pros and cons please.
>
> Thanks for the input in advance everyone.
>
> Sent from Samsung Mobile
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-- 
Bruce
NJ