Anvil base question

[Doc Shipley]

When you wrote "It still has a good ring and rebound, but not so much shock to it" I was a little confused. I associate shock with a lack of rebound and/or improper hammer use. You also mention..."the wrong type of bounce". Is this just bad rebound or is there a type of bounce you have experienced that is perhaps sloppy or out of phase so the arm feels the vibration (as with a bad tennis racquet)?

Maybe some of the guys with more experience on more anvils can shed more light on it, but what I think happens is this:

The anvil doesn't (shouldn't) "give" under the hammer. Either the workpiece deforms or the hammer bounces. That's what I meant by good ring and rebound. However, some of the force is bound to go all the way through the anvil to the base. A good wood base just absorbs that with little or no return. That steel base sent it right back up through the anvil, giving the workpiece and hammer a secondary jolt that was very unpleasant.

What I do know happens is that since I ditched that steel base and built the wood one, I don't tire as quickly using it and my hands and wrists feel a lot better the next day.

 

[Miles Undercut]

Mine sit chained down on plywood inside 3/16" plate steel boxes full of sand. Moveable, minimal noise, maximum challenge to would-be thieves.