I-Beam as an Anvil...need mounting suggestions

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Emphasiski

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Jun 27, 2010
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I just picked up a 3/8" x 12" x 5" x 12" piece of I-Beam for $14. I can get a chunk of 1/2" steel to reinforce the top for about $10.

My question is, what is the best way to mount this sucker for max stability for hammering out steel?

I've been thinking about 2, 1/4" x 5" x 5" square steel tubes, maybe a foot or 1.5 feet high, welding them underneath the I-beam, then a 2'x2' piece of 1/2" steel for the base. I can get it all as scrap, and might cost around $20.

I'm not that creative with this stuff, or have the experience, so if anyone has any ideas for a sturdy base, I'm all ears.
 
You want mass in an anvil. Mount it to a stump, stack of 2x12 boards, concrete, or something like that would be my suggestion.

-d
 
No base will get you over the fact that I beam as an anvil is just a bad idea. Even on the ass backwards idea of using a solid block of steel as the base would still make it crap.

For that 24$ plus a little more, you could get a 16 pound or the biggest hammer from Home Depot, a 5 gallon bucket and a bag of concrete and you would be in MUCH better shape.
 
Sam Salvati said:
No base will get you over the fact that I beam as an anvil is just a bad idea. Even on the ass backwards idea of using a solid block of steel as the base would still make it crap.

For that 24$ plus a little more, you could get a 16 pound or the biggest hammer from Home Depot, a 5 gallon bucket and a bag of concrete and you would be in MUCH better shape.
Click to expand...


Why is an I beam a bad idea?
 
If you have house construction around you, get some shorter 2x10s and make your own base. It's what I did to make my anvil base.
 

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Using an I-beam crosswise for pounding on is going to be noisy as hell. And not enough mass to be a really good anvil. Using it vertically as a support for something like a big hunk of RR track or really heavy plate would be better. Third-world smiths get by with big hammer heads as anvils, partly sunk into stumps. The late, great Alexander Weygers says in his several books on blacksmithing that anything with concentrated mass will work-- a hunk of bulldozer frame is the example he uses.
 
Emphasiski said:
Why is an I beam a bad idea?
Click to expand...

an anvil itself needs mass, not just the base. You need something solid that does not absorb energy, but returns it IE a heavy bit of steel. I beam is flimsy when pounded on because it has no mass because it absorbs all the energy and vibrates. a solid block of steel resists the force of the hammer blow and does not move.
 
I have a large chunk of I beam as well and it is LOUD to hammer on. all of the previously mentioned points are valid.
Chris
 
Emphasiski said:
Why is an I beam a bad idea?
Click to expand...

Because, other than right where the vertical part is, everywhere else it has spring, that will absorb and waste the force of your hammer blows.
An anvil has to be IMMOVEABLE, compared to the mass of steel you are trying to forge and the mass of the hammer you are trying to use.
No matter how much mass you put under a spring, it remains a spring.
Get a big hammer head. Or get a used anvil. 50# at least.
I know, it's expensive, but it's something you buy once in a lifetime, so it'd better be the best you can get.
My grandpa was a locksmith, and always said "Never spare on tools".
I agree: after 20 years of experience in model making, hobby gunsmithing, professional electronics repairing and now bladesmithing, I can fully testify that money saved on tools is wasted money.
Always get what you need.
You can use makeshift tools meanwhile, but if you need an anvil, buy an anvil. And do it as soon as possible.
 
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