I decided it was high time I get a working anvil going. This will be used primarily for blades, therefore the work face doesn't need to be huge, just larger than the face of a hammer. I had an older 12lbs sledgehammer head laying around that I found at my old house...ding, ding, ding. I figured I could make a bucket anvil using concrete and a 6gal bucket. Then, I had a friend give me several scrap metal plates that were all uniformly sized. Awesome, now I have a lot of mass that will transmit the kinetic energy down to a 3/4" steel plate under the anvil and back up to the face...I think that's a good thing. I know the extra mass is good.
Here are my materials, minus the Quickrete.
Now, never use a hammer to break out the bottom of the bucket, because you will crack it.
I cut out the bottom of the barrel so I wouldn't end up busting it out sometime down the road while in use.
I also had to grind down the corners of one of the plates so it could sit flat inside the bucket.
I forgot to take pictures of how the plates are arranged, but, when viewed from the side, they'd look like this:
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The plate I ground down sits on top of the other nine plates with the hammer head centered on it.
Then, I set the bucket on a piece of wood, filled it halfway with concrete and gently pounded the nine plates in place. I filled the bucket some more till the concrete was even with the top of the plates, then I set the tenth plate on top with the hammer head centered on it. I filled the bucket with the remainder of the concrete. I let the concrete start to set, wiggling the hammer head as it set. I wanted the hammer head to sit loosely so I could use some silicone caulk to mount it to reduce vibrations into the concrete around the head, it will also quiet any ring that the head may produce.
Here's the bottom plate I will use.
The concrete is setting.
Sitting on a scale...I was barely able to lift it enough to get it on the scale. BTW, that says 195lbs.
Now I just have to finish letting the concrete dry and use the silicone to mount the hammer head.
Here are my materials, minus the Quickrete.
Now, never use a hammer to break out the bottom of the bucket, because you will crack it.
I cut out the bottom of the barrel so I wouldn't end up busting it out sometime down the road while in use.
I also had to grind down the corners of one of the plates so it could sit flat inside the bucket.
I forgot to take pictures of how the plates are arranged, but, when viewed from the side, they'd look like this:
___|___
||||||||
The plate I ground down sits on top of the other nine plates with the hammer head centered on it.
Then, I set the bucket on a piece of wood, filled it halfway with concrete and gently pounded the nine plates in place. I filled the bucket some more till the concrete was even with the top of the plates, then I set the tenth plate on top with the hammer head centered on it. I filled the bucket with the remainder of the concrete. I let the concrete start to set, wiggling the hammer head as it set. I wanted the hammer head to sit loosely so I could use some silicone caulk to mount it to reduce vibrations into the concrete around the head, it will also quiet any ring that the head may produce.
Here's the bottom plate I will use.
The concrete is setting.
Sitting on a scale...I was barely able to lift it enough to get it on the scale. BTW, that says 195lbs.
Now I just have to finish letting the concrete dry and use the silicone to mount the hammer head.
