Post Anvil setup - Help

It would take a couple of helpers and the room to do it but, a vertical pit forge would work. Drill a hole in the base of the anvil, thread and place a sturdy eye bolt in it. Suspend the anvil over the forge and heat as necessary. Quench the first 4-6" (top of the anvil). Let the heat from the body temper the quenched part. That should give you a substantial thickness of hardened steel to forge on.
 
Rick, when you cast your concrete, did you pour it touching the steel post? I thought of something similar this week, and was about to ask questions in this forum - thank you coldsteelburns for starting this thread! The ALRO distributor near me sells tool steel drops for $1/pound, I had the tempering task roughed out in my mind - drill and thread an eyebolt hole as well & chain fall the block over heat source. I was thinking of casting the opening in the concrete over size on the width and using vibration isolators to dampen noise - I do A/C and sheet-metal for a living, so getting the iso pads used under air-handlers to dampen noise was my first thought. I would use a steel plate embedded in the concrete at the depth I wanted the bottom of the steel post, and when the concrete was cured I'd set the post and drive in the rubber wedges on 4 sides to kill the sound.

The biggest drop piece they have right now is about 70 pounds, but the mass of the base would add up quick at approx 150 #/ cubic ft., and I'm 6'2", so a tall base to build means added mass in concrete...

The pieces they have are in several sizes, 5x5, 5x6, 3x8, 4x5, etc. in the same weight range (within 3# of each other) I was thinking of the 3x8 as it would give a longer work surface for the same weight instead of a square one, what do you all think about face dimensions?
 
Rick and Bo T., I saw pictures of a smith doing this process to a very large block - 12x12x9 - approx 350-400#. He wrapped the steel block in ceramic blanket insulation on the sides and bottom to help it retain heat and for it heat up faster. His was A2, so air hardening.
 
If you can weld on tabs or get two bolts in the side of the block, you might consider sand in your base column. Some chain pulling the block tight against base will make the block work much more efficiently than if it sits on the base, and it can be taken apart or adjusted easier than if it's cemented in.
 
My first holder for the post anvil was a chicken feeder. Buried it in crusher dust. It worked decently but moved over time.

 
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