Thoughts on sandbox anvil stands?

L

Leon Husock

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Jul 17, 2019
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313
I've seen a lot of threads and nothing super definitive. I'm mostly interested because they seem like they'd be very quiet, and my neighbors are somewhat displeased with me (to say the least). Currently I've got my anvil on a wood box stand with turnbuckle and chain system holding it down and a layer of caulk underneath, but it's a Peter Wright and it likes to ring no matter what.
 
Things to try:
Welding magnets stuck on various places to cut down vibrations.
Wrapping 20 or so feet of chain around the anvil.
Add AC and soundproof the shop.
Sandbox setups are not what I have seen anywhere that people forge often. In theory they might cut down reverberations????
 
Get a ring magnet with a big enough hole to go over the end of the horn. You can try it first with just a refrigerator magnet at the very tip and you will be amazed at its efficacy. Without a hole, though, it'll fly off eventually. I have a 1.5" circular disc magnet with about a half inch hole and it rocks. I was shown this trick by the lead 'smith at Centaur Forge a long time ago. I had my Peter Wright fixed in place with wood on a 2x12 pine stack, had about 15 feet of large chain and a welding magnet on the body, and it still drew threats from the neighbors. I put that little magnet on the end and no one complained again. Very slick little trick.
 
I have a multi-angle welding magnet with a big hole in the center on the tip of the horn. It reduced the ring a lot. IIRC, it came from HF.
 

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fitzo said:
Get a ring magnet with a big enough hole to go over the end of the horn. You can try it first with just a refrigerator magnet at the very tip and you will be amazed at its efficacy. Without a hole, though, it'll fly off eventually. I have a 1.5" circular disc magnet with about a half inch hole and it rocks. I was shown this trick by the lead 'smith at Centaur Forge a long time ago. I had my Peter Wright fixed in place with wood on a 2x12 pine stack, had about 15 feet of large chain and a welding magnet on the body, and it still drew threats from the neighbors. I put that little magnet on the end and no one complained again. Very slick little trick.
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Worth a shot. I do use the end of my anvil horn, but I suppose I could take the magnet off when I do.

Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Things to try:
Welding magnets stuck on various places to cut down vibrations.
Wrapping 20 or so feet of chain around the anvil.
Add AC and soundproof the shop.
Sandbox setups are not what I have seen anywhere that people forge often. In theory they might cut down reverberations????
Click to expand...
I've heard good things about a sandbox stand just in terms of weight and stability, and it makes sense to me that it would cut down on reverberations because I would think the sand would eat the vibrations. But it might be a negligible difference.
 
My mentor used a very solid metal frame sandbox. I think it helped with noise and was solid. Sand packs really hard like a baseball field or under pavers. He did say it took a while to fully compact. It was a very close fit around the anvil.
 
Gilbert M said:
My mentor used a very solid metal frame sandbox. I think it helped with noise and was solid. Sand packs really hard like a baseball field or under pavers. He did say it took a while to fully compact. It was a very close fit around the anvil.
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Interesting. Was the anvil sitting on top of the sand or was it buried a little bit in the sand, like the bottom inch or two?
 
Rick Marchand (sp) was promoting a leather horn cover hand sewn, shaped to the horn as being the best sound deadener he'd found. Easy on/off and gathers no junk.
 
It was sitting on top . I can't remember if there was a sheet of something on top of the sand or not . Sadly my photography is still horrible (this is 8 years old) my pictures are not worth a thousand words only 500.
sF8TMyqm.jpg
 
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The setups I have read about had the anvil on a 2" thick wooden board and the board fitted snugly on top of the box of sand.
 
People have tried everything under the sun to keep anvils from ringing. I have 5 anvils and none of them ring. They are all securely mounted to the stand and that has been all I need. YMMV. This image is basically how all my anvils are mounted. The snugly fitted blocks in the coves keep the anvil from moving front to back or side to side. The clamps at the front and back keep the anvil from hopping. I have a Trenton, a Fisher, two Peter Wrights and a William Foster from 1830. None of them ring.


RyWY62t.jpg
 
Leon Husock said:
I've seen a lot of threads and nothing super definitive. I'm mostly interested because they seem like they'd be very quiet, and my neighbors are somewhat displeased with me (to say the least). Currently I've got my anvil on a wood box stand with turnbuckle and chain system holding it down and a layer of caulk underneath, but it's a Peter Wright and it likes to ring no matter what.
Click to expand...
If your anvil is on a box have you considered that it may be amplifying the sound waves, kind of like a speaker or drum?
 
I used silicon to attach my anvil to the stand. No ring to speak of at all. The stand is also a metal tripod that I move into position when I'm ready to forge, then bolt to the concrete pad in my driveway.
 
I think one problem with people talking about anvils online is the word "RING". To some, it conjures up scenes from The Hunchback of Notre dame. To others a fire alarm, and to experienced smiths, the sharp sound of a hammer hitting metal on the anvil.

I describe it as the pitch and sustain of the hammer blows. Anvils that "RING" have a higher pitch sound and it often is fairly sustained. I describe it as "DINGGG - DINGGG - DINGGG" or "PINGGG - PINGGG - PINGGG".
Anvils that don't "ring" have lower tones more like a "THUNK-THUNK - THUNK", and the sound and it does not sustain. Most anvils fall somewhere in the middle when a few of the basic quieting techniques are used.

My main anvil is a Hay Budden. They are known for ringing. It has a pitch around 1200Hz (second octave above middle C - D or D# is my guess), but the chains and solid mounting keep it down to around 800-1000Hz. The chains and magnets quiet it a lot as far as any ringing. That is not to say that you can't hear me when forging, just that it isn't terribly annoying and doesn't travel as far. When I re-do the smithy I am going to take it off the base it is bolted on - a 400# acorn table - and put it on a solid wooden base. I think that will quiet it more. That way I can use the acorn table for MIG/TIG welding as well as bending things. On the other end of the anvil spectrum, my little 66# Atlas (#1 prototype) is pretty quiet. This is mostly because of the mass below the face and the block shape.
 
I have dug out some photos of old knifemakers anvils circa 19th century, they are mounted in stone and on tree trunks. things have probably moved on since then though,
AnvilSheff.jpgAnvilSheff1.jpg
 
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