The day I realized my anvil was sitting on a rotting stump for 3 years

So I'm out in the shop last week, hammering away on a bottle opener, and my anvil starts wobbling like crazy with every hit. I look under the stand and the whole oak stump I had it on is basically mulch inside because I never sealed the bottom. I spent $60 on a proper steel stand from a guy in Toledo and now my hammer blows actually go into the metal instead of shaking the whole floor. Anyone else ever build their whole setup on something that was doomed to rot?

2 comments

2 Comments

evan_morgan8117d ago

The Toledo stand guy probably sold you a piece of pipe with a plate welded on for 60 bucks. You could have just cut your stump flat and put a piece of treated plywood under it for ten dollars and it would still be fine. I've had the same black locust stump under my anvil for twelve years and I never sealed the bottom. It sits on a concrete floor with a piece of old conveyor belt under it so moisture can't wick up. That stump is still rock solid. Maybe your shop has a moisture problem or your stump was already trash when you put it on there. Those steel stands transfer way more vibration into the floor and your neighbors will hear you hammering from three houses away.

the_joel17d ago

Man that black locust stump sounds like a tank. I had a stump years ago from some old oak tree I cut down in my backyard. Thought I dried it out good but after a couple years the bottom started rotting out. My anvil started wobbling bad. I just flipped it over and leveled the other side. Worked fine for another few years til the whole thing split down the middle. Now I keep meaning to get a steel stand just because I'm tired of messing with wood but your point about noise is something I never thought about. My shop's in a detached garage so neighbors already complain about the angle grinder. Dont need them pounding on my door about hammer blows too.