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Saw something at the county fair forge demo that made me nervous
I was at the Clark County Fair last weekend, watching the blacksmith demo they have every year. The smith was working on a simple leaf, but I noticed his anvil was sitting on a plain wooden stump, no chains or straps holding it down. Every time he struck, the whole thing rocked back and forth, maybe an inch each way. He was using a 3 pound hammer, and you could see the anvil shift on the off hits. After about ten minutes of this, I saw him miss his mark slightly and the hammer bounced off the anvil's edge because of the movement. He just shook his hand out and kept going. It made me think how easy it would be for that thing to walk right off the stand, or for a real bad bounce to hurt someone. Has anyone else run into setups like this at public events? What's the best way to suggest a fix without sounding like a know-it-all?
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mary_wells5mo ago
That bounce you saw is why I always ask if they've tried a sandbag under the anvil base.
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jordangarcia5mo ago
Good point, @mary_wells. That simple fix saves a lot of headaches.
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finley_harris53mo ago
And another thing nobody brings up - the type of sand matters too. Like, if you're using that fine play sand, it compacts way differently than the crushed rock dust stuff. Had a buddy pack his anvil base with that fine sand and it actually shifted after a week of heavy use, caused a weird harmonic bounce that threw his hammer timing off. Had to dig it all out and switch to that angular crushed granite dust (you know, the stuff they use for paver bases) - night and day difference in stability. Makes me wonder how many people blame their anvil or stand when the sand type is the real culprit.
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