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?

2 comments

2 Comments

mary_wells14d ago

That bounce you saw is why I always ask if they've tried a sandbag under the anvil base.

jordangarcia14d ago

Good point, @mary_wells. That simple fix saves a lot of headaches.