Home-made Anvil

The blacksmiths' mantra, if you will, Is "need a tool, make a tool". Well, I needed an anvil. Cash availability was an issue, so I turned to instructibles. I didn't find quite what I was looking for so I did some further research and forged ahead(pun intended).

You will need;
-welder/rods
-grinder
-sanding/grinding /cutting discs
-1 inch plate
-2 inch round stock
-1 inch round stock
-1/2 inch round stock
-patience
-beer

A word of warning; I was able to keep costs down by doing a lot of "dumpster diving" at work. I had a chunk of 1 inch steel plate rusting under my carport, so I decided to use it for the body. I wanted clean square edges so I took it to a machine shop and had it plasma cut into 6 4 x 8 inch chunks and 2 4 inch chunks. Bevel grind all edges and 6010 weld, then cap and pad with 7018.

Grind the body flat and level on top. One thing I would do differently is have a couple holes cut in the top plate and plug weld it to the body. Assemble all parts and begin tacking together. Bevel all corners, root weld 6010, then 7018 cap.
Be careful, don't drop this thing on your foot! Weld a little, flip and weld, flip and weld to avoid warpage.

Weld the body to the base. I had the machine shop cut me a top plate and doubler plate for the hardie and pritchel holes. 1/2" thick, 4 x 14, and a 4 x 4 by 1 inch block where the horn comes off, with another smaller piece of 1" plate under that for more support. The horn was 2 inch round stock, with 1 inch and 1/2 inch welded to that. Then it's a matter of welding and grinding and welding and grinding. I did weld railroad spikes to the sides of the horn to widen it out a little. I also made gussets out of 3/8 plate for the front and back. Bevel all corners, and weld everything out. Go for good penetration, because you will be grinding welds down. Shape it how you want it. I decided to leave the beads on the body intact-I figured why take weight off when heavier is better. I also really like the look of it sitting on the stump.

You don't usually paint an anvil because hot metal will just burn it off. I decided to use bbq paint on the underside and beeswax mixed with boiled linseed oil and turpentine for everything else. Have a beer, your pretty much done.