Please Offer Your Ideas For a "Hand Anvil",,,

CADplans · Feb 20, 2020

The biggest "hammer" I have weighs 4 pounds,, the biggest sledge I have weighs 16 pounds.

There are times when neither of these are heavy enough,,
like someone just mentioned in another thread, use two hammers to disassemble a tie rod end.

As a backup hammer during striking, it is pretty difficult to have too much weight behind whatever is being struck.
Even flattening a piece of metal by using two hammers,, the bigger the hammer the better,,

So I am planning on making a giant hammer, that can also double as a small anvil,, which has a handle,,

A guy gave me the "worn out" swing hammer out of a giant recycling shredder, which will be the basis for my new tool,
The piece is 10" tall, 6" wide, 3.5" thick, and has a 3" hole through it.

Right now, the hammer weighs 40 pounds.

If my bandsaw will cut it, I hope to reshape it into a more useful shape, maybe something like I marked on the hammer in Magic Marker.

I will add a 1.5" solid bar as a handle, probably 48" long, I happen to have a length of DOM tube that is 3" OD, and 2" ID,,

I also have a piece of 2" OD, 1.5" ID DOM tube, so, I can make a pretty good fit of the handle,,

The last 24" of the handle will be knurled. The final weight after shaping and adding a handle should be 50-60 pounds.

So,, OK,,, what are your ideas,, before I start cutting,, and welding,,
How would you build the hand anvil??

bigtiller · Feb 20, 2020

My first consideration would be...who is going to hold it in position.
My back hurts just thinking about holding it with the left hand while the right swings a hammer.

RickB · Feb 20, 2020

Wrap the handle in something to reduce the shock transfer. There is a reason sledgehammers have hardwood handles.

4570Man · Feb 20, 2020

I’d recommend a different handle. A super heavy handle offers no benefit and makes it harder to manage. A wood or at least much lighter pipe handle would be better.

airbiscuit · Feb 20, 2020

I'm wondering about making the head "modular" so you could attach different length handles or bases/mounts to it. Maybe you could weld a large threaded male pipe nipple or female pipe coupling to the base, and screw your various attachments to that.

CADplans · Feb 21, 2020

Thanks for the input,,, :thumbsup:

I like the handle ideas,, I guess I will reconsider the solid 1.5" bar for the handle,,
for the first attempt, I will probably use 1.5" OD,, 1"ID DOM tube for the handle,,

with that for the handle, if it is too rigid, I can cut it off and install a 1" solid bar as a handle, which would add some flexibility.

I doubt anything less than 1" solid bar would survive any use,, wood or fiberglass would break IMHO,,

Hopefully, tomorrow will be warm enough to try cutting the head,,
I have a 4x6 saw which uses low cost blades,, I will try that before using the 9X16 saw, which uses $$$ blades,,,

ONE other question,,, Should I drill a hole in the head,, kinda like a "Hardy Hole" on a regular anvil?

RickB · Feb 21, 2020

Yes to the hole.

AWSubie · Feb 21, 2020

If the bandsaw doesn’t do well, try a cutoff wheel on your angle grinder. I have always been successful using the angle grinder on thick steel (especially hardened steel).

Ford850 · Feb 21, 2020

A cant hook handle would be a hefty choice if you wanted to try wood. Or you could craft your own wood handle with a draw knife.
I think you'll need blades with 2 tpi for something that thick. Maybe less?