A guy at the Montana forge meet said something that changed how I set my anvil

I was at the meet in Bozeman last fall, and this smith named Carl watched me hammer for about five minutes. He walked over, put his hand on my anvil stand, and said, 'Your stand is too light. You're losing half your force into the floor.' He showed me his setup, which was a 300-pound steel plate bolted to a concrete pad. I've since filled my stand with sand and scrap steel, and the difference is huge. Has anyone else found a simple fix that made a big difference in their strike efficiency?

2 comments

2 Comments

chen.hugo8h ago

Yeah, the stand weight is huge, but what about the anvil itself? I had a cheap cast iron ASO for years. Switched to a proper steel anvil last month, and it's not just the rebound. The whole hammer blow feels different, like the metal moves easier on the first hit. That cast one just ate the energy.

kai_stone997h ago

That ASO energy drain is so real. My buddy tried forging on a cheap harbor freight anvil and said it felt like hitting a sack of wet sand. Upgrading to real steel is a total game changer for sure.