i have been interested in black smithing for along time now as the concept of shaping a material that is so strong normally can be manipulated if only you have the correct skills and conditions.

i finally have the basic conditions necessary to step out of my comfort zone and ability to try some black smithing

first up i needed a anvil so here's what i used

for the anvil face i used a railway bracket that a rail would sit on

i had to make a stand for the bracket so i cut up some old planks i had reclaimed from a old house that was torn down

Step 1: Measure Twice Cut 30ish Times

you want your anvil to be about as high as your knuckles when your hands are at your sides so mesure how thick your wood is and divide your knuckle hight by that ( example 82cm / 4cm = 20.5 so you would need about 20 blocks of wood ) because my boards were different thicknesses i cut a few more peses then i needed but that turned out ok in the end. you also want to make shure your stand has at least the same footprint of your bracket or you are going to have a bad time when you hit a unsupported corner and and lump of steel lands on your foot.

so now that you have your measurements draw the sections out on to the wood and get cutting.

Step 2: The Joys of Reclaimed Wood

reclaimed wood is great, you save money save trees and it gives project a really cool aesthetic. how ever it has its challenges like the amount of dust and filth its covered in and all the hidden nails and staples you drive your saw into or when you discover that it has a multitude of cracks running a few feet into the board that you only discover when you finish the first cut and the part falls into 3 different pieces. *sigh,* time to break out the glue.

Step 3: Ok Now Were Ready to Build Something

drill holes in all the blocks part way thru if your screws are to short or are not self countersinking i didn't use pilot holes for this project and ended up with a lot of stripped screws. just keep stacking the blocks on top of each other and being sure to fasten the screws as tight as possible anvils have a lot of force going in to them and you need the post acting as one solid shape not a mess of loose parts. i ended up putting a few layers of scrap plywood in to keep the sections together and one to give me a small shelf.

Step 4: Make It a Anvil

once the stand is done you can add the bracket to the top i used long nails but i might switch to bolts later if this gets loose look at the annotations on the pictures for this step as thay explain it better than i can

now that the top is on inspect the post for loose boards or cracks and use pocket screws to hold them together and stop wiggling.

when the stand is properly stable and not moving at all you could attach a ply wood base or just use it as is i had a sheet of plywood i scavenged from a free wood pile in a back alley that i screwed on to the bottom this makes moving it more difficult but added a lot of stability so its up to the maker.

Step 5: Thanks for Reading Now Go Out and Build Something

hey hope you enjoyed this instructable for a basic anvil i had a lot of fun making it if you have any questions or suggestions im glad to hear from you. if you found this helpful i would love it if would you vote for me in the contests it is really up lifting to know people enjoy my work.

thanks again.