Shade Tree Anvil or The Portable Stump

[drspiff]

I frequently ask myself when working on the 'Cub, "how would Farmer Jones have done this, back in the day?" I sometimes need to pound the bejezuss out of something, and a 100 pound anvil would be just the ticket. But I don't have a 100 pound anvil.

During a consultation with Farmer Jones, he suggested a tree stump. Great idea! It is massive, anchored well, and can take a lot of pounding. While I have some stumps around, they are never very handy, and never in the right place.

So how 'bout a portable stump? It has to be stout enough to pound on, light enough to be portable, and stable enough to stand on its own while I pound. Aha!! The venerable 4x4 post! Fairly common, fairly cheap, easily transportable. I grabbed a piece of 4x4 about 30" long and stood it on end. I grabbed a hammer and started whacking. As long as the hammer was lined up on the center axis of the post, it worked well. But a little off center and the 4x4 falls over.

I think I'm getting close, but a 4x4 could do with a bit more stability. OK, so it needs feet. I had some cut-off L-iron about 4x6, 5/16" web, 12" to 14" long. I drilled some holes and welded 1/2" bolts, 2 to each piece, onto the angles. I'll get some pictures as soon as it stops raining.

Onto the L angles, I welded some 1 1/2" angle iron as feet. The big L irons add weight at the bottom and clamp the 4x4 in place. The small angle iron provides stability. The L iron and angles do not interfere with the bottom of the 4x4. This means that any force down on the 4x4 is transmitted directly to the ground. I now have a portable stump, that is adjustable in height. (keep 2 or 3 pieces of 4x4 in different lengths for different kinds of pounding.)

But I really wanted an anvil. So I got a piece of 1" steel plate that was a cut off and welded strips around the edges. This cap fits loosely over the top of the 4x4. Now I have both a portable stump and anvil. Is it as good as a 100# cast iron anvil? No, but it is real handy and does not take 2 men and a boy to move it.

At this point, you have to ask, "Where does he get these pieces of steel?" Believe it or not, the best place for me is at the scrapyard. I pay scrap metal prices for small pieces of steel that are very handy for building things. There is another Forum article about putting legs on my Cub to let me work on the front end. Yep, from the scrap yard.

Regards,

Rick (Hey! That's good stuff!) Dulas

[drspiff]

While I was taking pictures for the grease gun adapter, I also got some of the Portable Stump and Anvil. Here you go:

The assembled Portable Stump with Anvil



Here are the pieces for the base. Note that the carriage bolt heads were cut off and welded to the inside of the angles. The square shank at the base of the bolt head protrudes and locks the stump in place.



Here are the 2 halves put together before the 4x4 slides in. Notice that on 1 side are the carriage bolt heads and on the other, I welded on some scrap all-thread.



Here is the 4x4 with the base secured:



Finally, here are 2 views of the anvil. The sides are welded on just to keep the plate from sliding around. It is NOT a snug fit on the top of the 4x4, rather the plate just kinda' lays there.




I hope this serves as the start of "an interesting idea" for you.

Rick Dulas

[BA_Pitts]

I love the idea! I've got a fence post near one of my back pasture barns that would be perfect.

[twotone]

Very ingenious. I like it! I also use the scrap yard for all my metal needs. they have about everything you would ever need at a good price.

[Boss Hog]

you can not beat a piece of railroad track