Shoutout to the old timer who showed me his anvil setup at the county fair

I was at the Dane County Fair last weekend and overheard this farrier talking about how he mounts his anvil on a big stump with a rubber mat underneath. He said it cuts down on vibration in his hands after a long day. I tried it on my own rig yesterday and wow, what a difference. Has anyone else messed with their anvil base to make it work better?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade321mo ago

Oh man, I read something just like this in an old blacksmithing forum a while back... a guy was saying how a rubber mat between the stump and anvil cuts the shock so much it saved his elbows from getting wrecked over time. He used a thick piece of conveyor belt material, said it was a game changer for him. I bet that farrier at the fair knew what he was talking about, especially if he's been at it a long time. I always thought it was just about the stump being solid, but the rubber part makes a lot of sense... might have to give it a try myself with an old truck tire mat I have laying around.

troyp371mo ago

Actually the conveyor belt trick is kinda backwards for this. The rubber goes between the anvil and the stump to dampen vibration, not to stop shock. Shock is the anvil ringing or bouncing. Vibration is what travels up your arm. They're different things. A farrier I knew used a layer of lead sheet under his anvil. Said it killed the ring completely. The rubber thing works too but it's more about muting the sound than saving your joints in my experience. You want the anvil dead solid on the stump for striking. The mat just stops it from dancing around.