The contact surface between hammer and stock will not travel down with the speed of sound but the travelled way is very short so I think that the deformation of the stock will usually be over when the wave hits the floor. The deformation of the stock is a very brief thing. When we hit the anvil, a compression wave travels downwards (and sideways depending upon the shape of the anvil.) It take some time - even if very short before the wave hits the bottom of the anvil and even more until it hits the floor. We are talking about dynamics and deforming the stock. Again, it's the combination of mass and mounting. Getting back to the original subject, don't forget that a lighter-duty post vise can take hits that would smash the mechanism of a heavy machinist's vise, but neither will do well if mounted insecurely. Secondarily, smaller anvils might mushroom under huge blows or similar but again, that is about anvil construction and not strictly a mass issue. Mass covers up for other shortcomings of the system but is not the be-all-end-all deciding factor about whether heavy work can be done. Sure there are some benefits to larger overall mass but the original question was about working with heavier blows on smaller anvils-and I simply wanted to note that mass of the anvil itself wasn't as critical as other aspects of the system. Hence, mounting takes precedence over mass. You might get some bounce due to the transitions to the base material but the fact that the 'anvil' weighs only 60 pounds at 30' long wouldn't really affect the blow-taking ability. For example, set a 3' hardened round bar on end on good solid base material and you probably wouldn't hesitate to use a sledge on it because that energy is transferred solidly. I didn't forget inertia.the point was that the stand/mounting system has a lot more to do with heavy usability than simply mass of the anvil. You forget inertia and that an anvil is a solid chunk that is not as elastic as the stand. Interrupted several times in the typing process. It aint the size of the anvil, it's where the energy you transfer to it goes. Those kinds of details would vary by design and maker, not simply mass. Working with high energy blows becomes all about anvil construction details and whether it will fail at welds/waist/feet: That's independent from total anvil mass. A centered blow should transfer energy through the stand just as well on an anvil big or small if mounted well.

Stock size being worked really isn't the question to be concerned about.Īssuming high energy blows are involved, an edge hit is going to damage a big anvil about the same as a small one (ignoring horn and tail weakness). A badly mounted 300 pounder might take that as poorly as a well mounted 70 pounder which effectively transfers the energy through to packed floor. So.the choice to make is hammer weight and velocity of blow. Ground and stand become part of the effective anvil-mass system in that case: It all works together. Even a lightweight anvil that becomes a system with stand and floor can act like a 300 pounder under a heavy blow. It's enough to say that if your hammer weight and swing velocity wouldn't knock around the anvil with nothing on it, it still won't with a piece of hot iron, large or small, absorbing a little of the energy.īecause the anvil is just a mass transferring that energy to the stand and floor, I'd say that the energy transition from anvil to stand to floor has a lot more to do with it being workable than just the mass of the anvil chosen. I was going to throw in some math but decided it'd be ridiculous.

Mathematically, it has nothing to do with stock size at all and would have everything to do with the energy of the hammer blow-after all, that's the only energy you are actually imparting to the anvil whether the stock is 1/2' or 3'. Decided I better clarify this as opinion so be sure to take it that way.

Small anvil too little material