Had a guy at a hammer-in tell me my anvil ring was way too loud

I used to think a loud ring meant good rebound. He watched me hit maybe three times, then said 'you're losing energy to that sound, not the steel.' Told me to wrap a heavy chain around the waist of the anvil and wedge a magnet under the heel. Deadened it almost completely. My hammer hits feel heavier now and my arm doesn't buzz as much after a long day. Anyone else have an old trick like that for tuning their anvil?

2 comments

2 Comments

joseph_coleman1mo ago

You ever seen a guy get so frustrated he just gives up on an anvil? Buddy of mine had this old Vulcan that rang like a church bell. He tried chains, magnets, even burying the base in sand. Nothing worked. One day he just took a hammer and smacked it right on the horn, hard as he could. Cracked it clean off. Said he didn't care anymore, it sounded better after that. Still uses it to this day, just with a busted horn. Reckon that's one way to tune an anvil, but probably not the best.

tessa_kelly1mo ago

I had this same problem with my old Fisher anvil, the one they call a "musical" anvil because it just sings. I wrapped an old logging chain around the waist and then stuck a big ceramic magnet under the heel. The difference was night and day, like the anvil went from ringing to thumping. My hammer strikes felt like they were actually sinking into the steel instead of bouncing off the sound waves. Now I do it to every anvil I get, even the quiet ones, just to be sure I'm not losing any energy.