I think that the natural shape of the log looks very nice. If it was my project, I would go over all the chainsaw cuts from where you cut the knots off with a draw knife to smooth them out.

We left the top of our block flat, it's always nice to have a place to set something where it won't get away, your wire brush, tongs, punches, chisels, BorAx and what-have-you. As for fastening the anvil we tried something new since spikes, and screws have failed quickly in the past. We drew the outline of the anvil base on the block where we wanted it to sit and used a router to cut in a half inch recess. The anvil is always right where we left it and we can move one piece at a time instead of wrestling the entire block/anvil combo.

Very cool project! Love your videos! On another note, I'm a native South Floridian. Born and raised. I grew up with the warm winters and Christmases. It's all down to preferences and how you grew up. You and your family are a great example for others! Keep it up! Wes from SWFL.

dear wranglestar I would just like to thank you for all the inspiration you have given me through out all of your videos

Forge a collar then you can weld a tool hanger(s) off the side of the block.

Humility is gained by showing your mistakes. Don't be afraid to show it like it is. Keep it real!

leave it and collar it. looks great.

wranglerstar, You seem to have found some joy in that shop of yours! Your energy really is coming through in the past two videos. Watching this series puts a smile on my face! Be well and blessings to you and the fam!

The reason that I watch your channel, your love for the materials, the tools and the outcome. Your attitude to old craftsmanship is inspiring!

I remember my Grandfathers anvil was banded to keep it from splitting, thing was older than Methuselah but solid as a rock. I say leave her round and band her! Another great video that leaves me smiling, thanks Cody!

*Great Video!!* _I have a Large 1800's Anvil and was thinking of building a metal stand , but never thought to use a log lol!!!_

Really enjoyed this series. Learned a lot from the age old ideas. They knew how to use their heads.

I love your channel it has changed my life completely. I have a lot of respect for you Cody I've been watching your vids for about a year and a half and I am 13 now thank you for everything Cody.

This video came right on time! Just bought my first anvil and hadn't found a proper way to mount it the way I'd like. Thanks Cody! The natural log looks great, and I imagine with a collar on there it'd be even better

Hey Cody I noticed that when you were hammering on the anvil it was making a sharp ping sound and ringing like a bell. A good way to dampen the pinging sounds is to put a piece of thick leather in between your anvil and the stump. The leather will absorb a lot of pinging and ringing sounds. I learned this from a master farrier and he said that simply putting a piece of thick leather or piece of dense rubber will make a dramatic difference in how loud your anvil will be when pounding away on it! I figured since you are in the process of revamping your anvil you'd like to know this, that is if you didn't already know this! I love watching these kind of videos you put out and, I learn A LOT from them! That trick with the paper to get a square cut on a log is awesome and I will definitely be using it in the future whenever i need to get a square cut on a log! Cheers from Virginia!

Iron collars will be super cool buddy

I like the heavy band idea. A medieval look is perfect for the anvil and the type of work done with it.

Pretty amazing how the energy of the hammer blows is transmitted so efficiently to the ground that it registers on camera!

Wow, you own a front end loader, a forklift, and a pallet jack... Cody, you continue to amaze me...

Yay, more blacksmithing! I love your videos, I get great satisfaction from making and restoring tools, it must be for you as well.

Couple of steel bands would be a nice touch. Great video. I appreciate the time/effort/energy involved in making them.

Always a joy when I finish one part of the video right as you finish uploading the second part :D

Looks great. I like the collar idea.

Sometimes the simplest solution is the best. Excellent work!

Forged iron bands would be awesome! They'd look really cool, hold the block together, and you could also mount tool loops/hangers to the band so that your tools are always close at hand.

Looks beautiful just the way it is.

I like the Idea of metal bands around it. Good job!

That is the exact technic pipe fitters use to get square cuts on pipe. The tool is called a "wrap a-round", and also has 180 degree protractor marked on them as well.

Pretty cool looking stand I'd say leave it as it is gives it a cool look

Hi Wranglerstar. I enjoyed the video. A few months ago I made my anvil stand by alternate layering old 2x6s on top each other! I say leave your stand round! You should forge tool holders around your base to hang hammers and tongs from

I think it looks cool round, and I love the collar idea!

Leave it as is. That base is gorgeous!

I vote leave it round. I thank it will look good beside the new forge. Love your videos.

I like the idea of leaving the log round. Giving it some straps to keep it solid and adding to the blacksmith look is a great idea.

Leave it like it is and collar it. Man that level doesn't lie does it. Great work!

Good job on the stump. Its nice that you have a really flat floor to put it on. If you didnt know or no one has mentioned it already you can dish the center of the bottom to make kind of a exterior ring and it will not rock as bad if you have to use it on an uneven or floor or out side.

Man I don't have an anvil or any interest in blacksmithing, but I can#t stop watching your video! Hahaha good work! Thanks a lot for your time and your heart putting in. Greetz from Potsdam, Germany.

Leave it as is and collar! Awesome work!

I would encourage you to leave it as it is and put 2-3 collars around it. Great trick! I have a series of 10' x 22" logs I am milling down to make a table, and wanted to cut a few stumps for the deck. I was struggling with how to cut them square. This video could not have been released at a more perfect time. Thank you for you inspiration and all the work you put in to make and share your videos with us. Keep up the great work!!!

The trick with the paper works really well on 4" soil pipe too. Any old sheet of newspaper and a marker pen works great.

those collars sound like they would be really cool and help keep the log together. great idea

I think having the collars around the natural edge would look great. You could even weld some hooks onto it to hold you blacksmithing tools. Best, Nate

Well done, I like the idea of the broad bands around the stump, and maybe a nice branded makers mark.

As always, enjoyed watching you work and your thought process. Great tidbit with the butcher block paper.

Great work. Very inspiring. Iron collars would look good. A midevil feel. WJ from MD

I like the collar idea. I need to make and anvil base too so this vid gave me a good idea of what im gonna have to do. Thanks

Friendly advice from someone who it happened to...fasten that anvil down to that round...that is what will prevent the face from chipping as the round is intended to absorb the shock and harmonics...like I was taught..if your anvil rings when struck, it isn't anchored solidly enough. Might strike it 1000 times and nothing, but one time...and...trust me :-)

Leave the stump as it is, it looks great! And I think the steel band idea is excellent as well.

I vote for collars or bands that way you could weld loops on it for holding tools and hammers.

Yeah, I would totally keep it that way.. It looks cool how it is.

Love the idea of leaving it round and adding "barrel bands"/collars. Thanks for the butcher paper idea.

collar 2 of them for sure mine is 15 years old and still in great shape collars held very well

I mounted mine on a stump also, after mounting I carved the rest of the stump into a chair. It came out pretty cool.

Enjoyed watching an hey learned a wee trick with the roll of paper .. good job matey. Regards from Scotland

Keep it as it is, Good job

Nice trick to get a straight and level cut. You and Jack should carve something into the log such as your LOGO, or maybe burn a picture of some sort with one of those burning tools. Either way if you keep that log long enough Jack will always remember that time spent carving.

I like it just the way it is. Thank you!

great video, I like the the way it looks as is and add an iron band with maybe 8 iron rivits on it

Is it funny how I ordered my first saw and was wondering about the proper way of using the chain brake last night. Sit down with my lunch to this video and at the end it is answered. What a coincidence! Thanks Cody!

If I had to give up all KZfaq channels but one, this channel I would keep.

Smart trick with the paint!

Thank you for the video! I like your steel banding idea as well. Would be really nice if you fit them like barrel bands using heating and quenching to expand then shrink them for a tight fit. You're the blacksmith, you decide.

wranglerstar You need a sheet of leather for that log my friend. Band it, seal the ends, then wrap the top with an old leather welding apron over lap the edge by an inch or two. With a ring of brass tacks holding it in place. You could put rubber under the leather if you want for noise but the leather will keep any embers from catching. A thick layer will also reduce vibration, but wet form it, set the anvil in place and let it seat into the leather, tack the leather then peg the anvil into place with 4 rail road spikes. Or forget the anvil, make another one and you got two end tables for the house lol.

Looking great

NICE work!

Nice Job Cody. I like the collar idea. You could incorporate some hammer loops into the collar.

Looks nice and round. I think the collars would look nice too.

Its beautiful, keep the log shape.

Smooth off the knots with a draw knife, seal it with the beeswax on the ends and collar it. If like me, I use the edge of the block to hold the hammer while heating. Did something similar about 10 years ago with the stump section of an old oak and it worked wonderfully. I was only worried about the top being flat because my shop floor is red clay so a few years of settling and it feels like it is concreted in. I used some cable line messenger ancors to hold mine down, if not familiar go look at the phone line running between poles and how they attach to the pole. It is a galvanized course thread bolt with hook on the top. Or you could simply forge a set of straps and ancor them with square head bolts like the collars.

The banded collars sounds nice to me.Also I come across anvils on craigslist all the time.

That method was great. You did a spot on job squaring that log!! I think the collar idea is great, it will allow you to mount a couple rings that can serve as tongs holders and other tools that you can have handy to use as the smithing action heats up;-)

I spent days finding the perfect log, cutting the near flawless 90's. Going so far as to plane smooth both top and bottoms. Flawless all the way around. Only to find the anvil was almost 1/8 bubble off. Spent hours checking and rechecking plumb on the stand. Stand registered true at every angle. Floor wasn't poured flat by builder. *palm to forehead*

You do some really great work on all front and I just have to say I appreciate that and you do a bit of everything... also thank you for your service especially with the California fires right now I believe you deployed to them and I pray you have a successful journey in helping to conquer that beast

I like the idea of leaving it round with banding. Will look good while being functional for weight and cracking.

You were striking the anvil so hard the entire floor was transmitting the vibration to the camera. You must have super human strength 😉

Collar it, sounds like a fun project!

Good way of squaring the log. It's the same way plumbers lay out cuts on pipe.

Awesome, looking forward to the upcoming videos :)

I think you should leave it like it is and collar it. Very fine job Cody!

Cool, looking forward to the back to eden garden. Another source showing if it really works.

Well Done Cody!

Awesome as always! I know The feeling about wood :)

Hi Cody I think your idea of a collar would look good giving it a rustic look making it almost part of the forge as ever great vid take care. Bob from England

Looks great. Collars would be a smart move. You will enjoy this base for decades.

Welll that's some quality video post production you got going on. Fancy.

pretty good, thats amazing and still hard to do good job and thanks for the idea

You can use two pieces of angle iron over the feet of the anvil and run a long heavy duty lag screw through the angle iron and into the stand on each side. It will make the anvil rock solid, but facilitate easy removal if you need to.

I like the idea of keeping it round with a steel band around the top. You could also do a second larger ring welded to the smaller one to use as a tool holder.

spot on man! love it :)

Leave it like it is, draw knifing it to smooth it out would be nice. A super solid collar would be a really good idea as it would increase the life of you stand significantly, more importantly a nice solid collar can have tool slots welded onto them which comes in really handy. A well thought out and personalized stand makes a world of difference. Good looking base btw!

That's a neat trick with the paper.

I like the idea of leaving it round with a collar or two. Having the extra flat surface to lay tools down on might come in handy as well. It really does make your anvil look small though!

Excellent video. Your professional level videography, editing, and especially narration are impressive. I vote for banding the stand with forged collars. The small black and white post video comment with the simulated film is a nice touch.

Cody I think it looks great just like it is, I also like the boiled linseed oil idea. You should hand forge the bands on your anvil and leave the hammer marks and use hand made rivets.

I like it round with the bands. Gives it more weight and with the bands will look cool.

Love the collars and lags to hold it together

I like it as it is but with a collar.

Bore some holes in the top surface to store your hardy and pritchel tools. Coat it with boiled linseed oil. Enjoyed this project a lot.

Also, that was a great trick to square it off. Thank you. I'm not sure I'll ever use it, but it will be pleasing to pass it on.

i like the idea of forged collars, you could also add tool holders on the sides