My first demo at the county fair ended with a runaway anvil

I was doing a basic forging demo at the Clark County Fair last summer, showing how to draw out a taper. I had my 75-pound anvil on a fresh oak stump I'd just made. Halfway through a heat, I hear this loud crack, and the whole anvil just tips over and rolls off the stump, right toward the crowd. I had to dive and catch it before it hit the rope barrier. The stump had a hidden crack that gave out. Now I bolt every demo anvil down with two big lag screws, no matter how solid the stump looks. Anyone else have a demo go sideways in a way that changed your setup for good?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_angela1mo ago

You know, I read something once about how wood can fail under pressure even when it looks fine. It was about how a hidden crack in green wood can open up from the constant hammering vibrations, not just the weight on top. So that "loud crack" you heard before it tipped makes total sense. It wasn't just a loose bolt, the wood itself split apart. That's way scarier than a wobbly setup. Your new rule about two lag screws no matter what is the only way to go after that. I'd probably be checking the stump for new hairline cracks before every single demo too.

angela4161mo ago

Clark County Fair, wow. That 75 pound anvil rolling toward the crowd is a nightmare I didn't know I had. Did the lag screws go right through the stump into a base, or did you have to build a whole new platform after that?

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terry_carter151mo ago

Nightmare" feels a bit strong for a rolling anvil! It was probably just a quick wobble, not a full-on crowd chase. Those stumps are usually bolted down solid, so a loose screw is way more likely than the whole thing breaking free. Honestly, these setups are way safer than they look.