Giving it a shot!

[tidefan]

I got an old RR track anvil, a round 6" x 7" solid steel piece mounted in concrete for my anvils, an old grill and hair dryer set up for my forge and I'm trying to find good scrap steel to start learning. I've got to get the rust of the anvil and find some tongs as well, but this is a start at least...Wish me luck!

here's the RR track anvil

 

[fast14riot]

that's a cool looking RR track anvil. Most that I have seen are literally just an 18" piece of track. Yours looks usable, but I have never forged a piece of steel in my life, so I could be way off base. I have seen guys take old pliers and weld rebar to the handles for cheap tongs. Why not complete the circle and use some HC RR spikes for practice. I know they aren't ideal knife steel but better than unknown leaf springs. I thought that I read somewhere that RR track is or can be 1080. I am by no means an expert or have much experience even but just am repeating what I have read.


-Xander

 

[Salem Straub]

HC RR spikes are not as hardenable as leaf spring steel, whatever steel may be in the spring you use. That's almost unequivocal. I have and still do sometimes use both of these types of item to forge with. They're OK with experimentation.

I started out on a RR track anvil myself. I've also used a big chunk of steel resembling a 10" wide gumdrop. That wasn't too bad of an anvil, really.

Vise grip pliers work OK for tongs until you get a pair. Make yourself some tongs out of rebar or something. #5 or larger is best. There's nothing for forging practice like forging tongs. Plus, you have a bunch of tongs after doing this for a while. It's OK if they are ugly. At least they grab stuff.

For anvil dressing I like an angle grinder with whatever grit flap wheel is warranted. 80-220.

Good luck. Enjoy yourself.