putting together my anvil

ScottRoush

ScottRoush

Joined
Jan 10, 2010
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I know this gets hashed over and I just went throught the archives.... but I would like some tips on how to make the most a 60# piece of railroad track (heavy rail) I'm getting. The guy I'm getting it from is punching some holes in the base so that I can mount it to a base. But what other things can be done to improve the performance for bladesmithing and other little blacksmithing tasks? How do you put a hardy hole in it??? Stuff like that.

I appreciate it...
 
You dont need a hardy hole. Instead get yourself a good smith's vice and use that to hold your hardy tools. Make the base sturdy so that when you hit, it doesnt want to jump or move around, that way your work is applied to the metal and not to moving the anvil. Depending on the size of the rail piece, it can actually work better up on end, so that you're hammering with all the mass underneath it, instead of hammering on the face of the rail. This doesnt work so well for small rail however. You really do not need that large of a 'face' to hammer on. If you're working properly, you move the metal not the hammer.
 
Thanks Justin.... I'm not exactly how big it is yet... He gave me an approximate weight and that it was 'heavy rail'. What's the best way to mount it on end? I've read about folks cementing it in a 5 gallon bucket....
 
Cut a notch out of the web and weld in a 20# sledge hammer head then set the works into a pail of Quickrete mixed as dry as possible and rammed/vibrated into the pail. I'd recommend putting a 1.5" thickness of some wood directly under the rail but I could be wrong in thinking that is a good idea.
 
Also, make sure you measure it correctly, The top of the anvil should roughly be the height of the knuckles of your closed fist.
 
69.... What do you mean by the web? Are you talking about the connection between the rail and the base? Is the sledge to provide support and mass? And are you talking about putting it vertically in the quickrete? I'm having a hard time picturing what you mean.... Sounds like good stuff though...
 
Mossanimal said:
69.... What do you mean by the web? Are you talking about the connection between the rail and the base? Is the sledge to provide support and mass? And are you talking about putting it vertically in the quickrete? I'm having a hard time picturing what you mean.... Sounds like good stuff though...
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I think he means to use the face of the sledge hammer as the actual striking surface of the anvil. The railroad track is just used as a stand (and to provide more mass under the anvil). This would make a tall, skinny anvil, which is usually called a post anvil.
 
Here is a really crappy drawing of what I mean.

anvil.jpg
 
The more mass directly under the striking surface of an anvil increases it's efficiency (not sure of the physics but I have a lot of anectdotal information.) My old Sea Robin anvil was a 90# rectangular block of steel set on end, it rebounded and felt like a 250# anvil because all the mass was under the striking surface.

You can do what Kelley drew or have some steel plate welded onto the end to make a "face" or striking surface and you'll have the mass of the rail UNDER the hammer. Probably need at least 1/2" or more steel plate on the end, more is better.... a lot more is a lot better :p 90% of your forging is done on about a 4x4" square anyways, the long face is nice for straightening and some other stuff but I've never really missed the big face anvils except on long blades.
 
Thanks guys... and 69: It's all clear now. What's not clear is where I can find a 20# sledge. I live out in the middle of nowhere... But I can probably get my hands on some steel plate to weld over the top.
 
One of the advantages I can see in using the Sledge hammer in the drawing, is that it is properly hardened for anvil usage. A mild steel plate welded to the top will deform much more quickly.

Leadfoot
 
It's not all about just "WHACKING" a piece of steel. When you hit a piece of steel on an anvil, that piece is getting "whacked" back upwards from the anvil, thus, getting hit on both sides at the same time.
When you have insufficient mass under the blow of the hammer, the energy, rather than being transferred directly BACK to the workpiece, is sent right on through the anvil and little energy is absorbed by the 'target".
The heavier the mass under the hammer, the larger the percentage of energy is transferred to the target work piece.
Don't forget that every time you hit a hot piece of steel, it's getting hit on the side you don't see, as well. But if the anvil is too small, that energy just dissipates into the make-shift' anvil base.
A 175 pound anvil is nice, but use the same hammer on a 300 pound anvil and it's quite a different story!
You need about 50 pounds of anvil per pound of hammer. If you use a 3 pound hammer on a 50 pound anvil, 2/3 of the energy of your swing is wasted.
 
Leadfoot2 said:
One of the advantages I can see in using the Sledge hammer in the drawing, is that it is properly hardened for anvil usage. A mild steel plate welded to the top will deform much more quickly.

Leadfoot
Click to expand...

If you have an arc welder, you can harden the face of the plate with a special welding rod. I could be wrong, but I think its called face hardening. Any store that sells welding equipment could help you find it though.
 
Thanks everybody... I will get something worked out. This is just something to get me by until I find an anvil. I'm posting something in the paper this week trying to lure out all the beautiful anvils that I know dwell in the barns around here.

Thanks Karl... Nice to see you here.
 
Mossanimal said:
Thanks guys... and 69: It's all clear now. What's not clear is where I can find a 20# sledge. I live out in the middle of nowhere... But I can probably get my hands on some steel plate to weld over the top.
Click to expand...

I just happen to have a 20# sledge hammer head that i could be talked into sending you. i got it and cut off the handle and set it in a stump for an anvil but then got some railroad track. but i then said heck with it and made a 400 pound post anvil with a horn and a heel with a hardie hole. so if you need a hammer head let me know.
 
JT... PM sent.

Also...Does anybody know if Harbor Freight still carries the 110# Russian Steel anvil??? I'm just starting to wonder if I'd be better off just getting that that messing around with rail... Their website shows they carry a cast iron anvil, but I guess I will steer clear of that one...
 
Mossanimal said:
JT... PM sent.

Also...Does anybody know if Harbor Freight still carries the 110# Russian Steel anvil??? I'm just starting to wonder if I'd be better off just getting that that messing around with rail... Their website shows they carry a cast iron anvil, but I guess I will steer clear of that one...
Click to expand...

My local Harbor Freight said they don't have the steel anvil anymore.
 
Okay..... so Harbor Freight 55#cast iron anvil with hardened steel welded or heavy rail with 20# sledge welded into post anvil set up? The thing is.... is that I also want to do some basic blacksmithing so I'd like a horn and all that. But the horn on that cast iron 'anvil like' piece probably isn't worth it anyway. Eh?
 
The HF anvil is a decent boat anchor and not much better than the stump it's on for forging. I wouldn't even say it's a step up from a good 20# sledghammer. I forged on one for a bit after I thought I was moving up from a sledgehammer in a bucket of concrete. I wasn't.

If there's a scrap yard nearby, go and look for anything solid steel like a train axle or some random large chunk of steel.
 
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