Track Anvil

J

JoeyNumbers

Joined
Apr 24, 2007
Messages
26
I'm going to make an anvil out of a beautiful piece of railroad track, it was free. :D

What once was this......
PICT0001.jpg


became these.
untitled-1.jpg


I know many people use rail track as anvils but I notice they tend to favor the top of the track (the small part where the train rolls over) as the face of their anvil. I was going to use the broader bottom of the left piece as a big flat faced anvil. During the cutting process I noted the bottom broad face is softer when compared to the top of the track. Is this difference in softness enough to warrant not using this face? I wouldn't want it to get all bumpy after just a few hundred strikes. Can I use the bottom of the piece as my face without getting a shorter lifespan of my anvil? Thank you

- Joey
 
The top of the track is work hardened from the train wheels rolling over it millions of times. The bottom is still annealed to prevent fracturing.

Since you have two pieces, mount one top up and one top down. Use the top rail for drawing the steel out ( that is what I used to use mine for) and the flat one for smoothing and straightening.

The other solution is to put the top rail piece in a mill and mill the top flat. Many sword makes have a 24-36X3" anvil made from a rail.

Stacy
 
It looks as though you have cut out the end,to start the profile of an anvil.I would not cut any more material away.Just my 2 cents.

God bless,Keith
 
If that track piece is cut off from the very end of the rail then the track part is hardened, they harden the ends to prevent the train wheels damaging the track.
 
Thank you all. That was the plan, to mount both upside down relative to one another. I just wanted to make sure I can use the big broad face without worrying about how soft it is compared to the top. Wouldn't want an anvil covered in bumps and valleys after just a few creations.

I have a few thoughts about mounting the pieces, but due to my inexperience in the matter I would like to hear some ideas. Keep in mind my budget is tiny, my wallet is light enough for an ant to drag around.

For the left piece I'm thinking of just putting three fourths of it in an above ground block of concrete so the big flat face is up. I'm a renter, I cant create anything permanent, haha.

The right piece I thought about doing exactly what they do with entire rail tracks, railroad spiked to a big piece of lumber semi-buried in the ground.

- Joey
 
Dont do anything with the rail, as is, you can stand it up like you have in the pic and use the end as a small but very good forging surface. Also; since you now have all that mass under the hammer, that small section of rail acts more like a 200-300 pound anvil. Sweet huh? If you want a bit more useful anvil, cut up a BIG railroad tie( ask the dudes at the railheads, they're always happy to get rid of them) the same length of your rail and drive in some RR spikes along the bottom flange. I use the same set up, 30in section of rail on end set in a bucket of dirt to dampen some of the ring, Im going to mount it to a tie as soon as I fix the chainsaw, all you need for bladesmithing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top