Chris Frediani

Thanks everybody for the replies. i found this piece of track in the woods beside an abandoned railroad. i didn't weigh it, but just estimated the weight off how much hump my buddy and i had to bust to get it in the truck and back to my garage . I will definitely be cutting a shorter piece, i can barely move it. The only tool i have that could do the job right now is a 4" angle grinder, do you think that would work? i bought several cutting wheels figuring one will not be enough. I am looking for Charle's posts right now, and will come back with any questions. One of my other concerns is that the surface of the rail isn't very smooth. there are little bumps and pits. Is that something i should be concerned about? When i start hammering metal on there will the imperfections on the surface transfer into the piece?

Hey Guys, Just joined the site. Lately i have been restoring old tools, and making some knives. I want to get in to blacksmithing and am starting to collect some necessary equipment. While keeping an eye out for an anvil for sale on Craigslist, i was able to scrounge up a large piece of railroad track. its about 8ft long, and weighs about 600 lbs. i was thinking i could turn a piece of it into a makeshift anvil. Does anyone have any experience with this and can offer some tips? My major concern is that the surface of the track is rough, and i dont have any milling equipment to put a nice smooth level surface on it, and i havent been able to think a good way to do it by hand. i have seen in the forums people saying not to take a grinder to their anvils. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!