GRiley904 Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 I'm currently using a rr track anvil. I have a big piece and a small one, and I was thinking about setting one in a bucket of cement. I would do this to be able to sit and forge or for cold work. I don't know whether I should use the big or the small track, I'm thinking small as I will probably be standing at the anvil, but I could set the bucket on something to get the height I need for that. I was thinking fill the bucket about half way with dirt then about 6 or 8 inches of concrete leaving about 4 inches at the top so after I set the track on that concrete I could then fill the rest of the bucket. Is this a good idea, should I try with the smaller track first? I want to do this for the added mass and stop the anvil from traveling on me. When I built my new forge I couldn't get it to the back yard so I moved my workspace to the driveway and I'm trying to set it up as well as possible. Thanks for any advise in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bionicarm Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I would say no. Reasoning: you are never going to want to sit and forge...it is done in third world countries true, but not if there is access to any other means, stay on your feet. You also want as much mass under your hammer as possible in order to move metal well. You didn't specify what your orientation was but I suggest doing like and turning the big piece vertical with the smaller piece welded on top. Also, you can see how I did mine http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/28857-funny-rr-rail/. This worked out really well for me. Knowing how much material you're working with would be helpful. After you did something like that you could THEN make a solid base out of say, concrete. I'll post some photos of mine later, I made it out of wood and it's working pretty well. The concrete in a bucket thing may work but you may also bust it all up, I've never worked on something like that before, you'll have to get info from someone more experienced...However, if you're going to fill the bottom with dirt you HAVE to dig down below the organic layer (darker dirt) and get to "mineral soil". where I grew up it was a yellowy orange clay stuff. This will pack down tighter (and you should pack it as tightly as you possibly can) and the organic layer will decompose underneath your concrete. When you've got the dirt in, fill it with concrete until your rail track can rest on the top and the striking surface will be about knuckle height (the ones closest to your wrist). Let that set, place your anvil and fill around it in concrete...that's what you were going to do I guess, but I wouldn't do it until I heard from someone more knowledgeable about weather or not it's going to crack your concrete all up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRiley904 Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 The concrete footer should be enough to handle normal use, I was more worried about the dirt or clay compacting and blowing out the sides of the bucket. I think I'm going to try, I can always get a new bucket, I just didn't want to buy another bag of concrete. Thanks for the advise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinobi Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 you might try adding some rocks or brick to your sand backfill. get a big rock to fill up the center of the dirt layer to help carry the load down to the floor without adding as much compression directly to the sand, or if you have some old bricks or pavers handy you could stack a few of them up in the center to do the same. or omit the dirt entirely, pour a layer of concrete in the bottom, set your bricks or rocks and keep pouring concrete over that to stretch your concrete dollar even more and give yourself a larger solid mass. but then again, i am told that i over think things :) dont forget to pay attention to the curing time of the concrete and mix thoroughly with the ammout of water specified by the mix. it would be a shame to get it all put together and then end up punching a hole straight through because the concrete hadnt cured enough or the mix was off :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRiley904 Posted October 12, 2012 Author Share Posted October 12, 2012 Thanks Chinobi I ended up taking your advise. I used a half cinder block filled in rocks around t the sides and packed it with sand. I also shook the heck out of it to try and rid the bucket of air pockets. That concrete slab sits directly on the block witch runs ask the way to the ground. This is what I came up with. The slab is still setting up and I still need to do some grinding to true up my working surface. I can't wait to see the difference with the rail on end rather than laid flat.will post more pics when all is complete. Thanks, Riley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRiley904 Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 Well I tried it out the other day, and I'm impressed. It moves the metal faster with half the effort. I should have d done this a long time ago. Next step is a real anvil and if that jump in performance is anything like this one I'm going to be a happy man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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