Marc1

Can you describe the process and the materials you used for the repair? Is the anvil still hard? Nice stand. Did you bolt the anvil through the base plate? Never seen it done that way.

Ha ha aaamax ... the title of your thread with that spelling makes for a good play of words. Did you manage to clean the vice (s) up and mount it?

Why do you cut stock away? Make a cut along, in the centre with a hardy tool ... or your grinder with a 1mm disk if you want, and forge each side in the shape you want. It will look much more authentic and no missing material

The OP stated he has already purchased an ASO. He was told to ditch it and build a makeshift pseudo anvil. I say, forge on the ASO, and beat it out of shape. By the time it becomes useless, you will have gained some experience and will have the urge to buy a proper anvil. A RR on end is not the answer in my opinion. It requires more hammer control and presents some danger to a beginner. An adult conversation is based on mutual respect. I can say I disagree with you and even that you are giving bad advice without adding abuse and insults. The OP does not have the the benefit of a teacher and is not working in a classroom. PS I worked on a soft anvil delivered by the manufacturer without heat treatment by mistake back in the sixties. By the time the rep came back to replaced it I had worked on it for a month. Sure it was a bit of a pain and I used the other's anvil when possible, but I did used it for commercial work. I wouldn't be able to do the same on a hammer head or RR on end. The anvil was retrieved and replaced. After 40 hours a week it looked rather sad. A beginner doing hobby work on it would be able to use it for a year or more.

It appears to be in good used condition. Can you see any brand name on it? Price varies with location. A search for a similar vice posted in your area may give you an idea. I am sorry for your loss.

Etc etc ... Skipping the personal attacks from Frosty and now Charles, my point is that this is poor advice. It is harder to forge on a RR on end and impossible to forge larger projects. It is much better to forge on a cheap anvil mounted properly, particularly when the new person has already purchased the said cheap anvil. The bias and prejudice displayed by some of you guys is rather disturbing.

Interesting that the Bald Cypress (Taxodium Distichum) is not listed. I used to make Beehive boxes with bald cypress due it's resistance to rot, yet it was the bane of the machine operators that had all sorts of allergic reactions and much preferred to machine poplar or pine.

I can see a contradiction in your answers. First you say we have to align replies for the beginner. But you follow with a Rail on end is the way to go. If you are a beginner you don't try circus acts forging on a ridiculously small bit of a rail. Sure it can be done. The question is why would you? If you have a choice of a cheap anvil, go for the cheap anvil and forget the rail on end. Or use it on its side and put up with the noise and other drawbacks. When you have learned to forge a dime into a butterfly using a pickaxe for a hammer may be you can then be comfortable forging other items on the pitiful size a rail on end offers. For a beginner ... find a lump of steel of reasonable size and forge away. It is not how you do it but what you do. And of course the tools used vary according to the project. It would be a challenge to find project for a beginner to be forged on the end of a RR. Sure there are a few. All much better done on the side and not the end of the RR, and despite the fact that the end of the RR is much better as an anvil than the side as I tried to explain before. And a RR on its side can be made better as described before, for little or no money. You could even drill a few holes in the base and bolt it down on an engine block using the bolts for the cylinder head. I read many times on this forum how wonderful some primitive smith are in using rocks for anvils or hammer heads. Sure, admirable but not a proposal for a beginner. If you want to make sure you discourage someone that starts the craft, tell him to forge on the end of a rail.

Ha ha, Frosty, you never cease to amaze me. I would like you to show me how to forge 60mm x 6mm and make a scroll the hard way on the end of a rail. And straighten on the side of an unsupported rail fitted vertical. Of course anything is possible. One could forge using the concrete kerb on the street in front of your house. We are talking about cheap solution for a beginner that will have some practicality. I say use a ASO anytime. As far as what you think about my person, it is no secret ... and also irrelevant.

Impressive flexibility! I honestly don't see how a RR track on end can ever be better than a bad Chinese anvil. The limitations of such small surface are way too much to even consider. A bad soft anvil will provide a larger surface, and make forging possible. Note I say possible not ideal. A RR tack on end would be impossible to use but for the smallest or narrowest of items. May be you can forge a small knife on it? I don't know, I wouldn't even try. The RR track works better vertical because in that way the mass under the hammer is maximised. In the horizontal position, the hammer pushes the place of impact down but the ends of the section of rail do not follow, they can remain behind due to flexibility and do not contribute the required inertia to counteract the force of the hammer blow and so the rail dips down in the place of impact. If you imagine using a single leaf car suspension as anvil, and hit it in the middle you can picture this effect better. Steel flexes a lot more than it may seem. Check the span tables for universal beams or RHS or SHS and you will be surprised. Having said that, If I had no other option than using a RR track to forge (note to forge not to test rebound) I would not hesitate using it on it's side and not vertical. No amount of rebound and mass under the hammer can compensate for the lack of surface to work with. My conclusion is, that if the options are: A RR vertical, a RR horizontal, or a Chinese ASO, and I am forging any of my usual stuff, gate, window grill, gate lock, bed, table, lamp, chair whatever. i will have to settle for Chinese ASO anytime. Second horizontal RR. Vertical RR would be of no use to me. May be I can forge a thumb latch for a gate lock? yes, with a small hammer and asking myself why do I bother ... Note for the RR enthusiast. You can make some limited improvement to a piece of rail if you are really keen. First would be to increase the rigidity of the web. Two flat bar 1/4" or 1/2" thick that fit snug between the foot and the head welded all along can help with that. Next is to give the best possible stand to this contraption. I would chose the biggest chunk of steel you can find, be it universal beam, thick plate, heavy SHS or RHS with thick walls, and weld the base all around to the stand. Avoid cutting the ends to mimic a heel or a horn. if anything I would go the other way and that is cutting the rail at 60 degrees to give the ends more support with a taper outwards and stop the ends of the head from flapping around.

A) too small in my opinion B ) Unknown origin, quality etc. C) Most likely too dear considering point A and B. Offer $100

Sure. Picture a beginner forging on a vertical RR track standing on the back of it and missing the minuscule working surface, holding the hammer 6" from the head and not 12". (Most of my hammers don't even have a 12" long handle) Unless you cut away the web and the base diagonally or in a J cut that vertical RR is an accident waiting to happen ... not to mention that unless you forge confetti size stuff, it would be a frustrating exercise comparing to any anvil, made in China or in Bulgaria. As for the supporters of "horizontal RR is better than vertical" ... better for what is the question. Surely you can see that hammering on an RR on end will sound and feel a lot more solid for good reasons. A horizontal RR will appear to be more practical with a larger surface. Providing you can restrain from cutting a pretend horn or heel in it, and providing you want to forge small stuff and have no neighbours, a horizontal RR may serve you for some limited purposes. Yet comparing horizontal with vertical and only comparing which one is more solid, vertical wins hands down. On that line, I visited a scrap metal yard not too long ago that had a pile 2m high of crane rail. This stuff was massive and would make the railroad lovers salivate. Definitely good improvised anvil material. To the OP I stand by what I said. Use your Chinese anvil until you smash it out of shape. Then and only then decide your next move. In fact probably way before your Chinese anvil looks like a donut, a better anvil will find its way in your workshop.

Try the "Metal Supermarket". There is one in Duval road.

I would rather use a mediocre anvil than risk my knuckles on that vertical rail. A low quality anvil will get dings from your missed blows and sink in the centre of the face where you work the most. So what? You paid ... how much? $15? Use your anvil on a sturdy stand to your heart content. In one year time take a picture and post the "before and after" for a laugh. It will be the measure of your activity. Once it is a squashed banana, look for a better one and hang that one as a trophy on the wall. What matters is what you make and how you make it. The anvil is just a place to do your hammering.

It would be very interesting to see how you cast an anvil mate, or anything else for that matter. So shelf is a bit iffy for casting ... yea I can see that. What about an upsetting block at the base? Or perhaps a very low profile French pig or Nimba style? Those anvils scream stability without the long legs. Anyway, this is a project process I would love you to share, whatever you end up doing.

Whoever told you to buy an excavator you can sell when you finished told you right. Yanmar second hand can be had cheap in Italy. A 3 ton one would work just fine. I agree with Frosty that a good operator can work on that slope. Don't even think of building a flying fox or to buy / rent a walk behind if you want to keep breathing.

Come on guys, the OP is talking about a set of headphones, not a knife nor car springs. Those headphones are worth how much? Much easier to buy new ones than try to heat treat stainless steel with donuts hands ... and make a methol dry ice quenching bath not to mention buy an oxy acetilene set and set fire to the kitchen curtains in the process ...

Hans ... there is no "right" nor "wrong" way to use tools most of the time ... well, unless you use a running grinder as a hammer I suppose It's all about the result. Those antique post vices were designed to be fitted to a post firmly set in the ground ... not surprisingly, and have the added advantage of free space all around to either twist or hammer from any position. Can you bolt them to a bench? Sure, if you don't mind losing the ability to walk around the post and value the horizontal space more. I prefer to have a little tool table on wheels I can roll around to the anvil or the post vice and have the anvil and the vice free of clatter. If your shop is on dirt, you will need bigger wheels on your tool cart, but still feasible. But that is me. I wouldn't dream to tell others how to set up their tools.

It took me a while to wrap my head around this concept when I shipped machinery and marine engines. As for the shape for the future 1450+ lb, if Foundryguy is taking votes ( ) I vote for a southern german pattern with side shelf. There are too many London pattern in the world.

Thought so much. The photos seem to be taken from the back of a truck

... it may sound ridiculous but the difference between sending a Styrofoam pattern or the real deal by sea is not that different since it would go by volume and not weight.

Yes ... need and want are two different animals, usually painted in different colours too. What you describe is usually painted red At risk of going the same road we traveled recently, there are many reasons to buy a larger anvil and many others not to. Just like driving a Humvee to the nearest shopping centre is not the best use of resources, buying a 1400 lb anvil to bang up some hooks or a dodgy knife may appear silly to some, but it does not make it wrong nor reprehensible. After all what is the difference between buying a very large anvil or set up a blacksmith workshop for fun? or buying a vintage hand driven (useless) 2 ton drill that does the work of a battery drill? or a (dangerous) rickety junkyard hammer? I bought an ancient walk behind Howard Rotary Hoe just for the fun of restoring it. Will probably lose money when I sell it. Things we do I would encourage Foundryguy to build the largest anvil he can just to beat the record. Selling one will not be a problem. And shipping is the least of the problems. Strap on a pallet and find a fright forwarder you can send to any corner of the world.

So just a one by one. I bet you will have no shortage of customers for just one. Shipping is no problem. I used to import excavators and bobcats from the US. Bought plenty of diesel engines and shipped LCL general cargo. Cheap too. Just for your information if you have an O/S customer. I decided that a wooden anvil to sit my dog on it will do and no one would object if I paint it green with yellow stripes.

Sure that works, but what is the difference from that and just a flat block of steel? I usually place a thick flat bar section in the jaw and pinch the little part at one end and pack the other end with the same stock size in my cold saw. Works every time. Sure yours is more elegant but limited in how much pressure it can take.

How many do you need to make for it to be economical?