EWCTool Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 I found an abandon railroad near my home. I was looking for spikes one day and I found a 12 foot section of rail. I dragged it out of the woods and brought it home. I want to make a rail anvil out of it, but I want to know of other projects using rail as stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 (edited) Without serious equipment like big power hammers and a lot of cutting it is hard to use as "Stock" Other wise it is used pretty much as is for adding weight, as a solid post for something, a long straight for taking the kinks out of other metal and such things. I knew one person that used it for brush bars on a Jacked up 4x4. I think he took them off because they weighted too much. Another use was as a beam for an over head hoist. However, cut up and polished, jewlers, copper smiths, and other crafts people find it very handy. The problem is that there are a number of federal laws about the disposal of railroad iron. They are mostly ignored but you would do well to be circumspect about the "sale" of railroad rail items. PS think gift to other artisans, You will get more out of good will than any thing else except perhaps as a anvil. Edited May 16, 2009 by Charlotte add PS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new guy Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 i would be careful. tresspassing and looting is a felony. try not to get caught. but it would make great anvils. you could have a working anvil and one for hot cutting or friends and another for something else. have fun and good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Ameling Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 (edited) Something few people think about is using two sections as a version of a treadle hammer or power hammer. One section becomes the bottom - sticking straight up with the end being the "anvil". Another becomes the striking "hammer" - again using the end for the hitting surface. To clean things up and gain "clearance", cut the flat T section back from the bulbous "rail" portion. The rest of the flat T portion gives you lots of options for mounting it in place. Just an option. Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands p.s. Yes, railroad track right-o-ways are considered company property, and any "iron" on them is railroad property. Picking anything up would be viewed as theft. The railroad companies have contracts with various companies for such "scrap". And merely walking on the road bed can be considered Trespass. Edited May 17, 2009 by Mike Ameling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 You could make lots and lots of power hammer dies That's what I used for mine!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt87 Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Smiths in Nepal often use scrap railway iron as stock for forging kukuris, and smiths from other parts of the 'developing' world often use it as stock for making various tools also. This is the result of a labour-rich material-poor society; the enormous amount of effort involved in turning a big hunk of rail into stock small enough for you to forge by hand is probably not worth it but that is for you to decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rokshasa Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 if you can make a nice sized fire and heat up the surface you could also make swage block and the such Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Actually a determined person with a hacksaw can cut a rail in under a half hour. You have to start from the flange side so the teeth are cutting through the rail from the bottom. Otherwise the induction hardened contact surface will dull the blade immediately. If you have a decent sized cutoff bandsaw it's the work of about 5 mins. Slices out of the flange and web are good stock for all kinds of projects needing tool steel. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EWCTool Posted May 17, 2009 Author Share Posted May 17, 2009 I am quite sure that the rail line has been abandon for a long amount of time, as there are trees growing in between the ties. Some of the ties are so rotten that you can pull the spikes out by hand. I would not pull the same stunt on an operating rail line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintjohnbarleycorn Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 you mean you wouldn't pull up a rail from a working rail line! just kidding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweany Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Link removed at the request of anvilfire check out the RR tools tuttorials Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweany Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 what a minute, how big a boy are ya! 12 ft of rail is pretty hefty. line rail is around 80lbs a foot IIRC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junksmith Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 You're right Sweany! My 7 foot piece about did me in. I just drag it a little at a time. As far as uses. One of our members (can't remember who at the moment) suggested using a narrow slice to make a flatter type hammer. I'm in the middle of trying that now with a lighter gauge rail. I cut the rail part off, put a hole in the web and the base is the flatter head. I torch cut it so it's going to take a lot of grinding. I'll post a pic if I ever get it done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reid Neilsen Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 FYI: don't let anyone know you have that rail - those railroad companies can be soo posessive! They could charge you with theft believe it or not. The rails stay their property seemingly indefinitely (even though they have abandaoned it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 The Complete Modern Blacksmith by Weygers has a whole chapter on using rail to make custom powerhammer dies with the example being one to forge wood carving chiseld with a raise center spine for strength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EWCTool Posted May 18, 2009 Author Share Posted May 18, 2009 The rail is 12 feet and 7 inches. I did the math and it weights around 1,233.67 pounds, so I think it is around 300 pounds a yard. I tied a rope to one end and would drag it 3 inches at a time. It was very slow moving and the hardest half mile of my life. I bet it took three hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Rail weight is by the yard, not foot. 80lb rail is 80lbs/yd. Line rail around here is 100 and 110lb rail so a 12' piece would be around 300lbs and manageable if I were determined, even old and fat as I am. I have 4-5 pieces around 8' long I loaded in my pickup by myself a few years ago. It's still darned heavy stuff. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweany Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 (edited) thanks Frosty. 80lbs a yard it is. ***** EWCTool. you must have wanted it pretty bad! Edited May 19, 2009 by steve sells language Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Kind intresting that he could get it. In the New Orleans area there is a scrap metal dumpster sitting out in the open full of sections of cut rail and other railroad Iron. No body touches it. This is in an area that you cann't find scrap iron anywhere. You go to repair shops and discover that they are visited at least twice a week by people egar to haul away their metal scrap. I'm kind of envious of people that casually pick up steel scrap. Around here you have to get it when you see it because its gone by the time you get your vehicle turned around. Pre Katrina it wasn't that way but now nothing is let to rust away >>>> Except Rail Road Iron. They put you away for that stuff and there are Federal laws as well State laws protecting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EWCTool Posted May 19, 2009 Author Share Posted May 19, 2009 So the best things to make are anvils from rail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt87 Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 So the best things to make are anvils from rail. Not in the typical way that people tend to (i.e. laid horizontally and probably various attempts at making it like a small London pattern anvil). The web is so thin that it springs if you hit on the top of it -- not so much as you're likely to see it but enough so you can feel the difference comparing it with a more suitable (dare I say, 'better') anvil. I have heard that it is designed to do this for its original purpose and this makes sense. At the very least weld or have someone weld extra braces between the 'foot' and 'top' of the anvil to reduce the springiness. A better way to use a section of rail as an anvil is to mount it vertically. Not only does this reduce the springiness of the anvil but it places most of the mass under the hammer, again increasing its effectiveness. IMO the reason people don't typically do this is because a) there is a general understanding of what an anvil 'should' look like (think: Will E. Coyote) rather than what it needs to be and they're used to seeing rail laid horizontally. A piece of rail mounted vertically doesn't give you as many features as, say, a London pattern anvil. That is not a problem; sophisticated modern anvil designs such as the London, American, Portsmouth, German, Italian, Styrian patterns and all the other designs that have been developed over they millenia are 'luxury' anvils compared with what was used for most of blacksmithing history and prehistory -- often a roughly 4 inch cube piece of bloomery iron or sometimes a boulder. Other features and tools can be added as you need them -- with a bickern, a hardy, a bending fork whatever you need. These can be held by a vise, held in a stake plate, stuck in a tree stump however you need to do it. Since you have 12 feet of rail you're probably best off burying most of it in the ground if you can; it's free, produces a very secure yet adjustable mount and it means people are less likely to steal it. For more details see one of Glenn's entries to the 'adjustable anvil stand' competition. Alternatively Anvilfire has a number of excellent suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 No, there are plenty of things that will make an excellent field expedient or temporary anvil. My only point about rail anvils is they work and work fine if you have some understanding of how an anvil works. Standing it on end is an outstanding solution as is burying a large axle flange up. Welding a number of sections together as I described will triple the weight per length and stiffen it up considerably. Are field expedient anvils as good as the pieces of iron and steel specifically designed to be anvils? Usually not but sometimes they exceed the common perception of a "real" anvil by a great margin, usually this is a specialty anvil. . . Still. My main point though is get to forging! Build a fire in whatever you have. Use whatever smooth face hammer you have. Use whatever relatively heavy piece of iron or steel you can find. Use pliers, vise grips or better yet work steel long enough you don't need tongs at all. It doesn't take much equipment if you have a little imagination and it gets you working the hot metal. If a person waits till they've collected all the "REAL" stuff they may have wasted years of learning. Improvise, go to work and continue looking for the "real" stuff. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnr Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 RR rail is just one thing that can serve as an anvil. To get going snag any large heavy hunk of metal and make do until you find The perfect anvil ( there really ain't one what is perfect for me isn't likely to be perfect for you ) As Frosty said , don't waste valuable learning time in search of a rainbow. Finnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeaverDamForge Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 FYI: don't let anyone know you have that rail - those railroad companies can be soo posessive! They could charge you with theft believe it or not. The rails stay their property seemingly indefinitely (even though they have abandaoned it)How about the pieces they dump down the hill onto my property? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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