train rail

[phnix5888]

Anyone know were i can get short lengths of railroad rail around fortwayne indiana i see big long pieces along the tracks all the time but i have no way of cutting them any help?

[Charlotte]

Train rails that you see on the railroad right of way are not for cutting up. People have gotten in to big trouble for that. Your best bet is to find a scarp yard that has some rail in it and get them to cut you off a piece. Second best choice is to go to the local railroad maintence location and see if you can get one of the workers to fish you a piece out of the scrap bein.

[Drako11]

If your thinking about using it for anvil I would reconsider. Yes it does work, I have an old piece that I have used, but it rings really bad, a nice high pitched ear piercing ring. So unless you have a good way to quite it down, I would suggest looking for something else, like just a 4x4 block of metal or something like that until you can find an anvil.

[phnix5888]

thanks for the suggestion luckily theres a trian yard not to far from were i live next to the grain drop station anywho i know about the ring i figured id wrap some chain around it and get it bolted nice and solid to a stump. im not entirely sure there are any scrap yards around i havent been able to find them because our city has a large drop point for omni source and i dont know that they will sell the metal they collect

[nitewatchman]

SDI has a Rail Mill in that area where they roll new rail. A visit and a question might score you a drop.

nitewatchman

[bigjohn]

If you are really set on making a rail anvil, it will ring like crazy. Be sure to wear earplugs. Also, when you mount it to a stump, take a large blob of Bondo about 1/4" thick or so and put it between the anvil and the stump. This will help deaden the sound quite a bit. I had an anvil that rang like crazy and tried the Bondo, it works pretty well. Happy Forging

[phnix5888]

thanks alot for all the help guys i hadnt heard about the bondo before and railroad rail or another large chunck of steel are really my only current options for an anvil as i dont have the money for an anvil from harbour freight which i have heard if you get the ones made in russia they are cast steel instead of cast iron which makes it better right?

[CurlyGeorge]

Contact Steve Sells. He's in Ft Wayne and may be able to help you out. He's a member of IFI.

[phnix5888]

i will thankyou

[Dragons lair]

Harbor freight has stopped selling the russian cast steel anvils (110lb) the smaller ones are cast iron.
Ken

[Sam Falzone]

Anyone know were i can get short lengths of railroad rail around fortwayne indiana i see big long pieces along the tracks all the time but i have no way of cutting them any help?

Hi Phnix,
If you can get a piece of rail, go for it. Hundreds - perhaps thousands of smiths have cut their teeth on a section of track, and anything that will encourage new smiths in learning their fundamentals while they save up for the anvil they're looking for should be encouraged. Anvils are expensive and in lots of places, hard to find. Why sit there waiting if you can be learning on a "rail-anvil" in the meantime. There are many smiths on this list who still use the "rail-anvil" they started on.

But, that said, go about it the smart way. Stealing track from railways is a BAD idea - that could lead to whole new worlds of trouble. Look through the legitimate channels ...
-check scrap yards
-ask at railyards if they have cutoffs they could give to you or sell to you
-ask at blacksmith meetings or hammer-ins if anyone has some track for sale
-Quad-State is coming up in September in NY-state ... apparently anything and everything can be found there. If Indiana isn't too far away, it may be worth the trip

Other Options
-metal fabricators will often have cutoffs they may be willing to give away rather than pay to have them disposed of
-Old World Anvils.com now will sell cutoffs for around $50.00 - they make great block anvils (someone posted this several months ago)

Good luck.
Use what ever you can get your hands on to get you started - but don't take dumb risks. If rail rings alot, there are lots of ways to deaden a ringing anvil (ask around on this list), and wear earplugs. The important thing is that you start pounding steel and learning your fundamentals while you're looking to equip your workspace.
Welcome to the obsession ... we have t-shirts

Sam

[ThomasPowers]

A busted knuckle from a RR car coupler makes a better anvil than a chunk of rail IMNSHO and pretty much ANY chunk of sttl makes a beter anvil than a cast iron ASO.

Does your area have a place that works on dozers? lots of "impro anvils" in used dozer parts! What about fork lifts? A scrapped forklift tine can make a great anvil if used vertically and is still better than rail if used horizontally. (note when talking with such places you must emphasize that the piece will NEVER be used for it's original purpose again and you would be quite happy to have it oxy cut to make sure it couldn't---with a little finesse you can get them to make the cut *you* wanted for free!)

Please think about coming to Quad-State in Western OH the end of Sept. You can camp onsite saving money to buy tools!

[Sam Falzone]

Please think about coming to Quad-State in Western OH the end of Sept. You can camp onsite saving money to buy tools!

Thanks for correcting me Thomas.
I thought Quad-State was in NY - haven't been to one yet myself but I'm hoping to go next year.
Sam

[phnix5888]

yeah i need to get out and go to some scrap yards and ask around ive never heard of quad state what is it?