I have seen both horizontal and vertical implementations. Which do you recommend? Does the vertical method require a stand or just bury it in the ground? I'll lose a lot of space if I use vertical but horizontal seems more difficult to put on a stand.

Thanks for any advice.

The more mass under the hammer the more effective your anvil is at helping you move metal. It is all dependent on how long your piece of track is. If you have a 6 inch or shorter piece, I'm not so sure it matters so use the best shape and surface for your task. With 12 inch or longer set on end is defiantly going to help you move metal. If you have a long enough piece, by all means bury part of it. I would consider cutting off a smaller piece or two first if it was THAT big that burying was an option. You can make portable solutions and swage shapes from the smaller piece.

Phil

Verticle puts way more mass under the hammer. You only need an area the size of your
hammer. Horizontal can be shaped like a real anvil(lots of time and effort) My bench one is 37lb and is only good for up to 1/4 in rod. You can stand it up in a bucket of concrete,
Drill holes and bolt it to a bench leg, Bury it. Your choice.
Ken

If you put the rail horizontal you also end-up with a heavily crowned face and a springy anvil, neither of which are desireable. Sure you can grind the 'top' flat and weld supports across the web to reduce thes problems, but it's a lot of work.

Edited November 1, 200916 yr by matt87

I am using a chunk of track as my first anvil as well, I went the stand it on end route. I am attaching a pic as to how I set mine up. Works pretty well probably nowhere near what an actual anvil would but it does work. The chunk I have has nice square ends so I didn't have to grind the working face and it sets on the stand nice and square. You can also radius the rib portion if set this way to use as a fuller or hardie. Small working face, but for small projects it beats nothing.