So what can i do with rail. A guy just moved into the space next door to my shop and as a day job works for CSX. Well he saw some track ive had laying around for years and said " hey man I can get ya all kinds of that stuff" well sure enough he did and now its starting to stack up.
Any ideas of what to do with it. I think i read on here they dont make good anvils and I already have one. so boat anchor, paper weights, steel toe checker. They are just cut offs 1, 2 3 foot chunks 'bout 8" tall.

All ideas welcome Marc

If you don't have a BIG forge and power hammer it would be too much work to be worthwhile to work. OTOH it would have some scrap value so you can use the proceeds to buy more suitable metal for your projects.

You could slice them up and make book-ends, add stakes for a horse-shoe like game, sell the sections on e-bay, powerhammer them into bar stock, use them as legs for coffee tables, weld a few together as legs for worktables, and/or vise stands, or use them to edge a flower garden. :D

swage blocks. sculpture bases, cut up for stock
Phil

swage blocks GALORE.

Or flip them over and weld a bunch together an make a stake plate, or weld a *lot* together and make an acorn table.

Used mine for a hammer head and an anvil for my power hammer.

I guess you could try chopping the stuff up and selling the pieces to guys who want rail anvils but can't figure out where to get rail locally.

swage blocks GALORE.

Swage block I don't have one of those I like that idea are there any blueprints or should I just go to town with a torch and a grinder

Take a load to a smithing conference with a cheap price on them and watch them convert into cash fast! Then buy what you want at the conference.

I know that jewelers are always looking for short sections, say a foot long or so. I bought a section 2" long and made a mushroom stake out of it, seventy-five cent for the metal and lots of time forging, grinding and polishing. Would have been easier to buy one but not near as much fun.

Just sent you a message. I could use a cheap rail anvil as I am just starting up.

... I could use a cheap rail anvil as I am just starting up.

There you go, one option is to be the unofficial supplier of RR rail to beginners. :D

heck talk really nice to the man he may bring you some of that "spring " steel they use to hold down some of the track!

heck talk really nice to the man he may bring you some of that "spring " steel they use to hold down some of the track!

If you're talking about the clover shaped things I have tons of those. I also have lots of the track plates, spickes, bolts and the big brackets that tie the track together, I don't know what they're called but they're big chunks of steel.

If you're talking about the clover shaped things I have tons of those. I also have lots of the track plates, spickes, bolts and the big brackets that tie the track together, I don't know what they're called but they're big chunks of steel.

hmmmm....I could use a track plate. My anvil doesn't have a hardy hole, so need something to weld a chunk of square tubing to to use with hardy tools...

Or make a smithing magician on...

David

rr rail is just steel in a shape different from bar stock. Cut pieces off to forge into whatever you want...hardy tools for example can be made by cutting the bottom flanges off and fitting the web to the hardy hole on the diagonal. Time consuming, but thin slices of rail make good inserts for gates and railings as a decorative element. Artistically, someone made horse head sculptures out of whole rail.

I have a two foot section of rail that sits in the corner of my shop. At least twice a week i look upon it and wonder what could be done with it. I never think of anything worthwhile concerning the section of rail but the process sets my brain to wandering and i soon think of all manner of other clever things. If this much inspiration can be generated by such a diminutive piece of this material then i can only imagine (and indeed i may) what kind of creative mental provocation the amount you posses is capable of imbuing. Leave it, that's what i say. Put it in a prominent location - somewhere that you are forced to see it every day - in only a few short weeks you may very well unlock the secrets of the universe. Or scrap it.

....hardy tools for example can be made by cutting the bottom flanges off and fitting the web..

That is a good thought. A 6 or 8 inch section of rail could have the bottom flange removed, then it would fit into the vise on a Civil War era Traveling Forge for use in hammering or forge welding small items in situations where the smith needs to protect the viewing public from splatter by shielding the public with his body. Interesting usage. :D

So what can i do with rail. I think i read on here they dont make good anvils

I can't think why a piece of rail wouldn't make a decent anvil. Probably better steel than most anvils were a few hundred years ago. Maybe not up to flogging with a sledge but for up to 3/4"-1" no problem. Screw right thru the flange into a stump. Grind the top flat. Go to work. Why not?

I have four short lengths beside my shed and I am having difficulty to lifting one of them. I was thinking of using a length for the anvil part of a power hammer. Has anyone used rail successfully for this purpose as I notice the most commom use is 3 inch round bar for the anvil.

Most of the power hammer anvils I have seen are about 6 inches dia.
Ken

I used some chunks of rail to make dies for my power hammer

Counter weight for a trebuchet. Rail weights x (different rail different weight) per foot, cut in 1' and 6 " sections, and vary the range of you treb... then I can take over the World!! MWQWWAHAHAHAHAHHHA...

oh wait.. that was my outside voice.....