Hold downs

[Altusjg]

Keep in mind that currently i have a 40-50lb RR track anvil so this may not be feasible on a regular anvil as drilling a hole through the body of an anvil probably wouldnt be desirable for most. It is however similar to other chain type hold downs that i've seen so the idea could be modified to work on your anvil. With all that said, i use an old chain pipe wrench with a section of spring connected to the distal end of the chain. The spring is hooked to a nail on the opposite side of my anvil stump, the chain is pulled over the anvil and the piece being held down and the teeth/head of the wrench is pushed into the forementioned hole in the body of the RR track. The tension from the spring works to lock the teeth in place. A quick push down and pull back on the handle releases the hold when finished. The hole in my section of RR track anvil was already drilled and i assume it is where the fishplate would have been connected in order to tie one section of track into the next. For what i have and what i work with, it really does the trick. Hope this helps some of you that are new to smithing and are still working with what you have.