You know I was kidding. I don't consider you a child. Even at just thirteen years of age and under a hundred pounds, you still out swing most grown men. You are going to pass us all up, if you stay with it.

i understood, brian!!
i agree, it aint for women and children.
i must be different then....
thanks anyways for the compliments!!
you know i get angry when you say " IF " i stay with it!!.....grrrrrrr

I know, that's why I said it.

:)

Alec, thanks for the comment on hot cutting two inch round. I didn't think it was fun either. It takes a lot of heating, is kind of fiddly, and it's easier to get a cold shut than with smaller cuts.

I have had good luck buying ex army crow bars at about £10 each they are 2 meters long and 35mm section . some new chinese crow bars are sold at less than new steel price.....

the first cut on two inch took us 3 heats ( brian can do it in one with a hand hammer, somehow!! ) the second a little longer

the first cut on two inch took us 3 heats ( brian can do it in one with a hand hammer, somehow!! ) the second a little longer

There are no tricks to it, but your anvil and stand must be mounted well and you need to employ the tapered shank hot cut hardy. I don't think most people realize how much energy is lost to vibrations.

yes, it is true how much more effecient your hot cut is, brian! but i cant wait to get my anvil " immovable " we could have gone through that two inch so much quicker if the anvil didnt move at all

some suggestions Alec

Phil

Well, I ended up going to the local (only) steel place, and looked through their scrap bin. They didn't want to deal with me on the phone, because I am a "nuisance", but I don't get out much and it is more than the usual drive. Their bin had plenty of round shafting, and I picked up two pieces about 20" each. I would have preferred smaller pieces primarily because of the lower risk, but upon returning, the spark test said 1040 for both! Yay. Eventually, it would be worth getting an inverter for my Dremel. Unlike my friend whose bars were precut too short for shipping, the cuts can be done with more consideration of the end use. Really, I hate shipping and flat rate package restrictions, but it takes so much time and gas to drive around, especially when you don't know what you're getting.

Oh yeah, and thanks for the recommendation about cat track pins. But they didn't have any. Had to look them up on the WWW to make sure that I could recognize them if they had any.

How much vibrations are lost on a 4 ft section of railroad tie buried in clay standing on its end you think? Sufficient for government work perhaps?

Wood tie with a steel anvil on it? good, getting very close to ideal. The better fastened the anvil, and the better the condition of the wood the better the system works.

Steel track set directly in the Earth? It doesn't get much better given a piece of rail as an anvil.

Phil

Get you a full section of rail road track and bury it about 17-1/2 feet into the ground. All the mass is directly below the hammer, and it is well grounded.

Now that you have your anvil located, build your smithy around it.

Glenn - the full length rail sections I have are 30 ft long, would be a bit more effective.

You bury that, you'd be halfway to China Jeremy. Maybe Ians place. :P

Evfreak and all who cannot get steel locally , call King Metals 800- 542-2379 for a catalog they will ship 10' bars U.P.S. the Prices ARE high , but you gotta charge more to cover this.

Jeremy, then bury it 27-1/2 feet into the ground. YMMV

I found this on the web it's good for determining how much stock to use for your hammer weight