Rohn Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Hey smiths, I was wondering whether or not it's worth it to go further into this project or not. This is for my first make-shift anvil and I'd like it to last at least a half a year to give me time to find a proper one. I obtained a piece of railroad plate that was in good condition, it's not bent, very slightly bowed (the peak at which would be the face of the anvil) and is equipped with 5 square holes at just over 3/4" which I feel would be perfect for hardy tools especially ones i make from railroad spikes and it also has 4 circular holes which would be perfect for binding it to a base. My idea is to bind it to a large wooden beam that my friend has pulled from a house he was working on and slap some conveyor belt in between the beam and the railroad plate and probably bolt it down. I'd also like to drill out some room in the beam for the shank of the hardy tools to fit down into. Here is a picture of the actual railroad plate and a conceptual drawing that I have made up for it. Let me know what you guys think. Any advice would be appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry H Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 What part of "upstate " are you in ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rohn Posted March 23, 2013 Author Share Posted March 23, 2013 What part of "upstate " are you in ? Ithaca area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Look or a blacksmithing group near you and attend the meetings. Look for any mass of metal 50 to 100 pounds, the heavier the better to use as an anvil. Think industrial here, but many times you can find this stuff in all sorts of places. Search IFI for TPAAAT, I just used it and found the following. BLACKSMITH ANVIL-- NICE-- - $150 (CLAYTON)150 pound blacksmith anvil with iron base - $250 (weedsport )Old English anvil - $250 (Bath,NY)Old English anvil - $250 (Bath,NY) Contact Stuarthesmith pm on IFI. He sometimes has access to anvils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 To answer that simply, no. The plate is about 1/2" thick, at best, and has a soft underlayment that will allow flex (conveyor belt). That means the plate is free to move even though you have it mounted to a block of wood. What you want is a stout piece of metal that is directly under the blow of the hammer. A 12# sledge hammer buried in that same block of wood will far out-perform the plate. Why? Because it doesn't flex and give as you pound on it. In third-world countries, the smiths make great pieces using sledges for anvils. They might need vise-mounted tools for other aspects of the process (instead of hardy-mounted tooling) but that doesn't limit their creativity. The metal directly underneath your hammer's impact area is what matters. If your hammer hits the anvil at X, it makes no difference if you have 100# of steel six inches east of X. It's what's under X that makes the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilt and Hammer Workshop Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 VaughnT explains the issue very well. A lot of people just beggining in the craft tend think about makeshift anvils in terms of surface area. Mass is far,far more important. A sledge hammer is probably the easiest to obtain. Railroad track works really well too, and so do railroad couplers,if you are fortunate enough to locate either. One thing that won't be easy on a sledge hammer anvil is straightening out longer pieces of stock. You could mount the railroad plate as planned,and just use it for when you need a larger flat surface . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evfreek Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Too little mass under the hammer, and in the wrong place. Are you broke? Steel at a scrapyard which sells to the public would do a better job. Or, if you have two plates, you could stack them base to base and turn sideways, welding around the seam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulsepushthepopulace Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 I negate everyone else's advice and say yes, it will move hot steel at an alarmingly insufficient rate, but the hot stuff will move... I would use it until something else came along. It's gonna be hard on your spirit, due to the effort involved, but when you finally land an anvil, you really appreciate it and understand why it's not just a block of steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SagebrushBlades Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 Having been there myself, I will second Pulse... You don't need the belting under the plate, but vibration from hammering is havoc on the lag screws holding the plate to the beam. After snapping the heads off several sets, I added some nylon washers on top of the plate. As Pulse said, it will make you very appreciative of a real anvil when you get one, but with 2x the effort, it will "work". Move up to a section of railroad track or an actual anvil as soon as you can. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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