railroad tie plate

[Frosty]

I understand, I lived around a nearly constant work cycle myself. Being a field guy about 3 weeks in 4 and getting to spend the in town week repairing equipment didn't leave me much time for myself that eating and sleeping didn't take up. 

You know Japanese swordsmiths often use a traditional stake anvil maybe 3-4" square and small charcoal fires for heat. Hammers, chisels, files, stones, etc. Of course but the entire kit fits in a bag and I'm not talking a duffle a small suit case would have enough extra room for your apron and safety gear. Anymore I put more than I'm probably going to use in a plastic bucket.

The minimum equipment list is really quite small.

Frosty The Lucky.

[mnidoone]

I have minimal illusions to what i need. My ideal anvil setup would be a 6-10 inch round S7 or H13 round with enough length to get 100-150 lbs , a stump with a stand alone horn (believe its called a cone mandrel) and finally a mount for a hardy and pritchel hole. (Previously mentioned idea about tie plates as a start)

[bluerooster]

Tie plates, Is that the plate the rail sits on and the spikes go through, or the plate that ties two rail sections together?

[mnidoone]

As far as I understand it, its the plate that sits on the railroad ties and gets the spikes driven through. 

[JHCC]

mnidoone is correct. The plate that fastens rails together end-to-end is called a “fish plate”; these have become less common since the development of thermite welding.