Mad Rabbit Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 So i have a piece of rail road track thats fairly heavy guage that i got from my brother in law. Its just short of 6 feet and weighs about 250 pounds. Im thinking of taking half of it and making a post anvil out if it ,even though i already have a 100 poind vulcan, just to have something else to beat on. That leaves me with about 3 feet left. Looking for ideas on what any of you would use it for given the chance. Fielding any and all suggestions. Thanks in advance. The Mad Rabbit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 I have a peice mounted flange up, like a saw horse, it makes a hevy stock rest and a chiseling bench. If you have the ability to cut it into slices it makes good hardy tools. A randome chunk also gives you some options as a forging die when layed on its side. I'm considering using a chuck for treadle hamer head, over my post anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinobi Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Friend of mine cut the rail proper off from the web and flange and made a one handed double wide 6lb hammer from it, flat face on one side and diagonal pein on the other. bout 4 inches long face to face if my mental eye recalls correctly. other common rail mods include varying radii and depth fullers, hot cut's and swages ground/cut into the flange Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Rabbit Posted June 13, 2013 Author Share Posted June 13, 2013 I had thought about using the top flange to make a hammer. Then beveling the left over and attaching it to a stump via the base as a hot cut. All excellent ideas. Im still fairly new to smithing and dont have any slitting chisels or drifts to punch the eye. Guess i have a few projets to do to get me to the point of starting this project. Thanks again guys. The Mad Rabbit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Are you familiar with how rail is stacked? cCut it into three pieces, there's a pattern to this but later. Lay two rail up and the third rail down slid between the webs of the two base ones. Snug them tightly together and that's the basic stack. Cutting a couple slits in the flanges of the bottom rails and you can easily weld the stack solid, Weld every joint you can get at. This would give you a 240lb. anvil with a face approx 2' log. That's the basic picture but if you offset the bottom rails in opposite directions say 8" or so you have the makings of a horn and heel, a little shaping and it's a done deal. Sure it'll look a bit odd but it'll work a treat, has good weight, is tougher than nails and makes a good conversation piece while you're forging on it. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Coke Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Greetings All, I was going to post my use for track here but decided to list it under tools STS WONDER TOOL Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Rabbit Posted June 14, 2013 Author Share Posted June 14, 2013 I love the idea for the anvil Frosty. But would it work effectively? I know that rail has a tendancy to flex when used as an anvil sitting in its natural position. Would using it as a post anvil work better? The Mad Rabbit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 I love the idea for the anvil Frosty. But would it work effectively? I know that rail has a tendancy to flex when used as an anvil sitting in its natural position. Would using it as a post anvil work better? The Mad Rabbit Yes, it works very effectively if you can get it welded solidly enough. Try stacking some rail the way I describe, you'll see the rail and flange/webs match up almost perfectly so the entire new face is supported by solid steel. the main trick is getting it welded as solidly as possible. You need to slot the webs of the base pieces so you can weld the center flange to the inside of the rails on each side. Do the same to the bottom contact areas. lastly if you grind a little scarf on the lower flanges where they connect you can weld straight through to the upside down rail making the base solid. Weld every joint you see. Remember rail is high carbon steel and is prone to being brittle, preheat, ping and relieve the welds, post heat and normalize the whole sheebang for best results. I did pre and post heats with a wood fire and tempil sticks, let it soak but don't get carried away. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Rabbit Posted June 16, 2013 Author Share Posted June 16, 2013 What would be the proper tamperature for pre and post heats for the weld? I took a few welding classes in high school and im rather a natural at it so i never bothered taking any advanced classes to teach me what i though i already knew. But im unfamiliar with the "ping and relieve" method u speak of. Sorry to blow your ear off with questions, i just like hearing from someone who so obviously has more experience than i. Thanks alot to all who can help, and a special thanks to frosty. The Mad Rabbit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 I've welded rail cold with no problems but an anvil is an impact tool so avoiding stresses is a good thing. I had good luck with a 400f tempil stick but don't think it's terribly sensitive to higher, within reason. Remember to weld a bit on each side, alternating to avoid making a ripply twisty sculpture out of it. Do NOT try heat treating it afterwards, rail doesn't like being hardened and tempered for some silly reason, I've tried a few times but no joy at all. Awe heck, I'm just a likable story teller who had a near eidetic memory for the written word and excellent reading comprehension so I've been sponging since the internet went public. Then of course I go out and give some of these things a slash to see how they work. I got the idea for the stacked rail anvil after seeing rail stacked by a decommissioned rail road, played around with it a bit and liked what happened. My memory used to be really good then I tried catching a falling tree with my head. I discommend the practice highly. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Rabbit Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share Posted June 20, 2013 Thanks again frosty. What manner of rods would u reccomend? I would be borrowing my fathers lincoln tombstone (shaped) welder. Im not sure if it runs ac or dc. I would have to check on that. The Mad Rabbit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 It's probably AC. Ask at the local welding supply, be sure to tell them you are NOT trying to match hardness or carbon content. If it runs DC, then 7018 is good, an AC equivalent would be good too. I'm so far out of date on welding rod types and uses I'd be asking at the welding supply myself. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomasaboucher Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I just found this link the other day. It's a book that shows various techniques and proceedures, but it also shows how to make some tools. The link I have provided shows how to make a top and bottom fuller from railway track. I'm sure you could easily modify these plans to make other various tools like stwges and set hammers and the like. Let us know what you end up doing and post pictures. http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/ah635e/AH635E13.HTM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evfreek Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 On my rail anvil, I used that hi alloy repair rod. It worked just fine, but some welders think it's bad. Now, I use 7018ac or 9018 if it is alloy steel. Good preheat and clean each pass. Peen deposit at over 40 points carbon. The only time I had a mishap was welding leaf spring (mystery) with no preheat. No problems forge welding it as a bit. Therefore , some alloys may benefit from post heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Rabbit Posted June 23, 2013 Author Share Posted June 23, 2013 Thanks much to everyones input. Ive decided im going to make a heavy duty secondary anvil out of it. Will be some time before i have the time and the resources to put it together though. When life slows down a bit i'll cut it to the proper lengths and post a few pics. And when i start the project i'll open up a new thread in the anvils section for everyone to awe over. Im hoping to have it done before the wnd of summer, but only time will tell. The Made Rabbit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.