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Another rail road iron anvil


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Those aren't anvils and won't work as one Tyler. Don't be fooled by shape, just because it looks like a London pattern anvil doesn't make it an anvil. And, just because it's a big piece of steel doesn't mean you can use it for an anvil. 

Good move taking a pic and asking us before buying any of those, we're more than happy helping you out. Telling you NO, DON'T BUY THAT! Is sooooooo much better than having to tell you, Oh MAN you shouldn't have spent all that money on THAT!! :o

Fore warned is Fore armed. Good move Brother.

Frosty The Lucky.

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Skip the idea of using the wheel as a forge. I tried using a 14 or 15 inch wheel as a forge in several configurations and quickly learn that there are better ways to make a forge. JABOD is one of the better ones.

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Tyler, an anvil is a solid lump of steel, cast iron with the exception of ductile and cast in tool steel faces are not suitable. So the I beam doesn’t have any substantial mass to back up the hammer blow and other than setting rivets or manipulating soft materials like aluminum or copper and setting rickets in leather the other two “anvils” are not suitable for forging. The horn and hardy hole on the right may be useful but itherwise the I beam is a stand or stock, the little bench anvil for setting copper rivets and other light work and the ASO on the right is a tool holder, and with a piece of plate (scrap “C” Chanel?”) a chiseling bench. 

You need a solid block. So let’s review some of the places where you may find a suitable anvil, scrap yards, machine shops, heavy equipment repair shops and fabricators.

Bulldozers and large track hoes use realy bug pins that will work as anvils, tractors have big axle shaves that will work, trains have cuplers and large axles. So the shops that repair them may have be able to help you out. 

Machine shops machine parts from billet (solid stock) and may have a “drop” (left over to short for their use) that they have been tripping over. 2” will work, larger is heavier so more desiarable. 

Fabricators cut pieces from sheet and solids for projects, and may have a suitable drop, a piece of 2” or thicker plate works well, and if it is the corner we’re a round was cut off it has a horn. A 4’ sheet that has 2’ rounds cut out of it will give you 4 corners with horns or 4-6 pieces in between with double horns.  Water jet, and Cnc torch outfits are the ideal. 

As mentioned before, an out of service forklift time works well, if they know it isn’t going to be reused as a fork. If they have a saw or torch ask them to cut it so they know for sure and it’s more manageable for you.

so in review find a solid compact lump of steel, sledge hammers and splitting mauls are examples. 

 

 

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  • 10 months later...

Hi guys, Im from australia planning on getting into blacksmithing. I know this is an old thread but I really like some of the rrt designs Ive seen here. I recently bough a 1m length of rrt and plan on getting to work on it soon. Can I have an update on your designs please? Is there anything you would do differently or perhaps you have added something?

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I would have reversed the fuller and hot cut, not so much for my use, but it gives other folks visions of cut off fingers. I have say see used it to cold adjust horseshoes, but I also use it to forge parts for anvil stands and such we’re the other anvils are out of commission. It is also used as the companion to the Mark III JABOD forge.  It takes a bit to get used to straitening stock down the vertical face but that’s part of the fun. 

Now if your less than 2meters tall you will either have to sink part of the anvil in the ground or cut it off. I am 6’ 2” and my standard anvil hight is 32” for beginners we recomend wrist (cane) high, and fist high as you get better. Myself I would cut it so it’s at fist high setting on what you want to use as a base (a 2x8 is just wide enugh) and then add another 2x or two to raise it up if desired. The cut offs make exelent stock for tooling. 

 

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Thanks for your reply Charles. I was looking at about 800mm hight (32) as you said so thankyou for confirming that. As far as the hot cut I think I would like to have a hardy hole instead. I would appreciate any suggestions for how to do this if you have any. So far my research has shown that having the hardy hole seperate is going to be my best bet.

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I also use a vertical rail and have been mulling over welding a piece of square steel tubing to the foot for hardy tooling but a stump with the tube mounted in it may be a better idea. You can grind tooling into the rail also. Lots of options.

Pnut (Mike)

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14 hours ago, michael91 said:

I would like to have a hardy hole instead.

Then what you want is a "Portable Hole!" There are a number of versions some seriously heavy duty overbuilds IMNSHO but do a hardy hole's duty and more. The basic concept is a piece of square tubing or similar construction the right size to fit your bottom tool shanks, 1" ID is a common size. The tube is then mounted in a vertical stand so the top is about level with your anvil for convenience. It's a good idea to reinforce the top edge so it can take the forces it'll need to.

Some of the super holes are drilled and drifted or torched and filed in plate steel and mounted on stout legs. Lots of possibilities and in many ways more handy that one in the anvil.

Frosty The Lucky.

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  • 1 year later...

I have been recently working on getting back to smithing, I started doing it when I was 12 a friends dad was a smithy & taught me. Continued through college, even when I did my final year abroad in Oxford & later with a blade-smith in Japan. So was pretty involved until my mid 20’s, unfortunately events around that time caused me to die on two separate occasions and the second had some time in a coma. I woke up and all my smithing gear was gone, and would have had to start from the beginning all over again to get going. For the following 6 years I wasn’t in living situation to rebuild a shop. I was too transient working as a millwright / industrial engineer. However, I’m now stationary, got married bought house, etc and haven’t gotten the idea of building a shop again out of my head.

The major roadblock that I hit when looking was the cost, I had been really lucky in the past because of the relationships with the people I got to learn from. I used their shops for a lot of work in the beginning and they had gifted me gear later. Got my forge, anvil, a spectrum of tongs and hammers from my first master, and some specialized gear from those I worked with in Japan and Oxford. It wasn’t till later I found out the reality of paying for your own shop.

I was looking into rail anvils and found this and was impressed at how functional and diverse it evolved as ideas where suggested. Previously, I heard that the rail metal wouldn’t be hard enough for any decent projects, and I lost some motivation.

everyone here renewed my hope, so thanks and awesome work. 
look forward to getting more involved on the community, really glad I found it.

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  • 6 months later...

Reaper.IWP -- That's a heck of a story. Glad you're ALIVE, brother.  ;-)  As someone who has used track for an anvil, I'll tell you it works just fine. You probably know this, but the whole buzz about needing to have a hardened face on your anvil is a fairly modern phenomenon -- and kind of a fallacy. Most RR track is about 1085, as I understand it. If you use it right -- i.e., only lay HOT (thus soft, in its hot state) stock on it and only hit the stock with your hardened hammer -- never hit the face of the anvil with the hammer (bouncing lightly is okay) -- then the only thing that 'hits' your anvil is softened stock that deforms. As long as what you're forging is softer than the anvil, it works and holds up. All the old-school anvils for many many hundreds of years going back in history were "soft" wrought iron and the most amazing iron work ever done (think European cathedrals, castles, etc.) and the very highest level of mastery attained in sword making was done on 'soft' anvils. One good thing about softer-faced anvils is that they're easier to re-dress with grinders and flap wheels when they get beat up -- or just cut a quarter inch off and start fresh. You can always get a taller stump or block to mount it on, if your piece of track gets shorter. Personally, I think everyone should squirrel away their pennies for the really nice classic 'real' anvil purchase some day -- a secret coffee can they never tell anyone else about and NEVER touch until they have enough for their dream anvil one fine day -- and use a hunk'a RR track in vertical orientation like this in the mean time -- or any of the twenty other things Charles mentioned -- like big chunks of 2" plate or shop 'drops', or just go get the biggest sledge hammer you can find, remove the handle and mount the head in a carefully-carved out recess in a good hardwood stump -- works fine. Hearing your story, I want you to get your smithy built, man -- take your time, slowly re-acquire what you need -- DO it!  ;-)

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Reaper:  All you need for a basic shop is metal to hit, a pounder (hammer), a heat source, something to hit against (anvil), and a grabber (something to hold hot metal [tongs]).  These can be as basic as a big rock (anvil), small rock (hammer), a wood fire, a split branch (tongs), and a piece of scrap metal. Those probably have a total monetary outlay of less than $1.  Then you can move up as you can afford it. For less than $25 you can probably find a hammer, a grabber (vice grips, channel locks, etc.), and a large hunk of scrap for an anvil.

You have probably been a bit spoiled by working in fully equipped shops but I will bet your masters/teachers started their careers with much more basic tools. So, lower your sights and start basic.

Also, try to find a local blacksmithing group such as Northern Minnesota Blacksmiths in Bemidji or Central Minnesota Blacksmiths in St. Cloud.  They may be able to help you find tools.

BTW, what part of N. MN?  I have spent a lot of time in the Duluth area (my mother's hometown), and my son is at UND in Grand Forks.

I see that this is kind of a old thread.  So, you may not be listening any more.  In any case, if you get this, good luck and let us know how things go.

"Vy hammer and hand all arts do stand." 

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