I have a few questions on some equipment I recently picked up. 

I got a 2 foot section of RR track. I have read to place it vertically and hit on the ends of the track. If I am reading this correctly I would mount the track to actually strike metal at the location the track was cut. Correct? With the recent issues on the site could someone send me a photo of a track mounted? I tend to see blanks in many posts.  I also plan on mounting on old railroad ties. Since there are no holes in the track what is the best way to fasten the track to the wood?

 Second question.

I just purchased an old post vise in ok shape. One section of the U were the post would bolt to the bench is busted off. Can I just weld a section of steel to this to repair or will this mess anything up? The jaws line up well and the screw seems to be in good working order.

 Last question:

I was able to get a 6” thick by 10” by 10” section of A516 Steel that I plan as using as an anvil. It weighs between 65 and 75 pounds. What is the best way to secure this to a stump? I was thinking leather straps over the corners and silicone under it?

 

The hammer head is much smaller than the end of the track you are using as an anvil.

Take a 2' stump, heavy tember, rail road tie or built up 2x stock, cut a notch to suport the rail at anvill hight (30" or so) and drill a couple holes threw the web for lag bolts, or stap it with plumbers tape, thin flat stock or chain. A couple of shaped blocks may be needed at the bottom. 

 

Your big block, a stump that raises it to anvil hight (i sugjest the 6x10" edge) build a pocket, and silicone the snot out if it, silicone makes good glue. If you need more weld on a cople of tabs or drill and tap for tabs. Hou will want to use the edges so dont mess them up. 

Do I need to temper the RR track if I turn it on end? I'm not sure if I would screw it up if I tried.

just use it as is

This works very well for me. All the mass under the fuller and hot cut that I ground into it make them both sturdy and efficient and I use it often.

Anthony, that Toledo scale weight is worth some bucks, take care of it.

Anthony, that Toledo scale weight is worth some bucks, take care of it.

Ok I'll bite, how come?

Charles, plumbers tape? Surely you are not meaning PTFE?

Anthony, that Toledo scale weight is worth some bucks, take care of it.

Really? That's interesting to hear. It was one of the first things I found at the scrapyard almost 10 months ago when I was looking for something to beat on. $0.25/Ib. I was able to determine what it was through internet searches and also that it doesn't make too good of an anvil. I'm pretty sure it's cast iron. It does weigh exactly 50 lbs, as marked.

50 lb Toledo weight, Probably used for calibrating scales so is much more precise hence more expensive so not exactly mass produced.

http://www.uline.com/BL_4489/Calibration-Weights

Correct, they are used to calibrate scales. I have used them at a couple of places I have worked. Depending on the accuracy they can get spendy. The link above is just an example.

If you have not beat it up too bad, and it can be certified as being the weight it should be, you may want to sell it.

Edited August 14, 201510 yr by BIGGUNDOCTOR

I've never used it to forge anything. Just a few light taps with a hammer to see what it felt like and that was it. I figured it would still come in handy for something. 

Thanks for letting me know this. I'm going to give selling it some serious thought if the price they are going for is good. 

Not the pipe thred tape, the metal (and not the plastic stuff that replaced it) that that they use to hold up pipes and secuer hot water heaters and such, has two diferent size holes evenly spaced. 

Thank you for the reply on the RRT I like the fuller. I do not have one yet. I appreciate the support. Is a 12x8 building sufficient to work in. I have a old chicken run i was looking to convert over.

Any suggestions on the post vise and welding to it? The hold downs look cast iron, but I could be wrong.

 

 

do you have pics of the vise mount???

I will take the photos tonight. 

 

8x12 can be made to work, if your just depend on forge, anvil, post vice and a small work bench. Big doors and perhaps an anning/porch would be nice to ad a bit of space for layout and assembly of larger projects. 

Right now I would be doing small projects nothing larger than a 12" section. If I go to a new building my township gets me for over $500 in permits and it goes up as the square footage goes up. If I can use a existing building (chicken run) I can make it taller, just not longer. I was standing in there last night thinking this is way to small....

 

If you do use the rail as an anvil it takes up very little space if stood vertically. I own 4 anvils but I still use this rail a lot, especially to draw things out like rr spikes fast because it is very efficient and a lot quieter than using an anvil horn. One warning about using the hot cut in a setup like mine. I cut almost all the way through and then pull the stock apart with pliers so that I don't have a piece of hot steel coming in contact with wood in a place that isn't easy to reach into. 

Edited August 14, 201510 yr by Anthony San Miguel

I plan on using the RRT and flat block along with a cheap 70# cast iron anvil. So I will have three stumps set up, forge thats about 3' in diameter and a small work bench. I plan on just putting plastic on the walls until i can afford wood siding and a metal roof. The chimney will come out of the side wall.

 

My first anvil was a cast Iron anvil.  The only use I ever found for it was to hold hardie  tools. bolted down tight it could be used to hold bending forks, scroll starters etc.

I love it when I see folk start to see steel for what it is. The picture of an anvil has morphed from a "REAL"  anvil to what an anvil really is: a piece of steel heavy enough to be a base that will resist movement well enough to make a smith happy.

Once you stop thinking an anvil has to have a certain shape the world open right up and you start seeing all the useful shapes available to you everywhere you look. RR Rail is such a good starter anvil for this very reason. It's pretty easy to make into a London Pattern but with a little experience you discover what a limiting thing a London Pattern really is, rail has so many other good dies just waiting for us to cut and grid them out of it.

So, what else do you see out there that'll make a fine anvil?

Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty I big hunk of steel that I got i think is better than anything I have so far. I put it on a stump and did not secure it. Put some rebar in the fire and started swinging away. Made a fire poker and the block never moved. I plan on building my own little smith area under roof and at that time plan on securing all the "anvils" I have. I opened my eyes to other types of anvils since I could never afford a actual anvil. Anvils in my area that are really in bad shape are starting at $300 bucks. I just joined a club and hoping to watch the tailgates at the meetings to pick up one.

Question:

I set up my forge with an old squirrel cage blower from a old water heater. It blows at one speed and too much for the coal. I made a sliding gate out of some 1/8 steel. I drilled a bunch of evenly spaced holes and put a pin through one. I can put the plate down almost all the way closed to all the way open. My issue is I am not sure what the correct amount of air is for coal. Can someone point me in the right direction on this?

Man, I'm glad I opened this thread up. It had simply never occurred to me to stand a piece of rail-road tie on end to use as a hot cut. Live and Learn. 

remist17 and Charles; skip using railroad ties for anything, period. Creosote is a nightmare carcinogen.