Kaponolani Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 So I just got a 21 inch length of railroad track and while I don't necessarily need to make it into another anvil I think "what the heck, you can always use another anvil" right? So my question is how would I go about making a hardy hole? Drill out and file square or is there a much easier way?I don't have a mill or anything, and just started thinking about it...Also sorry if it's been asked before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 The best answer I know for the, "how do I put a hardy hole in a rial anvil," question is . . . Don't. It's WAY more work than it's worth. Make a portable hole or if you MUST, weld sq. tubing to the side. I prefer a portable hole if you don't have a leg vise. A leg vise makes a hardy hole pretty much superfluous.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkDobson Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 forbidden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 Well start by reading the complete chapter on how to make an anvil from a RR rail in Weygers "The Complete Modern Blacksmith" Since you are in the USA you should be able to ILL it at your local public library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaponolani Posted August 26, 2015 Author Share Posted August 26, 2015 Frosty...that's a good idea that I wouldn't have thought aboutAnd Thomas, I'll have to check that out thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSW Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 This is the hardy block I made. it's simply a piece of 1" bar stock I drilled and filed to make the square hole ( I could have drifted it as well) I welded to a piece of 4" 1/4" wall square tube sitting on a 3/8" thick base plate I cut a hole in the center of just in case I ever had to drive a tool out from the bottom. In this pict the base hasn't been drilled for mounting holes yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaponolani Posted August 26, 2015 Author Share Posted August 26, 2015 Looks good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 Note that the term ASO is used for items that are anvil shaped but not made from materials that will take the pounding an anvil takes. So a piece of RR rail *is* an anvil though not shaped like a London Pattern anvil while the cast iron HF "anvil" is really an ASO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 (edited) This is the hardy block I made. it's simply a piece of 1" bar stock I drilled and filed to make the square hole ( I could have drifted it as well) I welded to a piece of 4" 1/4" wall square tube sitting on a 3/8" thick base plate I cut a hole in the center of just in case I ever had to drive a tool out from the bottom. In this pict the base hasn't been drilled for mounting holes yet. Pic deleted to save bandwidth, you can go look a couple posts up. It's a common courtesy house keeping thing to trim the tail of posts and ESPECIALLY pics from quotes. There's no good reason for every post in a thread to carry the whole darned preceding thread in it's tail.End preachy rant. Getting completely off topic is just as much a waste of bandwidth and I hear some folk get really rambly. Back to the topic. That's probably one of the nicest portable holes I know of DSW. If you make the base plate round you can tip and roll it easily so you can make the top level with your anvil's face for more utility.Frosty The Lucky. Edited August 26, 2015 by Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSW Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 Thanks. Pict may be disguising the size. It's not very big, maybe 6" tall, as I intended to simply screw it down to another stump. A taller one on a wide base set at anvil height would be nice as well. I got the base/tube welded together already for the most part, out of the scrap bin at the tech school where I help out. They have the day kids weld these up as one of their sections learning to weld.I made it mostly to show some kids that you really don't "need" to have a London pattern anvil to have a hardy hole. That and I wanted to have something I could beat the snot out of to make hardy tools upsetting stock with a sledge and not risk the thin tapered end on my smaller anvil. I'm currently looking for some heavy solid chunks of steel to go with it for working with scouts. I want to be able to forge things for them so that they can see that any heavy chunk of steel can work just fine as an anvil, and this hobby doesn't have to be expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 When you said 4" sq. tubing I had the scale at a glance. I was simply suggesting that if a fellow used a longer piece so it was about anvil face height it'd be a lot heavier and a round base makes heavy easy to move.It's probably good you jumped back in to help clear the fog I sometimes draw over simple things.We're on the same page about not needing a London pattern anvil or other "real" blacksmith equipment to be effective and it's good to see home made gear.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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