Hillbillysmith Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I am going to be making an anvil out of a piece of RR track in school. I chose to put this post here because I am in school for welding and going to weld it up. I have to make a box for another class in my lab first, but I will get on the anvil in a couple of days. I will try and keep you informed with pictures along the way, but my cell phone just recently died on me. :mad: I'll try and use a friend's phone. until I get another.... What I plan to do: use a piece of RR plate for the heel because of the square hole. I will bevel this plate on both sides, weld it to the back of the rail with a E6010 3-bead root pass on both sides. Then, I am going to fill in the grooves with E7018. And finally, I am going to run a hardfacing rod over the top of the E7018 on the "face" of the rail. I also am going to use E7018 to build up the horn because I go the rail all chopped up with an O/A torch and I have to fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acoop101 Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 if you can scrounge a couple of pieces of steel that would fit in the webbing of the rail this will help make the anvil stiffer making it some what better as an anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Dwyer Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Go Hillybillysmith, go! I'm looking forward to following this thread. I've found some loose rail along an abandoned track on the other end of the island. The thing is all the rails are full length and heavy as the dickens. I'm thinking of making a ninja run early one Sunday morning with my little OA cutting torch and see if I can hack off a piece. I'm kind of new to the cutting torch and not sure I'll be able to pull it off. The thickest I've cut so far is 1" mild steel. Sometimes I've done just fine while other times I've struggled a good deal with only half penetration and lots of molten metal blow back. Anyone got any pointers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evfreek Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Hi Hillbillysmith. Some touch-up with a stick welder really helps out that RR track for use as an anvil. I have found that those track plates do not really have useful holes, since they are kind of the wrong size and are in the wrong places. I tried to cut a 1" hole in one, but it was a Pyhrric victory. Too difficult for the gain. Much better to go for Mike-HR's portable hardy hole design (given in the BP's). You are handy with a welder, and that is a great application. The main weakness of a RR track anvil is that the edges are not very useful. There is too little support by the relatively thin web. There are two ways to work around this problem. One was given above by acoop101. Bolster the sides or weld two rails together side by side. Another is to use the vertical rail idea. This really improves the edge rigidity, since the foot or web is used as the edge, and it is supported all the way down to the ground. There is some guy who shows up at blacksmithing conferences who pieces anvils together with junk steel and an arc welder. It does work. If you don't use the edge of the anvil, I guess that it does not matter that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habu68 Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 If you are welding up an anvil out of track, you might want to look at the unusual anvil we found a few months back on E-bay. It was 3 anvils/swage blocks welded together. A really slick design and would also increase the mass of the anvil. 3 Horned Anvil - Blacksmith Photo Gallery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Farmer BP0334 Adjustable Anvil Stand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Dwyer Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Hmmm, good ideas. Maybe some sort of synthesis of Habu68's tri-anvil and Evfreek's side-by-side. I'm kind of new to welding (use a cheap Chicago Electric 220V AC/DC arc welder, but upgrading to a Lincoln 225 AC/DC). I've only worked with 6010, 6011, 6013 and 7018. Have pretty much settled on 6011 and 7018. What rod is the hard-facing rod? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORZ Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Go Hillybillysmith, go! I'm looking forward to following this thread. I've found some loose rail along an abandoned track on the other end of the island. The thing is all the rails are full length and heavy as the dickens. I'm thinking of making a ninja run early one Sunday morning with my little OA cutting torch and see if I can hack off a piece. I'm kind of new to the cutting torch and not sure I'll be able to pull it off. The thickest I've cut so far is 1" mild steel. Sometimes I've done just fine while other times I've struggled a good deal with only half penetration and lots of molten metal blow back. Anyone got any pointers? It might be,your torch is too small for the thickness off the material.I dont know the tipe,the nozzle might be changeable( 1, 2, 3),with increasing acet. pressure.First maybe try warm up the material,driving along the flame the way to cut,and give a little more oxigen by cutting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Covington Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 A trick an old welder freind taught us. Leave the acet. pressure where it normaly is, Turn your oxy. up to about 80 and with a clean tip it will work. Once you start the cut the extra pressure will keep the heat going down the cut. Take it slow. Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Covington Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 I forgot to tell. Don't forget to turn it back down. It's a huge waste on normal cutting. Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tompdw Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Hard facing is for things that take a lot of abuse and needs a high shock and abrasion resistance. I would be useful if you were repairing something like a plow blade or a farm impliment. It is commonly laid on top of hard face build up. Does this help any? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jose Gomez Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Go Hillybillysmith, go! I'm looking forward to following this thread. I've found some loose rail along an abandoned track on the other end of the island. The thing is all the rails are full length and heavy as the dickens. I'm thinking of making a ninja run early one Sunday morning with my little OA cutting torch and see if I can hack off a piece. I'm kind of new to the cutting torch and not sure I'll be able to pull it off. The thickest I've cut so far is 1" mild steel. Sometimes I've done just fine while other times I've struggled a good deal with only half penetration and lots of molten metal blow back. Anyone got any pointers? You will have better luck if you equip your torch with a size 1 tip, set the acetylene at 3 to 5 psi, and run the oxygen pressure at 30 to 35 psi. This is the smallest setup recomended by Victor torch manufacturing for producing a quality cut on the thickness of metal that you are after. Crankin up the O2 to 80 might enable you to blast through the track, but a small cylinder will only last for a blink at those preassures (maybe not even long enough to get the job done) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Covington Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I wasn't thinking about a small cylinder, that's right it won't last long at high pressure. I'm used to big tanks with lots of spares. Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Dwyer Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Hard facing is for things that take a lot of abuse and needs a high shock and abrasion resistance. I would be useful if you were repairing something like a plow blade or a farm impliment. It is commonly laid on top of hard face build up. Does this help any? Thanks, I understand what hard facing is and does, I just don't know what rod to get to do it. When I asked for hard facing rod at the local Gaspro they just started hemming and hawing and threw a bunch of numbers at me. Thanks for all the cutting tips guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jose Gomez Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Robb Gunter recomends using 3/16 inch stoody 2110 for buildup, and 1/8 inch stoody 1105 for the face. Grind all surfaces to be welded, Preheat the anvil (or whatever chunk of metal you decide to use) to 400-450 degrees. You can put down an unlimited # of layers with the 2110 in order to build up the surface or replace any missing metal. With the 1105 you have to be sure to not exceed 3 layers, so use it sparingly. after welding re heat the anvil to 400 degrees and pack it in vermiculite or wrap it in a welding blanket (anything that will help it to cool verry slowly). Once it has cooled, just grind to shape and your done. Another way to do it is with Rankin hardfacing wire in a MIG welder. You can use Rankin BB-G for buildup, and Rankin DD-G for hardface. You still have to grind the areas to be welded, preheat, and post-heat, but only to 200 degrees. The wire is a ton faster, but you need to have a machine capable of running .045 wire at 250 amps (Big machine). If you are planning on welding on rail road track you really should preheat and post heat (or at a minimum slow cool) the chunk of track no mater what filler metal you chose to use. this will help to prevent the underbead cracking that is common when welding on steels with carbon contents higher than .5% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Dwyer Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Thanks Jose. That was quite clear. What's the deal with the 3 layer max with the 1105? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jose Gomez Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Due to the high alloy content and hardness of the hardface rod, you usually can put down no more than 2 to 3 layers of weld. This is because the weld metal is designed with an excessive amount of certain alloying elements with the designers knowing that it is to be applied over a much softer metal which will act as a cusion, and will mix in with the hardface overlay. when the hardface is applied it melts and mixes in with a certain ammount of the softer buildup or base metal. this dilutes the deposited hardfacing material to a useable level. If you apply more than 3 passes you loose this dilution, and cushoning provided by the buildup or base metal. Because of this the hardface will tend to become excessively hard and brittle, and will eventually tend to chip off or check badly (spider crack). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbillysmith Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 Sorry that I haven't been on here for a while I had a quite of bit of work to do on my 2 camaros that I just bought and got caught up in doing that. I haven't had time to take pics of the track but I will. Sorry, but the pics will be somewhat in the middle of the process. I have already trimmed the track, cut and welded the RR plate on the end of the track for the square hole with E6010 3-bead root on the bottom side and filled with E7018, I arc-gouged the top of the joint down to weld metal for complete joint penetration and filled part way with E7018 I built up the surface of the whole face and horn with MIG and have run a complete cover pass over the entire anvil with high-impact hardfacing rod. I am now in the grinding stage. I will take a pic when I go back to school. Sorry about not taking more detailed pics as I went through the process but I have to get this project done because I have to get other work done for my teacher. Sorry again, -Hillbilly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Dwyer Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Wow, that sounds great! Can't wait to see the pix. Guess you'll have quite a bit of grinding to do. How do you arc gouge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dean Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 I believe that arc gouge is also known as air arc or carbon arc gouging. It takes alot of air and power to do anything of much thickness. Here's a link that explain the process. Fundamentals of Professional Welding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trying-it Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Thanks for the link Dr. Dean. I did some of air arc cutting in school and now have my own arc cutting lead here; attached to a 400 amp Hobart DC welder. The rod size / amp settings from the link will come in handy here, thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Ink Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 hillbilly 6010 does not handle shock very well I would hate to see you waste your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryCarroll Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 I have broke rail by scoring across the top and some on the sides with a chisel and smacking with a 9 lb. sledge. It will not always break straight but it can be broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habu68 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 has anyone here tried oxygen lance cutting? Also called thermal lance?Thermal lance - Wikipedia it sound like it would be easy enough to set up. using small dia black pipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Ink Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 I did it in diving school underwater habu68 you start with and arc and cut the power off and the lance burns on o2 , Ive seen speciel forces use a back pack rig from a distance at school also. Great tool hard to control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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