MarkR Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 Very new to the forum and just getting the forging bug and trying to find an anvil. I have a local guy who is offering up 12" sections of 171 crane rail for $80. I am liking the wider and flatter face along with a thicker neck area over the traditional rail road rail. Also has nice rounded edges. The only info I can find on this material is that it has a carbon content of about .45-.49%which is almost half that of the traditional rail at around .55-.8% if I'm not mistaken. So my questions are A: does anyone have more knowledge on this as an acceptable material to be forging on? B: does this price sound fair for new material. By my rough calculations it's about $3.15 per lb. I believe I read an earlier thread saying that price is acceptable for a used anvil but I dont want to pay anvil hardness prices for sub par material. Sound like you guys have a wealth of knowledge on this site and would greatly appreciate any opinions. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 Welcome to IFI... Can't help with the crane rail, but this thread will help you get the best out of the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 That's a big piece of rail! It will work until you get something better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevomiller Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 That’s nice rail. Dont worry what the carbon content is if you aren’t going to pay to have it heat treated. AND, the carbon content you listed, if correct, could be hardened to the mid 50’s RC if you wanted. Are you sure that’s about 26lbs? Seems it would be heavier, but I can’t read your steel rule on my tablet. $80 seems a bit high to ME, but your situation may dictate this is what’s available now and you want to start forging NOW. If you are going to use an improvised anvil, a bigger piece of steel could be had for that cost, I would think. Also, for cost comparison, the newly made 66 lbs/30 kg Chinese steel anvil I bought for work was $140 shipped, and it was fully hardened, has hardy and pritchel holes, and a horn. Link to pics and description Best wishes on your decision and hunt for an anvil Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkR Posted August 25, 2018 Author Share Posted August 25, 2018 Thanks for the info everyone. After thinking on it I dont need to be paying that money on a temporary anvil. I think I'm going to explore more of the options of free scrap from my work. Crossing my fingers someone will screw up another centerplate from a rail car soon 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.