Railroad Rail Anvils

No, but I unironically railroad your mom every night

>>1197222
Nope but i have a piece of track i want to turn into one...any advice?

>>1197233
Depending on what you use it for you need to do certain things, if you plan on using it for blacksmithing or armoring make sure the top of the surface still has a temper to it and isn't rusted to shit, I would recommend looking up some anvil reference images and seeing how they look, only problem with railroad rails is the top side of them have rounded sides when a real anvil has perfect 90 degree sides, it can be fixed with a grinder though


basically just use a good angle grinder and for the hardy hole(s) just use a bench press drill and keep going up a size until you get the desired size

>>1197222
Kind of. I got 8 peices of track and a bunch of blacksmithing tools i sort of inherited for cheap. Then I descided to build a new forge and summer came. Fuckit till winter. I'm beyond busy at work and home anyway for the amount of time and money i want to put into smithing.

>>1197233
Tons of info on YouTube and Google.

Don't use a torch it fucks with the temper.

Patience and cut off wheels.

Be safe anon!

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>step 1) acquire rail (pic related)
>step 2) ???
>step 3) enjoy anvil

>>1197233
rails have that thin bit in the middle, anvils don't. the waist of an anvil is almost as thick as the face.

you can carve up a chunk of rail to look like an anvil in profile, but because of the rail's low mass and high flexibility (compared to a real anvil), more of your hammer energy is wasted and you have to hit the work more times to get the job done. swinging a hammer gets old quick.

>>1197222
I threw up a little...

>>1197222
No, I am gainfully employed and went out and bought an actual anvil. That is one well polished turd though...

>>1197222
I have one. The thing is, they are usually too small to absorb enough energy, so the trick is get a concrete or wood block extremely well fixed to it after you're done.

About making one, just shape it to what you're gonna do. I didn't need round shapes so just cut the edges a bit.

Aren't anvils supposed to be made of tool steel? I don't imagine a rail to be made of such or be able to withstand constant strikes from a hardened tool.

>>1197368
>2017
>buying an anvil

enjoy your chinese steel, anon

>>1197232
And so does the mailman, Dad.

>>1197571
You get them at farm equipment auctions...cast in NA ones 100+ years old still go for a pretty penny though...

>>1197589
I almost read 100ehatevermonies. Yeah, good anvils are pricey... Russian anvils are cheaper here, local, like lokomotiv, can be ridiculously expensive. Estonia supposedly has a thriving blacksmithing culture and anvils can be had for a reasonable price still. This is heresay though.

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>>1197598
Lokomo. Not lokomotiv.
There is not much good to say about Russians, being their neighbour, but boy do they know how to name hockey teams!

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>>1197571
>being so poor you can't even afford a new, good quality American anvil

why do anvils have the spike at the side

>>1197649
For when you need to bend shit

How many people actually need a horned anvil, as opposed to just a bench block? I use a 45 pound CAP barbell plate as one, affixed to a stump that was cut to be waist high because I didn't need a full in anvil

>>1197649
As a former for when you need or make things round

why do anvils have the hole towards the side

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>>1197659
the round hole is mostly for punching-out
the square hole is for anvilception

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>>1197222
>do you have one?
no, but want make one, have railroad rail pices
but it will be pain in the ass to cut in the form - probably will do as project during the summer
also if you dont have a pice you can buy the pices from railroad company or any one who sells them oficialy (if you dont want do jail for 30cm pice of steel you find on the track)

I usually get my anvils from dead coyote at the bottom of cliffs.

>>1197325
Nah we just need like three feet...

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I have one and I used it for about 2 years . I used it mainly for forging small damascus billets and blades. It was just a piece of track , no shaping. It worked well until I found a real 30 kg anvil. For starting anvil - railroad track is one of the best choices. If things get serious you will need a real one.

>>1197571
Did ever say "new", you retard?

>>1197840
Nimba makes awesome anvils still, even today! $$$

>>1197535
>tool steel

I like to take mine to the kinotographorium

>>1197785
kekd
>>1197803
nice to know, also more pics of knifes

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>>1198137
This is an old one I did a few years ago. It's a really nice skinning knife.

>>1197241
>>1197278
>>1197339

Thank you so much for the great advice anons!

>>1197241
General shop work mainly, but definitely some blacksmithing when i have my foundry up and running. I will be sure to make it nice and soon as i dont have a ton of other projects piled , as well as referencing the images and info... Proper anvils are so damn hard to find in my country

>>1197278
I have all the right grinder wheels so i will be able to get it done like that... I shall avoid using gas though, thank you!

>>1197339
Makes perfect sense yeah, could i mabye weld in some supports to prevent that or would that just fuck up the temper even further? Still beats hammering on the steel workbench

>>1197571
>not buying an old anvil
anon

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>>1198137
here is the anvil itself

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>>1198137
and some of the successful billets

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>>1198659

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Here only the steel is forged by me. Grinding and handle are done by a friend of mine.

>>1197222
Nope, got a real one, my great grandfather was a blacksmith and I have his anvil and forge though.

>>1198657
You do the actual damascus on that?
Good to know, I'm planning on getting into knifemaking and definitely want to do damascus stuff, but I was under the impression it needed a more serious setup to be worthwhile.
I'd say your results speak for themselves as far as capability goes. How much time does a small billet take, and what's your success rate if you don't mind me asking?

>>1198795
Ill give you some details on my process of making damascus on this thing. Its not the best way it just works for me.
My billets are composed of 20 – 24 layers (~0.7 mm) and two thick pieces on the outside – something like a sandwich so the last thin layers can keep the temperature long enough to be weld. The size of the billet itself is around 20x20x70 mm . To fold this thing 3 times is a lot of work if you do it by hand. It takes around 5-6 hours of forging with some breaks. At the end you have 100 – 120 mm blade with 30 – 40 mm tang and 80 – 100 layers. My success rate is 10 good and 2-3 bad billets. The fails happen mainly when the light is different from what I am used to and I cant figure out the right temperature. Also when I haven’t practiced in a long time.
One modification I did on the railroad track – I welded a flat bar at the end of it (where the horn should be on a normal anvil) so I can fix the handle of my billet with vice grips and I hit it with a 2 handed hammer. This makes it a bit faster and easier for my hand.
And one last thing – everyone can learn to forge Damascus , so even if you fail at first , don’t give up , try again and research some more. Good luck.

Funniest home made anvil I ever used was with a mate of mine, we got an old iron block 4cyl engine that had shat the bed, then welded a big chunk of scrap steel about 30mm thick along the top of it. Bit of case hardening to its surface with oxy acetylene + water and then bolted it down to a huge chunk of dead tree.
Not exactly glamorous, but it did work really well and as far as I know he's still using it.
We made a lot of pattern welded billets on that thing, just 15N20+1095 with a small production of 15N20+1075 for a sword he wanted.

Lacking a power hammer, 10lb sledge with a slightly re-surfaced face (bit flatter) and took turns beating on it- being a fine Australian summer it was about 38C ambient temperature and practically dying of dehydration.
No real way I'd want to do it too often, though I have thought about doing some san-mai but haven't really gotten off my arse to go visit and borrow some stuff.

>>1198815
If you have the chance - take a picture and show it - it sounds pretty interesting.

>>1198824
Agreed, that sounds brilliantly done (both the anvil and the sword)

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>>1198824
Not really from the generation that photo-documents their life, next time I'm up at his place I'll bring a camera though.
The other alternative for people that just use smaller anvils is something like the Farriers stake anvils and then just plant them in a section of telegraph pole, drum of concrete+wood or tree stump, those generally are much less expensive and any kind of farrier or blacksmith supply usually has them. I quite like them as they're a bit 'taller' off the ground so I don't have to bend my busted old back into it as much.

3/4 size dane axe out of one of the billets, more of an "artistic fuckery" than a serious battle axe, but it would be extremely unpleasant for anyone to be hit with it.
Very thin edge geometry, razor sharp and about 59HRC

>>1199044
9/10, would invade Britannia with.

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Not a railroad anvil, but had this guy in my shop forever. I live in an old mining town and the story is it was dredged out of the channel decades ago.

>>1199594
Beautiful anvil. Glad it was saved before it went completely to pot.

>>1199594
Looks like a beast. Ever weighed it?

>>1197571
Fugg you meen, chinks buy their raw steel from us here in BR.

>>1198350
>>1198657
>>1198659
>>1198661
>>1198662
nice work anon :)

>>1197232
>unironically

That's OK I ironically do your dad every night.

>>1197222
Is it just me or is having the point there gonna lead to an accident some day? I mean it's a workshop so there shouldn't be dickery about but damn i'd put a tennis ball on that fucker when not in use.

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>>1197222
best (and second) file knife I ever made

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>>1201151

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>>1201154

>>1198661
Clawmark?

>>1201395
Yes, too bad that it's on one of my early , ugly sheaths.

>>1201149
I want to make it clear: I fuck your padre, he's my puttana.