Show your Railroad Rail Anvils

[jakemac]

I have a pile of 1' pieces in the back of my storage unit. Just in case.
I have 4' and 5' pieces that I use for winter weight in the back of my truck. (It nearly killed me dragging them a 1/2 mile out of the woods)

I also use 6" pieces as wheel chocks for my trailers or door stops.
I have several sizes in my shop that get used for hammering, or just as weights.
None of my RR tracks are anvil shaped.

Years ago, I used an 1-1/2" slice of 4" light rail when doing leatherwork.
I glued a piece of thick leather to the side with rubber cement and used it for setting rivets and snaps and for punching holes. When the leather got chewed up, I just pealed it off and replaced it. (see below)

I love RR track, it has so many uses.

 

[jpmmilner]

I saw an example of a rail anvil here on the Journal, and thought it would be a good addition to my collection and good use when I needed to beat out some metal. I checked Craigslist, and sure enough, a piece of rail was available for about $20. So after a reasonable road trip, I brought this section home. It was about 18" long and someone had started the cut out with a torch but had left it unfinished as a project.It was rough.

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I bought some abrasive wheels and started after it. Let me say, the steel is TOUGH. Cutting it with a wheel takes time, and cost me TWO cheaply made and procured grinders. One went out on overheated bearing, and one lost teeth in the main gear when I flinched and caught the blade deeply in the cut. That stopped the blade cold, destroyed the wheel, and killed the grinder.

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Eventually got the main shape cut out, and started the grinding with a newly procured Porter-Cable grinder. After many hours of clean up, and shaping, and re-working the ROUGH cutout done with the torch before I got it, it looked something like this.

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I'm especially proud of the "USA 1936" raised lettering still visible in the last shot. I have primed and painted all but the top. The top gets a coat of wax to try to protect it, since my garage is really a carport, so it has to be outside. Need to do the "Glamour shot", but I could not find a pic.

 

[Exceller8]

Here is the piece of rail that I use the most. I like it because it is much larger than most pieces of track that I come across. It's heavy enough that it doesn't move too much.

 

[ndnchf]

I've got a nice Fisher anvil made in the 1870s that I use for home blacksmithing. After using it for years, I decided to clean it up a couple days ago. I also had an old rusty, railroad track anvil I used when I need a hard surface to hammer something cold on. This morning I got up and decided to clean and paint it. It took me about 2 hours to go from rust to nice. Only problem is that now it's too nice to beat on!

 

[mmason7764]

I've got a nice Fisher anvil made in the 1870s that I use for home blacksmithing. After using it for years, I decided to clean it up a couple days ago. I also had an old rusty, railroad track anvil I used when I need a hard surface to hammer something cold on. This morning I got up and decided to clean and paint it. It took me about 2 hours to go from rust to nice. Only problem is that now it's too nice to beat on!

Great Job Ndnchf, That does look too nice to beat on !!!!!

 

[DIMDIM]

And here is my anvil from the rail. I did it myself.

 

[AJ.]

Here is one I made a few years ago, its been very useful.


http://postimage.org/app.php

http://postimage.org/

http://postimage.org/app.php

Cheers Andrew

 

[larry4406]

AJ - very nice!

 

[AJ.]

AJ - very nice!

Thanks

 

[Shop Dad]

My 14 year old son was interested in blacksmithing so I was looking for things to get him started. Given the small fortune anvils fetch these days I was happy to find this RR anvil bought from a smith who was letting go of some of his early tooling. It was incredibly loud so when mounting on the base we built I added a rubber pad underneath. Works great. I have some leather to make hammer loops around the edge. Haven't gotten that far yet. Came with the bending attachment that fits in the hardy hole.

 

[straightcut]

Last winter/spring (2017), there was a gentleman located in the front range of Colorado advertising reasonably priced custom roadroad rail anvils on Craigslist. I don't see his ads anymore, but gave serious consideration to having him make one for me. Had I been closer, I certainly would have pursued it.

Great thread and pictures!

 

[Outlawmws]

Shop Dad: Glad to see you are taking your son's interests seriously! you mentioned how loud it was. Please train him to always wear hearing protection when subjecting himself to constant louder that ordinary noise. I was NOT so trained, and my left ear NEVER stops ringing. Simple ear plugs (I wear then every day on the train) and my kids wore ear muffs even for simple things like vacuuming. It doesn't have to be hurting loud if its constant...

A lifetime of driving tucks, 15 plus years of racing, Grinders and other power tools, hunting... all took their toll...

Its simple, its fast, and costs little...

 

[harley jim]

This thread needs some life

 

[Super Mech]

I have a piece of rail I’d like to do this with.
How are you guys who have made these squaring up/flattening the tops of the rail?

 

[ChefRex]

Picked up one a few weeks ago at an estate sale,

 

[steaks&anvils]

This thread needs some life

I think this RR anvil thread gets more traffic:

railroad rail anvil

saw this at a local swap meet/flea market. was about 18" long, prolly 20 or so pounds. had $7.95 price tag on it, should i have grabbed it?

www.garagejournal.com

 

[ColumbianRon]

I have a piece of rail I’d like to do this with.
How are you guys who have made these squaring up/flattening the tops of the rail?

I too, am interested in this. I have my heavy anvil, but it isn't close to my work bench. On my major workbench, I have a little HF 15lb. anvil that does fine, but I have to use a hammer (20 oz.) that is lighter than my blacksmith hammers so the little anvil won't crack. Would like to pick up a couple RRs for my workbenches. Also would like to have them flat on the top.

Would a grinder be able to take down the steel to flatten them on top?

 

[Mkodish87]

I too, am interested in this. I have my heavy anvil, but it isn't close to my work bench. On my major workbench, I have a little HF 15lb. anvil that does fine, but I have to use a hammer (20 oz.) that is lighter than my blacksmith hammers so the little anvil won't crack. Would like to pick up a couple RRs for my workbenches. Also would like to have them flat on the top.

Would a grinder be able to take down the steel to flatten them on top?

We grind rails all the time when replacing them and the joints are uneven. Usually use an air powered grinder but electric will do just fine.

 

[ColumbianRon]

We grind rails all the time when replacing them and the joints are uneven. Usually use an air powered grinder but electric will do just fine.

Thanks for the info. I'll scout around and see if I can find a couple of them for two of my workbenches.

 

[Shootinok]

Here's a couple pics of the little metal working station I made with a piece of RR track and an old drill press base.

 

[crguy]

Would a grinder be able to take down the steel to flatten them on top?

You'd better prepare yourself for a "lifetime" of grinding trying to flatten a piece of rail.

 

[Outlawmws]

I like it Shoot! Is a bench grinder planned for the table?

Needs a hammer rack also

 

[Shootinok]

had a grinder on it - two actually, but I made a better base for them and that top gives me a small work space. No grinder there planned.