my Railroad Track anvil build thread

[Pug}{maN]

need something to beat on other than my shop floor so the guys where up at the tracks working , went up there and ask if they had a pice of track i could have and got this 18 inch tip to heel chunk ! now im shaping it a tad and make'n a base for it.. will post more pics as work goes along...

 

[5lima30]

Nice I like it! Nice stand, what kind of wood is it? I need a base for my 1820's Mousehole anvil that I recently picked up.

 

[Pug}{maN]

it is tops of wooden power poles

going to glue and band it together...

 

[1948]

you should smile sometimes..... looking a little serious lol

 

[Pug}{maN]

1 guess as to what im makeing to go with it..

this is just 2 pices of what i need, also need a blower and some 2in. pipe and T's..

 

[vfr-rider]

Isn't there a prerequisite that when you use a piece of RR track for an anvil, you have to sing "I've been working on the railroad, all the live long day....." while you are using it?

Was it already shaped like that or did you have to cut the heel? If you had to cut it, how?

 

[MScott]

Looks like you're building a forge.

Did you just strap the crossarms together or are they fastened in some other way as well?

 

[nine4gmc]

Lookin killer, my scrap guy has a 20' railroad track I am trying to get a piece of.

 

[Pug}{maN]

Looks like you're building a forge.

yes sir ! a brake drum forge !

Did you just strap the crossarms together or are they fastened in some other way as well?

going to glue them first, then use metal banding on top and bottom

Isn't there a prerequisite that when you use a piece of RR track for an anvil, you have to sing "I've been working on the railroad, all the live long day....." while you are using it?

NO singing in my shop !

Was it already shaped like that or did you have to cut the heel? If you had to cut it, how?

it was 18 in. so i left it that long the top is hard as a rock ! the base and sides are softer so it cut nicely with a porta band...

 

[thdewey]

Do want!

That's awesome!

1948 - Pugman is DIFFENETLY smiling when he's grinding on his new anvil! OK maybe more like an evil smirk, but you can tell he's pretty happy.

 

[Pug}{maN]

ill be smiling more when im makeing knifes out of scrap and RR spike !

 

[blasto9000]

Man, that looks like a ton of heavy, dirty grinding work! I considered doing a similar project a while back after seeing a Craigslist poster with five-foot lengths of track for $25. But before I could jump on it I came across another poster selling a complete anvil in nearly mint condition... so... guess the rest...

 

[dandan111]

I like it,great idea. Did you use a torch to get the rough shape?

 

[vfr-rider]

ill be smiling more when im makeing knifes out of scrap and RR spike !

Semi-truck salvage yards should have tons of old leaf springs that can measure 3-4"s wide. It's the metal of choice on kukri or gurkha blades.

Sent from my PG41200 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Pug}{maN]

I like it,great idea. Did you use a torch to get the rough shape?

as i sead...

it was 18 in. so i left it that long the top is hard as a rock ! the base and sides are softer so it cut nicely with a porta band...

 

[blasto9000]

Semi-truck salvage yards should have tons of old leaf springs that can measure 3-4"s wide. It's the metal of choice on kukri or gurkha blades.

I'd have never believed that unless I saw it with my own two eyes. I have a friend who's originally from Nepal (now a U.S. citizen). Since he lacks U.S. education he makes a living selling Nepali-made trinkets, and frequently goes back to Nepal on buying trips. Showed me an iPhone video of one of the forges where he buys his kukris and sure enough, their stock pile was exactly a huge pile of junkyard leaf springs. He said when he first came to the States he found it odd companies would buy "virgin" bar stock to turn into knives.

 

[Pug}{maN]

cool ill look in to that , i got a bucket of spickes to keep me going though...

 

[RivennHewn]

Here's my first attempt at an ASO (anvil shaped Object)

Got the track for free at a garage sale, the stump from the firewood pile, scrap leather from the free bin at the leather store.

The hammers?

I have a bit of a 'Thang' for hammers. Been collecting them for years.

 

[Pug}{maN]

ya i like yours , in fact yours was one of the ones i cut mine to look like ! and you have hammers you say..hmmmm got any for sale ? pm me !

 

[RivennHewn]

My garage door is 'one way only' for hammers.

 

[TennesseeZ]

Lookin good PugMan, I just got 2 the other day myself. Guy had a "amateur knifemakers shop" on C/L, picked up a belt/disc sander, drill press, the anvils, bunch of partially made knives, leaf & coil springs, wood for handles, "2brick" forge, huge drill index (which is what I really bought it all for), etc. One of the rail anvils is milled flat on top, looks like it's gonna work nice. Can't wait to see what u do with yours.

 

[Pug}{maN]

just an up date , still working on the forge...

got a nice new hammer and gloves...

got some lump coal for the first run...

o...and i got this !

and this Antique Myers Unloader to lift the anvl and move it....These would have been used in old 19th and early 20th Century barns and they helped in moving hay and such across the barn.

the vintage industrial trolley was manufactured by f.e. myers & bro., ashland, oh. the company was founded in 1870 by franacis and philip myers.

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

You have a nice lookin setup there! I wish I had the talent to do steel work like that. Have you many any knives in that past? If so do you have any pic's you making Knives to sell them?

 

[Pug}{maN]

i did a workshop with the guys at the missouri blacksmith association here where i live at the antique tractor show , got the just of what i need to do and made a “COAL FORGE POKER" so im 100% that RR spike knifes i can do, need to make some tongs first though...

 

[bgott]

Get something under the leg of that vise. They are designed to be beaten upon, but, if you don't have the leg firmy planted on the ground you can break the mount.

 

[Pug}{maN]

its just sitting there till it gets its home, im not useing it like that...lol..

 

[Lippyp]

Nice setup. I've got a busy weekend redoing the roof on the falling down tin shed at the bottom of my garden so I can set my forge up in it finally. Home made bottom draught forge with electric blower, old double bick anvil, got a couple of leg vises to setup. I still need to make a hood for the forge and wire up the fan speed controller. Got a big box of hammers, tongs and other tools I've been collecting for about seven or eight years when I see them cheap. Just need to find a friendly tree surgeon so I can get a nice big stump to set my anvil on although I have a neighbour who sells brand new hardwood railroad ties so I might just bolt a few sections of that together with some all thread to make a stand.

 

[jrlp]

I have that exact (I think) vice. Do you have any information on it? I haven't been able to find any, but I don't know any BS terms.

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[Lippyp]

The vice is genericly a Blacksmiths Leg Vice, the idea being that the leg that goes down to the floor transfers the forces from you beating on something in it to the floor not the bench. Only downside of them is that because of the design the jaws don't open parallel to each other as it pivots from the bottom. They will have been manufactured by various companies, often the same companies that make normal vices or that make anvils. Many are not marked.

 

[Pug}{maN]

its got so much **** on it i cant find any markings, but i am going to clean it up some, no paint or anything just back down to metal and oil it, so if i find any info ill let you know..

 

[Pug}{maN]

got it all done and fired up !

got some old tools to work with and true blacksmith coal....

and this is what i came up with !!

say not to bad for never doing any work like this before !

had some help with the base from some new power tools i got ! love them...

so all in all very fun ! whell worth geting in to, if your looking to do it first off get the pice your working on hot, like glowing hot, i had to leave it in the forge 5 min. first off to get it workable, you dont have much time to hammer on the anvil before you heat it back up , so keep the forge close, once hot does not take to long to heat back up , so if you have any questions just ask...

 

[Pug}{maN]

got a pic of my new stump mount......

my neighbor getting his fire going to make his knife...told hem id let hem play to..he knows a guy with a nice real forge and a blower ,that is for free, if i will use it..lol...

 

[5lima30]

Nice forge! I'm hoping to find a good deal on one!

 

[wnstwolf]

Nice neighborhood making knives and strapping a side arm.. ;-)

 

[Pug}{maN]

Nice forge! I'm hoping to find a good deal on one!

5g. fish tank stand, 2003 taurus front brake rotar, old baking pan, and 30 buckes worth of black pipe, and a 25 cent blow dryer...

 

[5lima30]

5g. fish tank stand, 2003 taurus front brake rotar, old baking pan, and 30 buckes worth of black pipe, and a 25 cent blow dryer...

Is the baking pan heavy enough guage for that kind of heat?

 

[Pug}{maN]

its aluminum...lol.. it melted in to the groves of the rotar about 3 inch out, and now is nice and tight...

its going to get steal plate when i find some...

 

[Brian.Evans]

Very nice. I too have a RR track anvil. I'm working on my forge right now, but it will be up and running soon. All my knives up until this point have been stock removal. I would tell you though that if you're serious about making knives, give Aldo Bruno a call at njsteelbaron.com. Using "found" or recycled/repurposed steel is cool, but using a known steel will let you heat treat it to the best of it's abilities. 1084 is a great steel and cheap cheap cheap (price not quality). Being a eutectoid steel, it is easily home heat treated in a forge and canola oil.

RR spike knives are cool, but how much carbon is in them? I dont think very much. Low carbon=low hardness=pretty knife shaped object that won't hold an edge.

Ps, here's my RR anvil. Only in use until I can get a big real anvil.

My dad made it for me. I need to reshape the horn a bit so it's easier to make curves on, but like you said in your original post, it's better than beating on the shop floor!

 

[Brian.Evans]

Very nice. I too have a RR track anvil. I'm working on my forge right now, but it will be up and running soon. All my knives up until this point have been stock removal. I would tell you though that if you're serious about making knives, give Aldo Bruno a call at njsteelbaron.com. Using "found" or recycled/repurposed steel is cool, but using a known steel will let you heat treat it to the best of it's abilities. 1084 is a great steel and cheap cheap cheap (price not quality). Being a eutectoid steel, it is easily home heat treated in a forge and canola oil.

RR spike knives are cool, but how much carbon is in them? I dont think very much. Low carbon=low hardness=pretty knife shaped object that won't hold an edge.

Ps, here's my RR anvil. Only in use until I can get a big real anvil.

My dad made it for me. I need to reshape the horn a bit so it's easier to make curves on, but like you said in your original post, it's better than beating on the shop floor!

 

[Pug}{maN]

thats a big'en ! lol... im just doing ornamental blacksmithing right now, so not big on if i can use it to skin a pig or anything...