If y'all start cutting lengths, I'd love to grab some of the offcuts/scraps if they're inexpensive enough. I'd like to have three or four to use as weights to hold down tarps/etc. No consistency of size/weight required - just a few # and nothing sharp/pointy.
railroad rail anvil
- Thread starter teamarctic
- Start date
redwrench60
Well-known member
Lol, unfortunately that pile is off limits at work in Knoxville. Sometimes I wonder if they would miss a stick though……I’ll have to behave I guess!
harley jim
Well-known member
Yes, It isn't worth risking your job. I had assumed that it must have been a rail yard. My neighbor works for NS
fishwatcher
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2023
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I’ve been keeping an eye out for an inexpensive anvil, a small hunk of flat steel for my bench top, or RR track to hammer on things in my garage.
This piece of RR track came up on FB marketplace for $10. I was told it weighs 28 lbs. It’s just under 7” long. I did a quick clean up with wire wheels and WD-40 for now. I am not sure how I’ll finish it. I will smooth out the edges to get rid of any burrs, continue with wire wheeling and probably finish with a 3M abrasive wheel and a coating of BLO.
Any suggestions are welcome.
Thanks.
This piece of RR track came up on FB marketplace for $10. I was told it weighs 28 lbs. It’s just under 7” long. I did a quick clean up with wire wheels and WD-40 for now. I am not sure how I’ll finish it. I will smooth out the edges to get rid of any burrs, continue with wire wheeling and probably finish with a 3M abrasive wheel and a coating of BLO.
Any suggestions are welcome.
Thanks.
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Retroman
Well-known member
I got a piece I am trying to turn into an anvil but takes a lot of grinding.
I will probably start working on it again once it cools off.
I will probably start working on it again once it cools off.
kbuhagiar
Well-known member
I’ve been keeping an eye out for an inexpensive anvil, a small hunk of flat steel for my bench top, or RR track to hammer on things in my garage.
This piece of RR track came up on FB marketplace for $10. I was told it weighs 28 lbs. It’s just under 7” long. I did a quick clean up with wire wheels and WD-40 for now. I am not sure how I’ll finish it. I will smooth out the edges to get rid of any burrs, continue with wire wheeling and probably finish with a 3M abrasive wheel and a coating of BLO.
Any suggestions are welcome.
Thanks.
Beautiful!
To me, it looks perfect as it is.
I bought one not long after my last post in the thread. I got it off eBay, and the guy shipped it in the set-price "if it fits it ships" boxes. It was within a few ounces of the max weight 
The top is super-hard from all the gazillion tons of rail cars rolling over it.
The top is super-hard from all the gazillion tons of rail cars rolling over it.
Ilikeike
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I have about a 10'~12' piece of rail we use to use as a drag to dress dirt roads.(before we got a box) like I posted on here a couple years ago.
I've contemplated making a small anvil type tool for an extra pedestal I have to put in the home garage,
but dang, that stuff is hard to cut and work!
a 60# China anvil is about $100, I like cool projects though
My friends and I call it "garage club" when we do these type of projects.
I've contemplated making a small anvil type tool for an extra pedestal I have to put in the home garage,
but dang, that stuff is hard to cut and work!
a 60# China anvil is about $100, I like cool projects though
My friends and I call it "garage club" when we do these type of projects.
As much as I love the idea of doing that, I don't really need a horn/etc. I can use the rounded edges of the track for everything I've needed to do so far, and the process of making that thing into a real anvil just isn't worth the time/effort or the cost of the grinding discs/pads. If I wanted an anvil for semi-serious use, I'd get the Doyle cast steel one from HF. If I was getting into serious metalwork, I'd probably spend some real cash on a vintage one.
Outlawmws
Well-known member
Visit a scrap yard, easy and inexpensive pickups from cutoffs.
What is a good length for a track anvil? I recently picked up a 24" section of track. I currently have an 8" section that was my grandfather's that I am using for a makeshift anvil. Should I use the full 24" section for an anvil, cut in half, or some other configuration?
Death Row Dave
Well-known member
I have 2 of them “ track pieces “. I tried years ago to carve some up with a torch . I did not have much luck at all
Outlawmws
Well-known member
You really need a lot of heat to get something that massive started cutting - I'd preheat with a big rosebud, and if possible, have someone on a second torch for that while doing the actual cutting.
I rough cut one for a friend who was making an anvil, and I was a little worried about accidentally overheating the top (whereby affecting the hardness) so I made cuts to/through the top with a bandsaw and only cut the web with a torch. I didn't have any issues cutting the web though (unsteady hands aside), and I intentionally tried not to do too much preheating except to get the cut started.
That said, I know nothing about heat treating/metallurgy so I may have been overly cautious or I may have screwed it up anyway! But
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Outlawmws
Well-known member
What size was that rail? I'm assuming the OP's was one of the heavier rails. They come in all sizes.
90 lb/yard. But the web thickness is 9/16" vs (for example) 5/8" for 115re, so even a much heavier rail profile only has a marginally thicker web. Shouldn't be a problem at all for a torch. As for cutting through the head, as I mentioned, I didn't try that.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
Here's the beginning of mine:
Not sure how far I want to go. I don't really ever seem to have wished I had a horn or hardy hole. For now, I think I'll just smooth the top and call it good. Rust is the color theme of my shop.
The soft metal (zinc alloy?) plug driven into the rail:
I'm guessing that was for electrically bonding two sections of rail.
Not sure how far I want to go. I don't really ever seem to have wished I had a horn or hardy hole. For now, I think I'll just smooth the top and call it good. Rust is the color theme of my shop.
The soft metal (zinc alloy?) plug driven into the rail:
I'm guessing that was for electrically bonding two sections of rail.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
This is going to take a while:
There's a really ugly weld at that end. I want one end fairly square and the other rounded over, so cutting off the weld made sense.--ten minutes ago when I started. Not much progress after the first few minutes.
Ah, That's mo' betta!
I don't know if I hit a hard spot in the metal or if the blade was glazed, but it suddenly started cutting again!
There's a really ugly weld at that end. I want one end fairly square and the other rounded over, so cutting off the weld made sense.--ten minutes ago when I started. Not much progress after the first few minutes.
Ah, That's mo' betta!
I don't know if I hit a hard spot in the metal or if the blade was glazed, but it suddenly started cutting again!
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rooster59
Well-known member
This one was grandpa's, maybe 1930s. Very nice for lots of stuff.
toolmiser
Well-known member
I made one of these and it's quite handy. I know someone posted that the bottoms of the track aren't hardened, but I don't abuse it that much.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
OK, so attempting to cut a square end on the rail with my vintage Makita cut-off saw was a FAIL. I gave up when the breaker started popping and the motor started smoking. I've been using this saw for over 25 years and would like to get another few out of it.
I'll take it to the local machine shop where they have the right tools and can turn this into a $100 project.
I decided not to give up entirely and started conditioning the surfaces I want to use. I began with another Makita, my 4 1/2" corded angle grinder and the 36 grit Cubitron II fiber disks I've been wanting to try out on steel.
That's just getting started, but the Cubi disk is getting big points already. I'm trying to keep the disk as flat as possible without touching the opposite side.
After an hour of occasional grinding (my bench is too high for this and my arms wear out pretty quickly) and having moved on to a 120 grit flap disk:
Yeah, I know the skip from a 36 grit fiber disk to a 120 grit flap disk is pretty big, but that's what I have on hand in the shop on a Sunday afternoon.
I'll take it down to 220 grit flapwheel, then hit it with a conditioning disk. For what I'll use it for, I'll be pretty well set. I'm just flattening and bending metal--usually pretty small or soft--so nothing artistic needed.
If I feel the need for a horn on it, I know where some old spud wrenches are--cut the spud off and weld it to the end of the rail.
I'll take it to the local machine shop where they have the right tools and can turn this into a $100 project.
I decided not to give up entirely and started conditioning the surfaces I want to use. I began with another Makita, my 4 1/2" corded angle grinder and the 36 grit Cubitron II fiber disks I've been wanting to try out on steel.
That's just getting started, but the Cubi disk is getting big points already. I'm trying to keep the disk as flat as possible without touching the opposite side.
After an hour of occasional grinding (my bench is too high for this and my arms wear out pretty quickly) and having moved on to a 120 grit flap disk:
Yeah, I know the skip from a 36 grit fiber disk to a 120 grit flap disk is pretty big, but that's what I have on hand in the shop on a Sunday afternoon.
I'll take it down to 220 grit flapwheel, then hit it with a conditioning disk. For what I'll use it for, I'll be pretty well set. I'm just flattening and bending metal--usually pretty small or soft--so nothing artistic needed.
If I feel the need for a horn on it, I know where some old spud wrenches are--cut the spud off and weld it to the end of the rail.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
Well, it's as done as it's likely ever gonna be:
I used a hand-held belt sander with 40, 80 and 120 grits to flatten and finish it. I'd intended to go shinier, but this is fine for my uses.
I'm liking the contrast of the shiny top with the rusty rest of it.
As for getting the machine shop we've (me and the brewery) been using for decades to cut it, they have a new policy: $150/hr, 1 hr minimum. Just nope. Guess I need to find a new machine shop that doesn't mind small jobs.
I tried finishing the cut with my Porta-Band, which barely scratched it. Turns out, that entire end of the rail is weldment--thermite welded, maybe? Hard as hell, whatever it is.
I used a hand-held belt sander with 40, 80 and 120 grits to flatten and finish it. I'd intended to go shinier, but this is fine for my uses.
I'm liking the contrast of the shiny top with the rusty rest of it.
As for getting the machine shop we've (me and the brewery) been using for decades to cut it, they have a new policy: $150/hr, 1 hr minimum. Just nope. Guess I need to find a new machine shop that doesn't mind small jobs.
I tried finishing the cut with my Porta-Band, which barely scratched it. Turns out, that entire end of the rail is weldment--thermite welded, maybe? Hard as hell, whatever it is.
Tramcar rail used to be popular here .....it was a lot heavier than what the railways used and has a side groove as part of the railhead......trams been gone 60 years now ,but there is still may miles of buried rail that gets dug up for street excavations and such.
seber
Well-known member
Rail is not hardened when put into use but thousands of trains with hundreds of wheels do one heck of a lot of strain hardening. It is already high alloy steel so the end result is not just hard but tough as well. It would be nearly impossible to get as good a result for an anvil using heat treat. When I worked for the CB&Q in my youth, I once checked the temperature of the rail after 81 (coast to coast freight) went through. It was too hot to touch.
KnurledNut
Well-known member
Beerhippie
Well-known member
I'm gonna need a bigger shop!