railroad rail anvil

[teamarctic]

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?

 

[rusty65]

Less then a dollar a pound is always a good price in my book . And that should be a good piece to practice on so don't gouge up a good anvil while practicing forging.

 

[Zeke]

Yes, more uses than just an anvil.

 

[91bronc300]

If it were me I would have bought it for sure. I need something besides my welding table top to bang on sometimes but I don't have the room or money for a full blown anvil and I'm not wasting money on an ASO. I've called around before to all the scrap yards around here looking for a piece of rail I could buy and they semi-wig-out on you when you mention it

 

[EdJack]

In my neck of the woods, that would go for 20 bucks minimum.

I would have jumped on that for $7.95.

Take a wire wheel to it and it will clean up nice, then wipe it down with some light oil to preserve the finish after you clean it up.

 

[ssentt]

I got one made into an anvil. My Dad flipped it upside down and welded some channel iron to it for a base. Good ol' Dad ingenuity. Helluva anvil if I dare say so. He beat on it than passed it on to me. Thanks Pop.

 

[EdJack]

Real anvils (and I don't mean the soft Harbor Freight or Northern Tools cast iron anvils) are extremely expensive now. So there is now a much higher demand for railroad track anvils. Next best thing to a real anvil that now costs hundreds of dollars.

 

[Davefr]

Better go back and pick it up.

P.S. Don't forget the grinding wheels

 

[Fordman7795]

I definitely would have grabbed it

 

[Saiga]

 

[Bluearmflames]

Have fun drilling it to mount it to a table top. You will be sharpening a few bits.

 

[BD1]

Buy it. A short piece like that is reallllllllyyyyy hard to find.

 

[Lightfoot]

if that was 18 inches long, it was probably more than double 20 pounds. man, i would have jumped all over that for 8 bucks, and asked if he had any more!

 

[Outlawmws]

Yes you should!

 

[Outlawmws]

ps: I have a 100 lb anvil, (and several lighter ones) and still would have bought it!

 

[Moosehead905]

i've got one and love it. holes in the middle are used well for pipe bending when its bolted down.

 

[ssentt]

So I'm the only one so far that has it flipped for the wider surface on top?

 

[hofferwood]

Very handy-----go back

 

[bigd4xman]

Should have grabbed it, I have one and it is more handy than my 100 pounder for small jobs.

 

[Midman914]

Yup, as the others said, go back and pray it's still there. Even if you don't want it, you can flip it for some extra cash. And who doesn't like more cash?

 

[jeremy v]

And who doesn't like more cash?

The baby in the Jimmy Fallon Capital One commercials.

 

[ZRX61]

before clean up...

 

[jmauld]

How do I find one of these locally?

I'd gladly pay $20 for a piece like this if someone around Raleigh, NC has one.

 

[Midman914]

All I can say is that thing is stunning. Do you know who milled it? I'm guessing it was long long ago. Damn, that thing is nice!

 

[Outlawmws]

ZRX's isn't just milled, It has had a top plate welded to it IIR from when he first posted it. It is one of the nicest RR Anvils I've seen...

 

[Midman914]

How do I find one of these locally?

I'd gladly pay $20 for a piece like this if someone around Raleigh, NC has one.

Watch craigslist or if you have a rail yard nearby, stop in with a case of beer. Just don't go walking the tracks looking for discarded rail to lob a chunk off of. I hear there is a heavy penalty for that. Oh, almost forgot, check the scrap yards.

 

[Midman914]

ZRX's isn't just milled, It has had a top plate welded to it IIR from when he first posted it. It is one of the nicest RR Anvils I've seen...

I agree, that thing could take center stage in my living room, but even that isn't worthy enough for it. That's art right there.

 

[ZRX61]

ZRX's isn't just milled, It has had a top plate welded to it IIR from when he first posted it. It is one of the nicest RR Anvils I've seen...

The one on the right in the *before* pic has the plate welded to the top of it. There's at least one other person on here with an identical one. The horns on both were buffed out with 3M Scotchbrite Roloc discs. The painted parts were rattlecanned with black Hammertone from Lowes

All I can say is that thing is stunning. Do you know who milled it? I'm guessing it was long long ago. Damn, that thing is nice!

I've no idea, friend picked them both up someplace & then passed them along to me. I don't think it's very old, the initials on the web part are CRM: China Rail Manufacturing

 

[_vin_]

I picked up 23" long piece from a family friend today. It had been buried in her driveway for the last 20 years. 4" wide bottom portion and about 4.5" tall. Kinda uneven but whatever it was free.

 

[Exceller8]

Snagged this piece of rail for $3 at the salvage yard. Another member had painted their anvil red so I thought I'd do the same.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

Question: Should the top be ground flat for metal shaping, or leave the crown in place?

 

[Bodyshop]

I work for a shortline railroad and after reading this thread i think i need to start selling short pieces of rail on here. Shipping would be a ***** though.

 

[EdJack]

I work for a shortline railroad and after reading this thread i think i need to start selling short pieces of rail on here. Shipping would be a ***** though.

Most people that sell them ship using USPS priority mail flat rate boxes. Because "if it fits, it ships" so they say on the commercial. You can put up to 70 pounds in the flat rate box at the same flat rate. So you could put a big mama piece in a Large Flat Rate Box and ship it priority mail for $16.85. Or put smaller pieces in a Medium Flat Rate Box for $12.35. Up to 70 pounds.

 

[jmauld]

I work for a shortline railroad and after reading this thread i think i need to start selling short pieces of rail on here. Shipping would be a ***** though.

do it!

 

[snapmom]

 

[Outlawmws]

Most people that sell them ship using USPS priority mail flat rate boxes. Because "if it fits, it ships" so they say on the commercial. You can put up to 70 pounds in the flat rate box at the same flat rate. So you could put a big mama piece in a Large Flat Rate Box and ship it priority mail for $16.85. Or put smaller pieces in a Medium Flat Rate Box for $12.35. Up to 70 pounds.

Have to be a dang small rail both in length and the width of the base to fit a Flat Rate Box. under 12" long, and the base would have to be under 5-1/2 IIR

 

[The Ratchet Man]

Have to be a dang small rail both in length and the width of the base to fit a Flat Rate Box. under 12" long, and the base would have to be under 5-1/2 IIR

Cut it into pieces and weld it back when delivered...some assembly required.

We have about 10 miles of track in our rail yard. We have a lot of new scrap pieces from previous rail replacements. I've had 3 pieces riding around in the back of my work truck for a couple months now. I figured I could use them for something but couldn't figure out what. I know what I'm gonna do now.

I had several 1/16" slivers a while back when they cleaned up the ends of the rail !on the scales. I deburred, polished and lacquered them. I gave them to my mom to pass around when here class studies the railroad.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

We have about 10 miles of track in our rail yard. We have a lot of new scrap pieces from previous rail replacements. QUOTE]

I'm jealous. I would love to snag some light stuff to put the speeder on. Even better if I could get enough to wheel it from the backyard where it is now out along the side of the house to the front where I could load it on a trailer. Something about, oh, 39' . Though really, just a couple of lengths of about 8' would be fine too so I could put it up in the air for easier work. I'd love to build a MOW shed around it.

1972 Fairmont M19
Ex BC Rail with full cab

 

[Davefr]

Have to be a dang small rail both in length and the width of the base to fit a Flat Rate Box. under 12" long, and the base would have to be under 5-1/2 IIR

Even less after you double box it or wrap it real good.

There's no way a flimsy flat rate box will support that kind of mass without some very secure packaging.

 

[zoowho2]

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?

YES YES YES &YES again....a highest quality steel and for that price a steal
The railroads used a very hard hi quality steel for it's rails as having to replace them is an expensive process not to mention the train that rides upon them. I worked for the railroad and had to beg to find/get a piece of one.
next to the ol lady and dog, nothing better to beat-upon. Take all of these you can get...then go price an anvil, good steel one...$$$
most anvils you find now are cast iron and good for pitty pat with a cottonball.
Railroad rail can take a hell of a lot more than you can ever deliver to it and a train weighs even more than your ol ladys *** and the wheels wear out faster than the hinges on her tongue. The answer is yes silly, you definetly should have coveted it, swiped, stole beg or borrowed at that price.