Thread: Railroad Track/Anvil wanted

I'm at Laidley and have old track, you are welcome if you want to pick up a piece. I'll have a look at it tomorrow and let you know lengths, from memory they are 6' to 10' long pieces, which can be cut if you don't need that much.

Re CNC wood routing, I need a casting pattern for 200mm dia wheels with curved spokes. I cooould do it on my manual mill but CNC would be so much easier. PM me or email r-j-wardATbigpond.com

That sounds like a fair trade guys!

I made the mistake if spending far too long making a stand out of a log and green hardwood for my little railroad anvil. Cast one in concrete and reo. very large bucket as a base and 150mm PVC pipe as a riser. Cast the fixing bolts in the top to save you waiting 2 weeks for it to harden. Leave the PVC and bucket in place if you don't have a concrete vibrator.

Railroad tracks are soft anvils but second hand anvils are very expensive and are usually soft anyway. It's pot luck.

Gday Ash
I have a short length of light gauge 110mm high it was buried so it's a bit rusty, you are welcome to 1/2 metre of it and i have a 9inch grinder if you want to bring your own cut-off discs.

Located at Deception Bay, mobile number 0439 734 067
Paul

Can a used rail track be easily machined flat on top? I'm told they harden in use.

Jordan

There are lots of people on the net using RR anvils. They say that it's the trains rolling over the track that work hardens them.
They are reasonably flat...well flatish.. You can mill them flat and true pretty easily according to the web. The guys that did that also heat treated it again. that looks dooable with a big oxy torch in a Simple blanket kiln. Actually... If you you knew somebody in a pottery shop very very well, they would have the ovens big enough to do that.

Used Forklift tines are a common DIY anvil. They have simpler solutions for the hardy and Pritchet holes as well.
One guy just cast some odd Tube, RHS and SHS in a plastic bin filled with concrete as Pritchet holes..

Originally Posted by Ben Dono

There are lots of people on the net using RR anvils. They say that it's the trains rolling over the track that work hardens them. .

Just slightly OT, the square steel plates the rails sit on and the pegs go though are made of really hard steel, and are seriously thick enough to be useful.

May need facing if rust pitted, but often laying around where old rail tracks have been.

Worth picking up if you see any.

The main downside with rail track is it "rings" a lot more than an anvil.

Does a concrete base reduce that?

Rob

Thanks very much for the reply guys, I didn't seem to get any notification emails which is why I have been slow to respond.

I have a friend that has seen my post and is going to have a look for me next week.

Originally Posted by bob ward

I'm at Laidley and have old track, you are welcome if you want to pick up a piece. I'll have a look at it tomorrow and let you know lengths, from memory they are 6' to 10' long pieces, which can be cut if you don't need that much.

Re CNC wood routing, I need a casting pattern for 200mm dia wheels with curved spokes. I cooould do it on my manual mill but CNC would be so much easier. PM me or email r-j-wardATbigpond.com

Hi Bob,

Laidley may be a bit far for me to travel, I do appreciate the offer and will explore the local options first. I will also pass along your email to my friend with the large CNC router and I am sure that we can help with your casting pattern.

Originally Posted by Ben Dono

That sounds like a fair trade guys!

I made the mistake if spending far too long making a stand out of a log and green hardwood for my little railroad anvil. Cast one in concrete and reo. very large bucket as a base and 150mm PVC pipe as a riser. Cast the fixing bolts in the top to save you waiting 2 weeks for it to harden. Leave the PVC and bucket in place if you don't have a concrete vibrator.

Railroad tracks are soft anvils but second hand anvils are very expensive and are usually soft anyway. It's pot luck.

Hi Ben,

Thanks for the advice re- making a stand. I am not quite sure on that yet but I have some ideas. Most of which the landlord probably won't be happy about (oops!)

Originally Posted by whitey56

Gday Ash
I have a short length of light gauge 110mm high it was buried so it's a bit rusty, you are welcome to 1/2 metre of it and i have a 9inch grinder if you want to bring your own cut-off discs.

Located at Deception Bay, mobile number 0439 734 067
Paul

Hi Paul,

Thanks very much for the offer; I will take you up on your offer if the lead my friend has falls through. I will let you know either way. Thanks, I really appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Ben Dono

There are lots of people on the net using RR anvils. They say that it's the trains rolling over the track that work hardens them.
They are reasonably flat...well flatish.. You can mill them flat and true pretty easily according to the web. The guys that did that also heat treated it again. that looks dooable with a big oxy torch in a Simple blanket kiln. Actually... If you you knew somebody in a pottery shop very very well, they would have the ovens big enough to do that.

Used Forklift tines are a common DIY anvil. They have simpler solutions for the hardy and Pritchet holes as well.
One guy just cast some odd Tube, RHS and SHS in a plastic bin filled with concrete as Pritchet holes..

I had assumed that the trains rolling over the track would work harden them, which is why the RR track anvil was an attractive proposition. It's good to have someone with a lot more knowledge confirm that for me! I also have seen links on using forklift tines, although I think that may be a bit beyond me at the moment!



Thanks again guys, I really appreciate the offers and advice.

Cheers!

Rob I don't know about reducing the 'ring' noise with a concrete base as I'm still using my timber stump as the base. The guys that have done it on the web say it improves the use of the RR anvil considerably due to the extra weight. The cast in anchors (deep/bent bolts) could help with the noise. Maybe bed the bottom of the anvil to the top of the concrete stump with something as well?


Research anvil heights. This has a huge impact on RSI and fatigue. Some like it high for light work, some like it low for heavy.

The 'ring' noise is very bad for your ears! Ear muffs are a must!

Landlords can be a bit hard sometimes. I should have mentioned, you don't need to bolt the concrete base to the floor. It can sit there quite happily. My timber stand is probably 1/5th the weight and it moves a little but I'm fine with it.

Good luck mate!

That's a good point re- bolting it to the floor. I thought it may be more stable that way but I guess the weight will take care of that.

Cheers

Ash

Originally Posted by Ashley Cobb

I had assumed that the trains rolling over the track would work harden them, which is why the RR track anvil was an attractive proposition. It's good to have someone with a lot more knowledge confirm that for me! I also have seen links on using forklift tines, although I think that may be a bit beyond me at the moment!
Cheers!

The trains definitely cold work the track into a different shape over time. This is a cross section of a piece of late 1800's track, you can easily see the amount of wear and deformation it has suffered. If you look closely you can actually see a small tit forming on the RH side caused by the metal being shifted from L to R.

Track comes in different weights, generally the newer the track the heavier it will be.

Originally Posted by bob ward

The trains definitely cold work the track into a different shape over time. This is a cross section of a piece of late 1800's track, you can easily see the amount of wear and deformation it has suffered. If you look closely you can actually see a small tit forming on the RH side caused by the metal being shifted from L to R.

There seems to be a horizontal compression band from the top of the rail down about 5 - 10 mm. ?

Can anyone else see that? Or is it something else.

Rob

Also; https://www.woodworkforums.com/f266/anvils-166555/
may be helpful!
Andrew.
PS Since that thread I have been tempted by; All Steel Merchants and Brokers | Australia's premier Steel Merchants | Round & Square Bar Archives - All Steel Merchants and Brokers | Australia's premier Steel Merchants
My 'hammer height'- ~800mm = 2 cwt or 100kg, which is a fair sized anvil.
See if you can find such a second-hand steel company up your way.

Geez i wish we had a company like that down here......

The rule of thumb with anvil height for general work is at knuckle height with your arms dangling by your sides. This also generally coincides with the height of another certain part of our anatomy....if you using that part just make sure you put it away before striking........

For light and very small work i often sit my little anvil (69lbs) on the side of the forge. It is a good height and being so close to the fire things don't have as long to cool down before getting to the anvil. The other trick with small stuff is to pre heat the anvil by heating up a large bar and sitting it on the anvil.

Good luck