DIY RAILROAD TRACK ANVIL PLAN SERIES

The simple truth is that the swords used by the most successful armies would have the most amazing words written about them, but they were just swords wielded by soldiers with good military leaders.įor example, the cheapest “katana” at the mall gift shop has better steel than any sword made over 100 years ago. The True Believers presume that the archeological finds didn’t find the “real” thing, because everything they found was using normal technology for that age.

It is the same with swords people, unfortunately especially enthusiasts, make the mistake of thinking that some ancient sword that was famous in the past has some sort of lost technology, when of course metallurgy was less advanced then. Though it was pretty well hardened as a railroad rail, and probably wasn’t heated much during working. It is hard to say it isn’t “real” considering the metallurgy is likely far superior to the old ones that people love.īut if you made it yourself, nobody can argue it isn’t “real.” Even if it doesn’t have a heat-treated face. But a good steel one only starts at $300. Posted in Tool Hacks Tagged anvil, blacksmith, cutoff wheel, metalwork, rail, smithing, steel, tools Post navigationĪ cheap one is $100 but cast iron, not “real” enough. ’s not the only smith we have on staff, though - has been known to smite a bit too.

DIY RAILROAD TRACK ANVIL PLAN SERIES

More on the anatomy and physiology of these tools can be had in ’s article on anvils, and her whole excellent series on blacksmithing is highly recommended. Still, any anvil is better than no anvil. We wonder if some kind of induction heating could be used to solve the latter problem, or if perhaps a hardened plate could be welded into the top to make a composite anvil. We have questions about the final result, like its lack of a hardy hole and the fact that the face isn’t hardened.

But with time and skill, the anvil hidden inside the rail can be revealed and put to use. Removing that much metal will not be a walk in the park, so patience - and a steady supply of cutting wheels and sanding discs - is surely required.

Other than a file, the bulk of the work is done by angle grinders, which are used to cut off the curved crown of the rail section, cut the shape of the heel, and rough out the horn. Repurposing sections of rail into anvils is hardly a new game, but ’s build shows us just how little is needed in terms of specialized tooling to pull this off. So perhaps the beginner smith’s first build should be this railroad rail to anvil conversion. Sure, one can buy an ASO - anvil-shaped object - at Harbor Freight, but a real anvil is much harder to come by. And that means tackling the unenviable task of finding a decent anvil. One of the biggest challenges facing the aspiring blacksmith is procuring the tools of the trade.

Diy railroad track anvil plan