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http://spaco.org/Blacksmithing/Anvils/RailAnvils.htm
I want to make some rail anvils to show that you don't need a huge investment to get started in blacksmithing. Not much has been written about railroad rail anvils, but many folks have made them. Some think they are okay and others don't think much of them at all. In this article, I am taking the positive approach about anvils made from sections of railroad rail, so if you don't want to hear positive things about them or ideas on how to make them, don't read any farther.
Here are some various shapes of railroad rail anvils that I have found:
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http://spaco.org/Blacksmithing/Anvils/RailAnvils.htm
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http://spaco.org/Blacksmithing/Anvils/RailAnvils.htm
I did some looking around on the web for design ideas, but I didn't find very much information. I do know that railroad rail is sized by the weight in pounds per yard of length. Dave, a recent visitor to this page found these Great Tables of Railroad Rail Specs. A Guild of Metalsmiths member who worked on the railroad for 40-some years tells me that the biggest rail in America is (I think he said) 141#/yard. He said that rail goes up to 150# plus/yard in Europe. Eau Claire, Wisconsin blacksmith Monte Bygd told me that he used to make them and sell them for $35. His were about a foot long, with no hardy or pritchel hole. I think it would weigh about 15 or 18 pounds. It looks to be made from about 70# rail. He flame cuts the horn out and grinds it to shape. Another Guild member runs a beginning blacksmith tool making project course in Minneapolis Minnesota. As part of the course, each student receives a rail anvil, along with other tooling that they make, as part of the project. This anvil is about a foot long. It looks to be made from about 110# rail. They have a machine shop at the institution where the face is milled flat to some degree and that's it. No horn at all. No hardy hole or pritchel. You can still see the wear on the inside of the rail's ball and the burr on the outside. They sell it for $40 as part of the class. I think this anvil might weigh 25#.
The Weyger's Design, Flame Cut to Rough Shape. It weighs 48 pounds at this point. So far, I have been working mostly on the Heer design, and here are three pictures of it as it progresses:
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http://spaco.org/Blacksmithing/Anvils/RailAnvils.htm
The shape has been flame cut, the face has been milled and the hardy hole has been drilled and filed. I had no trouble milling the face. Drilling the holes for the hardy hole was okay until I reached the exiting end of the hole. The cast part of the rail that had not been machined was very hard and it dulled a couple of drill bits.
Here the Pritchel hole has been drilled. Same problem with tough drilling as the bit exited the hole, but I did get the job done.
If you look carefully, you can see that I have spent some time grinding the horn to rough shape. I haven't yet decided whether to fill in the underside of the horn with weld or not. It weighs 29 pounds at this point. I feel that this anvil is at the lowest end of the weight spectrum for doing any useful blacksmithing.
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http://spaco.org/Blacksmithing/Anvils/RailAnvils.htm
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