Homemade Anvil

[Tuomas]

Very nice job Tuomas. I have a 6' section of rail in storage waiting for me to cut some projects out of it. For an anvil I am toying with the idea of a 2' long double horn anvil. My question is did you heat treat it and what was the procedure you used? If not how is it holding up? If you addressed this in the video, my apology,my connection is to slow for video.

Hi

No, i didn't harden or heat treat it. I noticed it to be suitable for my use without heat treatments. I needed it for shaping sheetmetals, too hard anvil is too bouncy, and not so good to use. IMO.

[Frank S]

RR track is tough material, Hesitant what results under a high-speed endmill would attain.
.

Rather than try and flatten the face by milling to achieve nice squared edges I would probably heat the track to 400°f then build up the edges to near square with hard surfacing rod then surface grind then bring the crown back up to around 500 to 600° and (OIL) quench then polish grind to suit. 400° in high enough to insure a good molecular bond while welding and 500 to 600° wouldn't be so hot as to over harden the face you could possibly go to 1000° but you are only wanting to create a hardened temper still capable of high impact abuse not to make something that is going to spew explosive shrapnel from the thing.Never use water to quench something of this nature there cold be surface fracturing which would result in flaking.

[Frank S]

Does anyone know the real reason why old time Blacksmiths would hammer on white hot steel for a while then purposefully tap his anvil?
No it was not to make his ears ring. Remember I worked for one as a teenager

[DIYer]

Thanks Tuomas! We've added your Anvil to our Anvils category,
as well as to your builder page: Tuomas's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Anvil by Tuomas

tags: anvil

[Carlos B]

Thanks for the reply Tuomas, I don't plan on heavy work on the RR anvil so work hardening may be sufficient.

Thanks for all the info. in your posts Frank S.Just a guess but could it be to check the heat build up in the anvil face, overly hot anvil rings differently than one at room temp.

[Frank S]

Thanks for the reply Tuomas, I don't plan on heavy work on the RR anvil so work hardening may be sufficient.

Thanks for all the info. in your posts Frank S.Just a guess but could it be to check the heat build up in the anvil face, overly hot anvil rings differently than one at room temp.

Good guess but not the one that 2 old Blacksmiths 1 being my mentor and the other who had worked for him for 50 years both told me.
I've seen both men stand at their forges for 12 hours a day many times with 2 guys like me winding the blowers and keeping the fires stoked with fresh coal beating plow shears as fast as one would be come hot enough to work. another would be in the forge being heated. Those old 400 lb+ anvils would really take a beating sometimes water would be splashed on them and steam would fill the air but that was not the real reason for the taps on the anvils according to them.

[Frank S]

I won't make this into some reality show guessing game.
Some have heard that it was a rhythm thing like bang bang bang tap tap. Some of today's crafts blacksmiths have adopted a 3 hit 2 tap style some use 4 hits and a tap they must think that you need to do that to be a Blacksmith.
But it is far more mundane in nature. When you are hammering away on a white hot piece of iron the muscles in your hand get tired allowing the hammer to fall to the face of the anvil in a relaxed grip lets your muscles flex this keeps lactic acid from building up and making them cramp.
Often I would watch Clarance hammer away for several minutes then just drop his hand the hammer would do a little tap dance a couple of times HE might even lay it down and switch the tongs from one hand to the other then pick up the hammer with his other hand and hammer away until the piece needed returned to the forge MR Purney a few years older than Clarance who in his 70's at the time . Was left handed like me and had his anvil set in the opposite direction as was his forge the positioning of the blowers were such that one guy could actually turn both of them but it would wear you out doing it all day.
After MR Purney retired I used that forge but even though being left handed I couldn't get used to the set of his anvil so we turned it around and moved the blower to the other side as well

[Carlos B]

Makes sense Frank, I do it instinctively with aggressive work, now I now why.

[Tuomas]

That's a ton of work. It looks great!

Thank you! It took little time, but i think that's very relaxing just remove material without need to think too much.

[Jon]

Congratulations Tuomas - your Anvil is the Homemade Tool of the Week!

Interesting win. We always consider Thanks votes in deciding the winner each week, but we rarely see such an outpouring of votes in favor of one of the top contenders that it outweighs any of the other deciding factors, especially when so many of those votes are from previous winners.

Further interesting is that railroad track anvils are extremely common, which makes it more difficult to win with such a tool. I believe this is our first winning anvil, and I think we chose a good one. My best guess is that the popularity of this one is based on its small size, its shape, its aesthetically pleasing base, and of course the excellent watch-me-build-it video. You can't help but walk away from this video thinking about building this tool.

Some nice picks this week: a Lathe Cutter Height Gauge by rgsparber, an Extended Point Live Center by rossbotics, a Rotary Mower by Vyacheslav.Nevolya, a High Speed Spindle by Christophe Mineau, a Bench Bull by morsa, a Small Bead Turning Tool by Christophe Mineau, a Sander by webby's rigginations, as well as a Wood Lathe by webby's rigginations.

Tuomas - you'll be receiving a $25 online gift card, in your choice of Amazon, PayPal, or bitcoin. Please PM me your current email address and gift card choice and I'll get it sent over right away.

More importantly, this is your 3rd Homemade Tool of the Week win! I've just added the bronze wrench-on-pedestal graphic to the awards showcase in your postbit, visible underneath your avatar.

Great job, and you're in excellent company joining these other 3-time winners: rossbotics, mr95gst, Paul Jones, Christophe Mineau, immortalx, scorch, Brendon, Frank S, mklotz, Vyacheslav.Nevolya, brianhw, jjr2001, olderdan, tonyfoale.

Here are all of your winning tools:

Dremel Belt Sander Attachment by Tuomas

tags: belt sander, Dremel, rotary tool

Dremel Lathe Conversion by Tuomas

tags: lathe, Dremel, modification

Anvil by Tuomas

tags: anvil