rail track anvil

[mark.177]

got this in the post today, a rail track anvil iv been waiting for it for about 4 months, was my end of a trade for a small knife. to be honest i was a bit underwhelmed when the post man handed it to me with one hand! was exspecting it to be a little bigger/heavier? anyway...
what im interested in is has anyone else used something similar? and if so what have you been able to make with it?

 

[Toddy]

That's rather a posh one. Mine's literally just a length of rail with absolutely no shaping at all. Son1 has it now. It takes dogs abuse and doesn't show a mark

 

[Robson Valley]

I've got a couple of the "Toddy-models," no added design.
They double up as extra mass in a treb counterweight.

A thousand and one things which need a solid tap against a big hard mass.

I scored several 1/4" x 16" copper rods at the scrap metal dealers.
With a propane torch and a 2# hammer, I was able to bash out a couple of chalcolithic knife blades.
They couldn't take the skin off a carrot. But I sure had a fun time.

Several brands of farrier's hoof knives are fantastic when repurposed for wood carving as crooked knives.
However, the constant pulling and tugging loosens the cutlery rivets in the handles.
The crown on a piece of rail is perfect = get the rivet lined up and gentle taps with a ball peen hammer
snugs the rivets up just great.

 

[bobnewboy]

It looks quite nice, even if it might be a bit light. If you get it tied down to a good sized piece of oak trunk or similar it would be pretty handy around the workshop, as RV says. If you have some waste unhardened steel and a small polished ball pein hammer you may be able to get a nice light hammered finish as a test for an alternative to milled/groubd flat blade faces?

 

[mark.177]

thanks, yes, i can find use for it in the workshop, peening being one but just not enough mass or much rebound.

 

[Robson Valley]

I have two pieces. Just my luck, found them buried in tree bark crap in the bottom of the wood shed when I bought this house.
I have not found the need to whallop the bejeezlies out of anything. Forging a copper blade. Setting rivets. Making drill bits for a bow-drill.
Setting endless numbers of 2-piece grommets in tarp edges.
AND?
When I make laminations out of rosewood and mahogany strips to be shaped as carving tool handles,
I need steady even pressure overnight on the glueups of 6-8 alternating wood strips. C-clamps torque and twist the pile.
Just set the RR track piece on top of the pile and go to bed.
Never failed once to make me an attractive crooked knife handle, PacNW native style.

 

[SoldierPalmer]

I use one and to be honest it does me for now but in no way does it act like a proper hardened anvil the steel is still fairly soft and takes damage easily I would say its a step up from those cast "anvils" though

 

[Jaeger]

Aye Up,

A nice piece of kit for low level fabrication surely - or a nice looking door stop if nothing else!

It's brought a certain memory flooding back - getting married 'over the anvil'. I bet toddy understands