![]() 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. 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. ![]()
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