In this video I turn a piece of rail into an anvil.
This can be done with minimal tools, ie hand grinders, cutting discs and flap wheels. You can use a cutting torch, but it affects the grains in the high carbon manganese within 3" of the cut marks.
As this is the Railroaders edition, I'm using out slot saw to make the cuts in record time. Sadly after 5 years of service, our slot saws service life has come to an end during the film. We provide an example how you can perform a compression test with your pull chord equipment.
Because our saw died, we had to pull out our rail saw which is considerably heavier. But it did the trick, just more difficult to handle.
After the rough cutting is done, it's time to drill the holes. As seen in the video I'm using a hand drill. Ideally, you'll want to use a drill press. Remember, this is high carbon steel we're drilling into. Alternatively, you can grind notches out so you can secure your anvil with 3/8" x 4" wood lags.
Now it's time to grind & shine.
I have found over the years, that flap discs work quite well to remove the high carbon efficiently while leaving a glossy polish. For heavier grinding, use a coarse cup stone (May want to use that if you are using a cutting torch to help remove the slag). Round off your corners, polish your web and remove any burrs from drilling the base.
Now it's time to shape the Horn.
When sculpting the horn I use cutting discs to notch out a rough shape of what I envision the horn to look like, quite similar to notching crossing planks or bridge timbers with a chainsaw then using an adze to plane the wood. Except the adze in this case is a 4" grinder with a flap disc. I find this technique is the most effective way to remove the steel, literally cuts grinding time in half.
After your horn and faces have been sculpted to shape and polished, it's now time to prep to paint.
I use a wire wheel attachment on my grinder to remove any mill scale and rust. Once that has been done, I use brake clean and a rag to clean and prep the surface. I then use painter's tape to mask off any surfaces I wish to preserve the polish and I use duct tape (applied reverse, sticky side out) to cover the horn. I used Rustoleum paint to ward off any rust and provide a flashy clean finish.
Off camera there is about 6 hours of hand polishing working my way through 600, 800, 1000 & 2000 grit sandpaper.
When you go to mount your anvil, use some silicone on the base of the rail and secure with your 3/8" wood lags. Doing this will increase your rebound tremendously and reduce the ringing for your neighbors.
I always apply some crown or penetrating fluid along the polished surfaces. After your first heat, apply bees wax to the faces and horn.
ALWAYS USE PROPER PPE!!!
There are tons of videos of cutting discs disintegrating and lodging into the operator.
My whole 17 year career has been spent serving Canadian Railroads, you tend to see, experience and hear a lot of horror stories during that time. I can't stress enough the importance of working safely.
Please do not attempt this if you are not comfortable. But if your handy with a grinder and like to keep busy, this can be a fun and rewarding project for you.
Best of luck, stay safe and thanks for watching!
24 сен 2024
