Hard facing a piece of rail to make a anvil

[ben8vgte]

Just wondering if it's possible and worthwhile to hardface a piece of rail track for use as a small panel beating type anvil. It really wants squaring up a bit to be of much use, I was just thinking of a bit around 10-12" long really. I already have a box of trualloy 43http://www.rockweldelectrodes.com/trualloy43.php from a digger bucket job kicking around, shame to see it sat unused really.

The bit that concerns me is building up the curved section on the edges to make it square, would it better to build it up with something else first perhaps? Or am I going to just run the risk of the whole lot cracking off?

Thanks for any pointers

 

[madkayaker]

I think it's fairly hard all ready

 

[ben8vgte]

Yeah it is! Just wants building up more than anything else to be a more useable shape, it's a lot to cut/grind off to make it square. If it could be built up would be a shame to do it with a soft filler really.

 

[markjabber]

Its very hard, and they do an MHT (mill heat treated ) that's super hard also a manganese but this is only found in S&C

and difficult to weld to

The process of welding it is with thermite after preheating the ends and almost casting into a mould, it hard to get it hot enough to weld to

 

[BrokenBiker]

I would think it would work fine as a make shift anvil as it is, just an arkward shape really.

 

[ben8vgte]

Its very hard, and they do an MHT (mill heat treated ) that's super hard also a manganese but this is only found in S&C

and difficult to weld to

The process of welding it is with thermite after preheating the ends and almost casting into a mould, it hard to get it hot enough to weld to

Thanks yeah I know how it's joined end on end, but that's not what I trying to do really. I did read a interesting bit on the ESAB site about repairing/refacing tracks with MMA on the cross over point's to get a extra service life out of them..

I would think it would work fine as a make shift anvil as it is, just an arkward shape really.

If it was working fine as it is then I'd not be asking the question

 

[Robotstar5]

If it's standard "bullhead" rail can't you support it upside down and use the flatter/squarer bottom?

 

[Shox Dr]

If it's standard "bullhead" rail can't you support it upside down and use the flatter/squarer bottom?

Beat me to it

 

[outofthefire]

If it's standard "bullhead" rail can't you support it upside down and use the flatter/squarer bottom?

Thats how i've seen them used, but to be honest a piece of track is never going to be more than a heavy dolly. One of an anvils desirable qualities is its weight and a piece of track is never going to have that. They are useful though, i've been after a piece for years and i've got two anvils, but I wouldn't fanny about too much with it.

 

[ben8vgte]

If it's standard "bullhead" rail can't you support it upside down and use the flatter/squarer bottom?

Yeah I had considered that, but the state of the bottom is not good. All very heavy pitting, would be fine if it was a fresh off cut. Rather than the found in the ditch piece I have

Thats how i've seen them used, but to be honest a piece of track is never going to be more than a heavy dolly. One of an anvils desirable qualities is its weight and a piece of track is never going to have that. They are useful though, i've been after a piece for years and i've got two anvils, but I wouldn't fanny about too much with it.

Yeah that's basically just want I want a big heavy dolly for shaping thin car body parts on, just to sit on a little block of oak next to me by the car so I can tweak the bits to fit It's just the finish on the surface that needs to be good, so I don't mark the bits up in the process.

 

[rory1]

I believe It would take more grinding to dress a hard faced 12" piece of rail to an acceptable finish than it would be to dress a standard piece of rail flat.

 

[ben8vgte]

I'd have to dress off around 10mm off the whole surface to get to the shape I want, flat and square edges..

 

[dannyp]

what you want is piece of solid bar cut of an agricuteral trailer stub axel.

i have a few bits i use on the press and as beating blocks 80x80 solid

 

[TechnicAl]

If you are going to hard face it.......why not just get a lump of mild steel any old lump can be machined to shape

 

[Paul G]

If my memory serves me right then rail lines are made from manganese steel.

It's peculiar property is that when work hardened (ran over by a million train wheels) it's surface forms the structure Martensite.

Another common item also made from manganese steel is a hammer head.
These hammers however are not to be confused with cheap foreign tat made from mayonnaise steel.

Cheers,
Paul G

 

[Pete.]

My local scrappy tells me he has some anvils in, of different sizes.

 

[Windy Miller]

My local scrappy tells me he has some anvils in, of different sizes.

Tell me more Pete!

 

[Paul.]

I made mine some years ago from a lump of flat bottom rail obtained from an historic railway, I gave it to the machinist where I used to work and he flattened it off and put a small step in it on the mill for me, cant remember what tooling he used but it was no problem to do. its not used for hot work and was never intended to be, but is very handy for general workshop use and sheet metal work.

 

[ben8vgte]

That looks about what I'm after, same here not for hot work just thin car body bits. Though without the horn, just a radius one end and 45' point the other. If I knew a local machinist that would be a really good way of doing it, could get expensive going to a company to get it done. Kind of why I'm thinking welding as I can do that with what I've got to hand really.

Anyhow I got the bottles out's and roughed it down to size tonight, I'm just going to try running the rods on it and see what happens over the next few days.

 

[Paul.]

The horn and gusset are just mild steel, its a bit of feather edge bar left over from a handrailing job, stick welded together using low hydrogen electrodes, I did wonder how long it would last but its been on there about 20 years and had a lot of abuse.