Shopmade anvil...

[paul463]

Paul, is that your anvil or did you swipe the picture from some website? I love the adjustable height trick! ! ! But what's with the cable?

Nope, just a web grab.
I had a 347lb Hay Budden, but it was just too huge so I sold it. I have a 130lb Peter Wright now... Perfect size for my space.

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[Glug]

Ditto above and even worse for an I-beam. That thing will wake neighbors a block away.

Worse - it's enough to summon King Kong. From the island.

And when he arrives, you'd better have a blonde ready.

[GNM109]

Deleted.

[digr]

This is mine 139# per yard

[J Tiers]

The size anvil relates to the size of work. A small railroad anvil would likely be quite sufficient for someone doing watch-sized work.

I find the 75 lb anvil a bit small, although it is mounted on a chunk of oak trunk about 24" diameter and 24" or so tall (but not sunk in the ground). Even so, it works. For shop work, I found I needed something in the 20 or 25lb area, and the rail was not putting the mass where I needed it. The block plus the piece of 2" (80 lb) plate does the job for most inside-the-shop uses, which do NOT involve forging.

[BCRider]

THIS is the video I mentioned for alternatives to RR track.

[J Tiers]

That video is really good sense.

The several foot long chunk of 6" shafting he mentions at the end will probably be several times better than nearly any anvil you will want to afford, because of the mass behind the surface. A lot like the thing shown in a pic above, and bigger/better than a section of track turned with an end up.

3"^2 *pi = 28 sq in of section. 12 * 12 = 144. 144/28 ~~= 5 so every 5" of that shafting is 40 lb, same as a square foot of 1" plate. If you have a 3' section, it will be just under 300 lb, a lot of mass behind your work. And a lot cheaper than any 300 lb anvil.

I paid $25 for a 75 lb anvil, and have never seen one near that cheap since. at 33 cents a lb, 300 lb of steel shafting is a hundred bucks, and you would be hard pressed to find an anvil like my little one for a hundred bucks. The shaft would weigh about 4x more, and all the mass is in line behind the "face".

[GNM109]

This is mine 139# per yard

I like the point on your anvil. When I get back to my anvil project, I will sharpen up the end somewhat to make it "pointier".

Making an anvil from RR track is a nice way to get one, assuming you are not all that flush with cash. There are sellers of RR track on eBay as well, although they are somewhat pricey. A good place to look is at scrap yards. I sure like mine.

[sarge41]

If the O.P is interested in a smaller rail than normally found from railroad track, he should look for track used for overhead cranes. It is the same shape, but smaller.

Sarge41