DIY anvil made from rails: video, photo

Here I will tell you why and how I made anvil No. 2 from a rail. Why didn’t you like the first version, what were its mistakes and shortcomings? This post will be useful to anyone who wants to make an anvil with their own hands. A few years ago I made my first homemade anvil from a rail and was very pleased with myself.

This is the anvil.

There is a short video with an old anvil in this post: How to make a forge.

But it had shortcomings and errors:

rounded surface. This is very inconvenient, the forging turns out crooked,
the welded square hole for the backing tool is held in place only by welding and may fall off under impact load,
non-standard hole (my mistake),
wrong base height (my mistake).

I talk more about this in the video below.

In view of the above shortcomings, I decided to turn the rail over and make a square hole in the base of the rail.

Connection with experience

To repair items or combine enchantments, you need experience. The more powerful the magic involved in forging, the higher the level of experience you must have. The materials used in forging do not matter. It should be noted that merging may not be available if the crafted items require over 40 levels (this limit does not exist in Creative mode). Another consequence of "carrying" enchantments is that if you create a more powerful item in the first slot and a less powerful one in the second, you will spend much less. For example, if you combine a damaged sword with Sharpness I in the 1st slot and the exact same weapon with Sharpness IV in the 2nd slot, a Sharpness IV transfer will be made. If on the contrary, then only repairs will be made. This feature persists when combining items with different types of enchantments.

A “naked” forge - without a forge - is the height of indecency

To put it pompously, we can say that the forge is the heart of the forge, only there “the steel submits obediently,” turning almost into plasticine. The device is simple: coal burns in the furnace of such a furnace, and a metal billet is placed there, which is heated to the required temperature. The smallest forge can even be built from a tin can. And he will allow you to make forged things as successfully as his respectable “colleague” in the craft. True, their sizes will be appropriate.

The main task assigned to the operation of this equipment is to provide a fairly high temperature for heating the steel. The best option would be a solid fuel fireplace that uses coal. He also has a competitor - the Kuznetsk gas forge.

Tools needed to make an anvil:

Bulgarian;
welding.

Briefly about how it happened:

In fact, making an anvil is a simple matter and does not require a ruler, but in order for it not to be a mess and pleasing to the eye, it is still worth starting with markings. First we mark our future horn. I chose the side of the rail that was closer to the hole in order to work less with the grinder.

Having marked and cut out the horn, I replaced the cutting wheel with a grinding wheel and set about straightening the face of the anvil.

And this is where people often stop. All! It is ready, you can straighten the nails on it. But doing anything else will simply be inconvenient. So we go ahead and weld our profiled square tube to the back of the anvil.

Why square and not round? For the convenience of securing equipment in it. After all, we will be knocking on an anvil and our devices must hold securely. The square shape of the profile will allow us to achieve this. For the same reason (working with a hammer), we must secure the anvil just as well. After all, even this small piece of rail weighs enough to damage our legs when, due to the lack of fastening, it flops right on our leg...

Here I also chose a not new method - I sawed the reinforcement 300mm long, bent it like an L and welded it on 4 sides. Later, when installed in a stump, we will drive our “letters” into the tree.

All that remains is to slightly tint the base of the anvil so that it takes on its final appearance. Place it on a stump and hammer our hooks into it. It is not necessary to drive the reinforcement all the way in right away. It needs to be driven in until it seems to you that the anvil is quite stable. The remaining amount of tension can be used later when the anvil begins to loosen.

Equipment.

In the video I showed a couple of the simplest and most useful options. You will probably come up with more options, or you can wait for mine. I'll be working on them soon and will be happy to share them with you!

platform for making holes. For example, under rivets.
ruler. So that your forgings are the same and fit together. For example, for forging pliers, without which a blacksmith’s work is simply impossible

You can see all the most interesting things about working on an anvil in the video. I tried to make it short, informative and enjoyable to watch.

Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/bonnfactory

Such a simple and simple tool at first glance, like an anvil, is a mandatory attribute of any blacksmith. Without it, it is impossible to perform even the simplest actions related to .

At the same time, the purchase of this device is not mandatory, because any craftsman can make an anvil with his own hands.

Anvils are the most important tool that allows you to perform various blacksmithing works related to hot forging of metal. This element of the workshop is quite specific, but it is simply irreplaceable in the case of professional production of forged products.

Such a tool may vary depending on the type of problem being solved. It can have a variety of structural elements, sizes and shapes. There are mainly two types of forging anvils: one-horned and two-horned.

The first version of the device is in greatest demand. The horn is used in shaping the bends of metal products in figured forging.

What does the anvil consist of?

The sides allow you to make bends at right angles. The surface of the device itself is smooth and even, and also ground and hardened. This is the working part.

It contains two square and round holes, which are used when performing additional operations with products and when supporting the tool.

Based on weight, anvils are divided into small, medium and large. The best option is the heaviest models weighing 95 kg or more. Such devices allow you to work with large workpieces.

At home, such a tool is not one of the most necessary. However, its presence allows you to easily align various products, such as nails, wire or sheet metal.

Naturally, use for domestic purposes does not require the mandatory purchase of such a tool. However, if necessary, a homemade anvil can be made. It will easily allow you to perform all the simplest functions that are required of it.

Of course, it is extremely difficult to make a high-quality figured product using a homemade version.

In this case, it is better to pay attention to professional models. But for all other needs, hand tools will be the best choice.

Homemade portable forge

A forge is necessary for heating metal workpieces. The fuel most often used is charcoal or coal. In order to reach high temperatures, air is supplied to the forge. To make the simplest open portable forge, you need a “hearth”, or, as it is also called, a “forge nest”, as well as a base and a device for forced air supply.

DIMDIM:
To understand how to make a forge, I started studying the Internet again.
The search turned up a bunch of ideas for making a homemade forge. As I understand it, everything comes into play. Most often, forges are made from auto parts from the chassis, sets of pipes, fittings and electric fans. In addition, forges are made from what is “underfoot.”

Construction hair dryers (heat guns) are often used as pressurization.

Having roughly decided on the design of the forge, the user again reached into the “bins” and dug out an adapter from a steel pipe to a cast iron one, which was used as a barbecue.

Inside, the adapter looks like a pipe with a shelf. Bye DIMDIM

I was thinking about what to insert into the pipe to make a real “forge nest”,
Movik
and brought a brake disc from an SUV that fit perfectly into the pipe.

Next came the components that are used to install the water supply system. This is a two-inch tee, a coupling and a piece of pipe cut from behind the barn. All the “wealth” was docked, and Movik

cooked.

At this stage, the homemade blacksmith's forge began to look like a finished object.

All that remains is to attach the ash pan. A bracket from a heated towel rail was used for this role, which was welded to the pipe in the form of a valve.

The user used an old hot air gun as a “bellows”. To do this, he disassembled it, inserted the air supply mechanism into the rubber coupling and connected it to the pipe.

You can also use an exhaust fan for ventilation.

At the end of the work, an opening was cut out in the wall of the furnace, where a heated workpiece, for example, a steel rod, was placed.

According to the user, he was eager to test the forge. Soon such an opportunity presented itself. On the weekend, after smoking fish, there was a grill full of burning charcoal. After quickly loading them into the forge with a shovel, the user turned on the hairdryer.

The air supply turned out to be so strong that a column of flame flew into the sky, and it became possible to approach the forge only when the coals had burned out a little.

To prevent coal from going to waste, DIMDIM

grabbed a steel rod with a diameter of 1.4 cm and stuck it into the forge. While the metal was heating up, the user took a hammer, an adjustable wrench instead of pliers, and forged a simple poker.

DIMDIM:
After testing the mini-forge, I made the following conclusions for myself: you need to forge with an open flame source away from buildings that could catch fire.
At the same time, just in case, you should have a fire extinguisher on hand. You also need to make a frame (base or “chair”) for the anvil. And most importantly, you need to come up with a way to regulate the air supply or install a less powerful fan. But the most important thing is that I liked the forging, I will continue! In the topic on FORUMHOUSE you can find out more about the mini-forge DIMDIM,

as well as further modernization of the forge and various options for air pressurization. We recommend a section on the portal where homemade machines and tools are collected that simplify work in the house, on the site and during construction.

Experience

Experience helps you repair objects and combine spells. The experience level must be increased in order to use more powerful magic when forging. Forging can be done with a wide variety of materials. You will not be able to combine items if it requires 40 levels or more. But this does not apply to creative mode.

When you transfer an enchantment to another item, you can spend less resources on it. But this is only if you need to create a more powerful item in the first slot, and not so powerful in the second. Let's look at this with an example...

The first slot takes the sword that needs to be repaired and is combined with sharpness one. In the second slot, the sword is combined with sharpness four. The severity of four is transferred in this case. Basically, you can create anything by combining items with different enchantments.

How to make

The mass of the anvil must be at least 10 times greater than the mass of the hammer, otherwise unnecessary vibrations occur during forging, reducing the convenience of making deforming transitions. In order to increase the durability of its use, a do-it-yourself rail anvil should not have connecting parts, and therefore is made from a single piece of rail, taking into account the length of the horn (or horn and tail).

Work on obtaining a one-horned anvil is carried out in the following sequence:

A horn is being made. To do this, one of the ends of the workpiece is sequentially peeled off on a cutting machine or “grinder” in order to obtain a sharp conical part. The final finishing is done with a file; however, for safety reasons, the top of the horn should be slightly rounded. Grinding the horn is mandatory: this will not only subsequently increase the accuracy of forging operations, but will also give the structure a marketable appearance (for example, a souvenir from a rail - an anvil, and a functioning one - will be a wonderful and original gift for a home craftsman).
Volumes of metal are cut out from both sides of the workpiece in the middle part of the neck, and thus the anvil legs are formed. Four mounting holes are drilled in the legs for bolts or self-tapping screws (for a fixed connection) with a diameter of M16.
The tool is mounted on a stump/shoe, after which the face is ground “flat” and a blind hole is drilled in it. If the anvil is used frequently, it is worth installing a thick (at least 10 mm) plate made of tool steel grade U12 or even X12M over the face. Dovetail grooves can be milled into the plate to make it easily removable. It is convenient to make 1-2 through holes of different diameters there.
To make the rim, it is necessary to make three flat grooves on the face with a depth of at least 10 mm using a cutting wheel. The opposite ends of the rim must be strictly parallel to each other. The width of the rim is determined locally, but usually does not exceed 25...40 mm. The prepared surfaces are polished.

The homemade anvil is ready. All that remains is to maintain it in working condition, and during long breaks between regular forging works, lubricate the working surfaces with a conservation thick lubricant.

You may also be interested in the following articles:

How to make a wood planer with your own hands How to make a pipe cutter for steel pipes with your own hands How to make a sheet bender with your own hands How to make a jointer with your own hands

Reading time ≈ 4 minutes

Even without practical experience, you can make an anvil with your own hands. To do this, just follow our step-by-step instructions.

Every “home craftsman” can make an anvil from a rail using available tools. Let’s say right away that it is impossible to compare a self-made anvil with a full-fledged analogue. However, it is perfect for tapping small workpieces, bending a rod at a certain angle or flattening it, as well as similar small household work.

Do-it-yourself mini-forge: a budget option

Sometimes in the lives of people living “on earth” there are moments when you want to do something with your own hands, without putting it off.
Someone is thinking about carpentry, someone is engaged in the manufacture of decorative products, and someone is literally passionate about forging. Moreover, real, i.e. - “hot.” So, in this article:

What is the minimum set of tools and equipment needed for forging.
How to make an anvil from an old rail.
What can you use to construct a portable forge?

Types and types of anvils

Types of anvils, their shape and weight can vary significantly.

They are divided into several categories according to the above criteria, namely:

hornless – massive instruments with a large weight, the value of which is in the range of 96 – 210 kg;
one-horned - have only one cone-shaped horn, their weight varies from 70 to 210 kg;
two-horned anvil - a device weighing from 100 to 270 kg;
single-horned cantilever;
shperaks are mini anvils weighing up to thirty kilograms.

The choice of anvil for hand forging is made based on the work that is planned to be performed. Heavier models are perfect for working with large and massive workpieces. Simple, lighter options with one horn are a good choice when working with small-sized structures.

Lightweight models are suitable for small jobs at home. If you need to make any homemade product, there is no better option.

An important criterion is the type of work performed. Here you should decide which option is better: a two-horned or one-horned model. In addition, anvils may have additional elements, for example, a vice, which allows you to perform work alone.

It is worth paying attention to the presence of holes used to place hammers and sledgehammers. Shperaks, small in size and weight, are widely used in jewelry. In this area, products do not require serious impact processing, so they need an appropriate tool

In this area, products do not require serious impact processing, so they need an appropriate tool

Shperaks, small in size and weight, are widely used in jewelry. In this area, products do not require serious impact processing, so they need an appropriate tool.

Drawing of an anvil for making it yourself.

Quite often, devices for performing jewelry work are made to order. They have various functional elements necessary to solve certain problems.

Sometimes one anvil may not be enough. In large workshops, it is advisable to have two options for devices: one stationary and the other portable.

Don't forget about proper installation. The quality of work directly depends on this

Despite everything, this device is quite heavy, its installation should be given due attention

Falling and tipping over are common problems caused by improper installation. In addition, the stand must fulfill its direct functions: in addition to securely fixing the device, it must be able to absorb hammer blows.

A wooden block is the most commonly used type of stand. Its diameter usually ranges from 500 to 600 mm. Hard woods are used. These include oak, birch, ash, etc.

The installation height is determined by the height of the master. To prevent the wooden stand from creating additional unnecessary vibrations, it is buried in a hole more than half a meter deep. The bottom of the pit is compacted with a sand lining.

It is important that the chair is installed horizontally. This parameter can be easily checked using a level. If buying an anvil is not affordable, then it can be replaced with a homemade device

It can be made, for example, from a rail, channel or I-beam

If buying an anvil is not affordable, then you can replace it with a homemade device. It can be made, for example, from a rail, channel or I-beam.

Such devices, made with your own hands, will last for decades. However, you should not think that they can fully replace a real, professional instrument. Hand anvils will not produce the same quality work as production models.

In this case, it is important to understand: the factory version, produced using casting technology, will be significantly better than homemade ones. Its design contains all the necessary components with a hardened surface. In addition, in this model the horn has the correct shape, necessary, for example, in skillful figured forging

The factory model will last quite a long time

In addition, in this model the horn has the correct shape, necessary, for example, in skillful figured forging. The factory model will last quite a long time.

How to make a reliable anvil for your forge - device and tips

These two concepts are inseparable.
There is no point in explaining that without an anvil it is impossible to process metals using the forging method. It is an indispensable attribute of any, even the smallest, forge. The design of this device is so simple that you will not need any special knowledge or equipment (tools) to make it yourself. In essence, it is an iron “monolith” of a special shape, with planes that must meet certain requirements.

But is there any point in making an anvil if it is not a scarce commodity and is easy to buy? (The only problem is the delivery if it is massive). The price of the simplest mini-device starts at approximately 2,250 rubles. It is clear that it is clearly not suitable for blacksmithing. But more massive models are, accordingly, more expensive.

For example, weighing 35 kg - about 22,000, 75 kg - 43,000, 125 kg - 70,000 (in rubles).

So it turns out that if you need an anvil for home crafts, then it still makes sense to make it yourself (like a blacksmith’s hammer). Even if the business is put into production, the fact that the anvil is of its own production is unlikely to affect the quality of the work.

It is worth making this argument in favor of self-production. High demands are placed on the working surface of the anvil. This is especially true for its edges, which should not be deformed (uneven), which is often observed during intensive use. It turns out that from time to time the anvil will have to be replaced (or reanimated). And although a lot depends on how often it is used and what metals the master works with, it is still more advisable to make an anvil than to spend money on purchasing it again. If only because if you made it yourself, it will not be difficult to repair it.

Now we can move on to the issue of its manufacture. We will not give examples of any specific standard sizes, since there can be any number of options - each master prepares an anvil “for himself.” The main thing is to understand the technology and the main nuances, and everything else will be prompted by your own ingenuity. How it works, what options there may be, is easy to understand from the photographs.

Support

First you need to decide on the installation of the anvil. If it is stationary, then you can use a massive stump or a heavy metal frame dug into the ground as a base. For a portable type of device, a frame is selected that is welded from corners. It should be taken into account that the “stand” will have to withstand serious shock loads, so stiffening ribs must be installed. Although there are other ways to strengthen the structure.

By the way, about the stump. Firstly, it must be securely tightened with metal hoops. Secondly, if you just dig it into the ground, then such an anvil will not last long. Even after treatment with antiseptics, taking into account the loads during the work, the wood will begin to deteriorate.

Therefore, it is advisable to place the stump inside a metal barrel installed in a hole, into which sand is first poured. How much of it is needed, the level of “backfilling” is at the discretion of the master. Naturally, the tree must be a “strong” species. (But this is only suitable for outdoor use).

Experts recommend selecting the height of the “stand” in such a way that at the moment the tool (hammer, mallet) hits the workpiece, the person’s hands are in a horizontal plane. In this case, the master will be less tired.

Material

Industrial production technology involves the use of 35L (alloy) steel. When making it yourself, you can take a piece of rail (railway or crane, KR120 or 140), one side of which will be the working one. So you need to “weld” on it (you will need a welding machine) a steel plate of the appropriate size.

You can do without it. But then you will have to carefully polish the “working” part of the rail. Naturally, you will have to put in a lot of effort to achieve a completely smooth surface.

How to evaluate the suitability of an anvil? It is not difficult. When you hit its surface, the hammer (hammer) should bounce back like a ball. In this case, a characteristic ringing sound should be heard. If so, then everything is done correctly, and you can get to work.

A few notes

You should not use a channel to make an anvil, although it is much easier to process. It does not have sufficient strength, so it will not last long - it will become deformed.
If the anvil should have a “horn”, then it can be obtained by processing the elongated part of the “sole” of the rails. But this process is quite labor-intensive and will require quite a lot of time and consumables (circles for the grinder). It’s easier to weld it, after giving the workpiece the desired shape.

Before you start making an anvil, you should decide for what specific tasks it is needed and with what intensity it will be used. Then the optimal decision regarding the choice of installation location, materials and design will come by itself.

Currently reading:

Requirements for a blacksmith's anvil

If your workshop requires making such a device, then you need to take into account some requirements.

Dimensions and weight. For small-sized forgings, you can get by with relatively small anvils that can be installed on a table or workbench. However, serious forging work will require a massive, securely fastened device. Factory devices have standard weights of 5, 10, 30, 50 and 100 kg.
Parameter matches. Simple forging can be done even on an ordinary piece of channel. But, if the work includes forging operations such as piercing, bending, and reaming, the parameters and dimensions must be observed. In this case, the edges of the anvil should be kept at right angles, and the holes should be located at convenient points. The horns should be appropriately evenly rounded, the rim should be an exact rectangle.

At home, it will be difficult to make an exact copy of a factory-made product, but some conditions can be met. So, how and from what is a homemade anvil made?

Crafting anvils

Beginners are often interested in how to craft an anvil in Minecraft. It is created using iron ingots and blocks. You can see the process in the picture below. Since creating 1 iron block requires 9 ingots, it is easy to calculate that you will need 31 of the latter. It should be noted that during operation, an anvil in Minecraft gradually collapses, so be prepared to craft it more than once. It can also be damaged if it falls. You can assess the degree of wear by the number of cracks that appear on its surface. If you use the anvil for its intended purpose, then the chance of its destruction is 12%; the same indicator for a fall should be calculated as follows: 5 + (height * 5)%. The last time you use it, the anvil will disappear and the item you repaired will fall to the ground. Since the anvil in Minecraft has 3 levels of strength, you will be able to use it 25 times (on average).

Do-it-yourself mini-forge: a budget option

Sometimes in the lives of people living “on earth” there are moments when you want to do something with your own hands, without putting it off. Someone is thinking about carpentry, someone is engaged in the manufacture of decorative products, and someone is literally passionate about forging. Moreover, real, i.e. - “hot.”

So, in this article:

What is the minimum set of tools and equipment needed for forging.
How to make an anvil from an old rail.
What can you use to construct a portable forge?

Anvil elements

A blacksmith's anvil is a mandatory attribute of his workshop. With its help, a number of technological operations with metal are performed. This tool is used for forging, giving metal the required shape, hardening, etc.

This item is made of durable alloy steel, and its weight can exceed 300 kilograms, especially if we are talking about a stationary forging anvil.

It must be stable and durable, as it bears significant loads. Hitting the anvil with a hammer produces a smooth, clear sound. A dull ringing indicates the presence of cracks or voids in the instrument.

As noted earlier, there are one-horned and two-horned models. Why does the anvil have this shape? The point is this: the horn allows you to make bends with the necessary curvature, and the flat surface serves to do the main work.

The main elements of the device include:

horn;
shank;
recess for forming holes;
holes for installing tools and other forging equipment on the anvil;
face;
shoe;
platform for cutting metal.

The protrusion on the side of the instrument is called a horn. Its shape varies depending on its purpose. In one-horned models it is cone-shaped. Used in forming metal bends and rolling out rounded parts.

The second horn is used in bending products at angles less than normal and is made in the shape of a truncated cone.

A face is a flat surface. It is on it that the main operations are performed.

The classic type of anvil always has holes. One of them is square - used as a tool holder, for example, a hammer. It is usually located at the end of the device. The second is round, fixes the wire when curling it, and is located near the horn.

The anvil should absorb the impulse from a blow to the front part. For these purposes, the device is installed on a durable wooden or sand cushion.

It is important that the face is positioned strictly horizontally. This will allow you to perform the work to the highest quality.

Many people are interested in the question of how to set the anvil in height. The height of the anvil from the floor is correct if the hammer strikes the casing horizontally

In addition, it is important that the blacksmith does not have to make additional efforts to adjust the blow, bend down or lift the tool too high

Additional functions

When making an anvil with your own hands, a blacksmith, a mechanic, and a home craftsman can think through and add pleasant details to the manufactured item. For example, make a platform for sewing holes for rivets. Drawing a ruler with divisions will not be a useless element. Then there will be no need to measure the forgings every time. They will all be the same length. This is the beauty of a homemade anvil, that it can meet all the requirements of a master.

A self-made anvil will be useful not only to professional blacksmiths, but also to ordinary blacksmithing enthusiasts who want to show their imagination and skills in decorating a country plot or cottage.

Hello everyone, if you have decided to take up blacksmithing and you don’t have an anvil, it doesn’t matter! In this instruction we will look at how to make a simple anvil with your own hands! As the starting material, the author used various components from scrap metal, these are corners, channels, and so on.

The most important requirement for an anvil is a strong working surface; the steel must be strong, must withstand large shock loads and, ideally, should not spring at all. The anvil should also be heavy; due to its large mass, it will not jump when the hammer hits. In general, you can add weight to the anvil by filling the inside of it with concrete or something similar. In general, don’t be shy and show your imagination. Let's take a closer look at how an anvil is made!

Materials and tools used by the author:

List of materials:

– channels, angles and other pieces of iron.

List of tools:

– Bulgarian; - welding machine; - hammer; – corner; - ruler; – marker.

Let's start making the anvil:

Step one. Cutting the blanks

The author used thick steel plates as the main material. And this is a very correct decision, the metal is so strong and also has a large mass, which is important for an anvil. And these parts can be welded together using square pipes, channels, corners, and so on, whatever you can find. We cut the necessary parts to assemble an anvil of suitable sizes and shapes.

When it comes to a forge, the imagination immediately draws a picture: two broad-shouldered good fellows with a handbrake and a sledgehammer, in the background there is a hot forge, and in the foreground, in the center of the workshop, there is an anvil. She is a symbol of blacksmithing.

Purpose of the anvil

All manual and forging operations are performed on the anvil:

forging;
hardening;
giving the workpiece the required shape, etc.

There is no way to do without an anvil. But store prices are steep and you have to think: how to make an anvil with your own hands. There are many recommendations on the Internet, we will offer ours too.

The design of a homemade anvil

It should be taken into account that the anvil is subjected to high shock loads and high temperatures. Therefore, it must have increased stability and mechanical strength. Its weight can reach several tens of kilograms. The professional anvil is made of 35L alloy steel.

To make a homemade anvil, scraps of crane rails are often used.

Rail anvil

On the “face” (this is the flat surface of the anvil on which the main operations of flat forging are performed), an alloy steel plate is installed by welding - a platband.

For ease of use, the anvil should have the following structural elements:

horn. This is the name of the cone-shaped protrusion on its side. The main purpose is rolling and bending of workpieces. Often the anvil has two horns;
tail. This is a rectangular protrusion on the side of the anvil opposite the horn. It is designed for bending workpieces at right angles;
rectangular socket for backing tool and shperak. Strictly speaking, a shperak is an all-metal coin with a double-sided tip and a flow. It is used as a mini-anvil for decorative and artistic forging;

You may not need all these design elements. So, choose the ones you need, and, using the plumbing tools available to you, create an anvil.

For example, this one.

For a video of a primitive homemade anvil made from a piece of rail, see this article.

Base for a homemade anvil

A massive base is used to compensate for the impact energy. One of the following designs is used:

the anvil is mounted on a solid wooden base using ties (bolts, studs, staples, etc.) and placed in a barrel of sand dug into the ground.

Scheme of installing an anvil in a barrel

Anvil Location

From an ergonomic point of view, it is most convenient to place the anvil in the central part of the forge and not far from the forge. This will allow the workpieces to be delivered from the forge to the anvil along the shortest possible path. There should be containers with coolants nearby.

Where to buy an anvil

Step-by-step instructions for making an anvil from a rail

Prepare the work site. Place a piece of rail on the table, mark it with a marker and ruler as follows:

Measure 40% of the total length of the rails, draw a line;
Measure half the width of the rail, make a mark;
Connect the lines and the mark so that you form a triangle or the so-called “anvil horn” on the rail site.

If you still have questions about the correct marking of the workpiece, look at the photos and videos on our website.

Secure the future forging anvil in a metal vice. Turn on the grinder and cut the horn according to the marking lines.

Important! When working with power tools, be extremely careful. The metal vice must be securely fastened to the table surface. The desktop should not be loose

To protect your own health, wear a welding mask, protective apron and gloves.

The work table should not be loose. To protect your own health, wear a welding mask, protective apron and gloves.

After making deep cuts with a grinder, take a hammer. It will help you speed up the process: use it to beat off the left and right edges of the metal triangle. Be prepared for the edges to be uneven - there is nothing wrong with that, we will process them later.

Take the rail out of the vice, turn it on its side so that the broken triangle is “looking” at you. Use a marker to mark lines leading from the edge of the rail to the inner hole (closest to you). Beat them off with a hammer.

Stepping back an inch from each raw “back” end, draw lines with a marker. Your task is to mark the “tail” of the anvil. Use a grinder to make cuts on the metal, then beat the metal into pieces with a hammer. The "tail" is the functional part of the tool. But since we are creating a home, and not a professional, anvil, whether to carry it out or not is only your desire.

Homemade testing

We check the quality of our homemade anvil. We place it on a block with the base down and begin tapping the face over its entire surface with a hammer. A loud blow should be heard everywhere, and the hammer should bounce almost the same amount as the swing and then continue rebounding until it fades completely. “From the master class presented by the author, you will learn how to make an excellent anvil for your workshop from a piece of 30 cm rails. At the very least, every self-respecting craftsman is simply obliged to have a small anvil in his workshop for processing metal with cold or hot forging. Because today the topic of blacksmithing and the manufacture of all kinds of forged objects and tools is becoming very popular, which is quite well appreciated among lovers of handmade work.

Of course, you can buy an anvil at a hardware store, but the price will probably not please you)) So there is an excellent option to make it yourself from a small piece of rail, which will require a gas cutter and a grinder. Initially, the contour is marked, and then the final shape of the anvil is cut out with a cutter, and the cutting areas are polished with a grinder. You can also burn holes in the lower part for subsequent attachment of the base to the block.

So, let's take a closer look at the whole process.

Materials

rail
block of wood
wood screws
graver
washer

Tools

cutting torch
grinder angle grinder
drill
wrench
bus saw
hammer

The process of creating an anvil from a rail.

An anvil is a supporting forging tool that is designed for hot and cold forging of metal by plastic deformation. The anvil is the main and main tool in blacksmithing; it has a large mass and is fixed motionless on a base in the form of a wooden block.

First of all, it is necessary to consider the presented drawings of the anvil. Well, we’ve completely figured out the purpose, and now let’s move on directly to the process of making the anvil itself. The author takes a workpiece 30 cm long and uses a gas cutter to give it the required shape.

Please note that there is also a hole in the middle. The nose part is sharpened in the form of a horn

Using a grinder, the master grinds the surface and removes metal deposits and rust. This is exactly what happens. The working surface turned out to be perfectly flat and smooth, so you can see your reflection. The anvil is ready, now it needs to be installed stationary on the stump and secured with bolts. The plane is attached to the block with 3 bolts on each side. This anvil also has a design feature, and this is the presence of a resonator that dampens the ringing from the hammer hitting the anvil, and it is also made of rails and screwed to a block of wood in a vertical position. That's all, the anvil made from rails is ready for its subsequent use. Now the author can forge small metal products in his garage, and simply straighten metal when cold or straighten nails; in general, a very necessary tool for a craftsman. If you liked the material, then we invite you to join our group.

In this article I want to talk about how to make a small anvil from a railway rail with your own hands. I decided to make an anvil with my own hands because buying an anvil is something unrealistic, especially since they usually sell blacksmith anvils for 12 thousand rubles. and more, I wanted to have a small pocket

The main stage of work

A grinder cuts off the top layer of the rail and creates the most even surface possible. It is advisable to install an alloy steel plate on it and polish it thoroughly. Use a triangle to check the evenness of the anvil corners. This is an important point. Next, the horn is welded on one side and the square shank on the other side.

To check the smoothness and quality of grinding of the working part of the anvil, you need to test it. To do this, you need to hit its surface with a hammer or mallet. If everything is done correctly, the hammer should bounce off it like a ball. At the same time, a characteristic ringing is heard that lasts for a long time. If the anvil has passed the test successfully, then you can proceed to the next stage of work, namely, correctly and securely fasten the anvil from the rail to the base.

Anvil making process

We mark the anvil with the horn and tail directly on a piece of old rail of suitable length and cross-section. Using a grinder and a cutting disc, we cut out the outer contours of our tool and beat off the excess parts with a heavy hammer. We get, as a first approximation, the horn, tail and base of the future anvil. We continue to cut out the transitional part between the top and base of our instrument, while simultaneously more accurately shaping the horn and tail.

We remove rust from all accessible surfaces of the workpiece using a grinding wheel. We shape the front transition part of the grinder into a semicircle to absorb large and constant dynamic impacts. We sharpen the horn into a round cone, first with a grinder, and then with a grinder. We also grind the base of the anvil on it. We mark a strip of metal with a thickness of at least 20 mm and preferably from alloy steel 45L or 35L to the size of the top of the anvil from a piece of rail. We cut out the future face of the anvil from the marked blank using a jigsaw and a grinder. We drill a round hole in the plate from one edge. We grind all sides of the cut strip on a grinder and measure its dimensions with the seat. Pour the required amount of sunflower oil into a tin can. We heat the unnecessary piece, cut from the plate, red-hot in a forge and use it to heat the oil in the container. Only after this, using blacksmith’s tongs, place it in the forge and heat the plate prepared for the face of the anvil until red hot. As soon as it acquires a raspberry color, quickly and completely place it in a container with oil and keep it there until the oil stops boiling. We compare the hardness of an unhardened and hardened plate using filing. An unhardened plate can be easily processed, but a file glides on a hardened one without removing a single gram of metal. Tempering: place the plate in the oven and keep it there at a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius for 1 hour. We again process the plate from all sides on the grinder and weld it to the top of the rail blank, holding it on both sides with clamps, first pointwise, and then with a continuous seam. We beat off the slag from the seams with a hammer, clean it with a grinder, weld all the cavities and cavities on the face, and finally finish all the surfaces on the grinder. The quality must be so high that the weld between the face and the base of the anvil is completely invisible. We carefully select the angle between the end of the face and the horn, first with a cutting wheel and then with a grinding wheel: it should be exactly 90 degrees. Next, we subject all parts of the anvil to the same treatment. We remove the grinding wheel from the spindle of the grinder and instead install a polishing wheel (felt or felt) and continue circular processing of the anvil until it reaches a mirror finish, excluding the transition area and the base. We place the anvil on the face, mark on the sole of the base the centers of four holes in the corners, cores, and make them on a drilling machine to attach the anvil to a chair, for which it is better to choose a wooden block made of hard wood that is suitable in cross-section and height: oak, ash, maple , birch, etc.

Typical design

For extended functionality, this blacksmith tool must consist of the following parts:

Faces. It is a flat surface in the center where you can process flat, wide workpieces. Often a blind hole is made in the left or right side of the face to make cavities and holes, as well as to fix a part of the workpiece, the opposite end of which must be bent.
The horn is a cone-shaped process that is adjacent to one of the ends of the anvil. Designed for plastic rolling or rolling of strip metal into a body of rotation. Ideally, the anvil is equipped with two horns, then the second (sometimes called the tail) is made in the shape of a pyramid, and is used to obtain spatial bodies of more complex shapes.
Paws - four supporting protrusions in the lower part of the body, with which the tool rests on the workbench. If the anvil is assumed to be stationary, then through holes are made in the paws for fastening.
Rim - a rectangular or square area of the face, which is located closer to the horn, and is used for crimping sheet metal products.

Anvil device

In the simplest version of the anvil, the rim and/or tail, as well as holes in the paws, may be absent.

Methods for attaching anvils

What is better to make it from?

First of all, you need to decide on the location of the anvil. If a reliable workbench is not available, then you can use a strong, wide stump as a support (oak is the ideal solution: this wood is strong in compression and ideally dampens the vibrations that arise during the forging process). In this case, the diameter of the stump, freed from bark and surface defects, will determine the size of the anvil, in particular its length. It should not be less than 200 mm.

If there is no stump, you can use a high (not lower than 100 mm) wooden shoe, which is rigidly mounted on the end of a barrel filled with sand. The barrel must be buried halfway into the ground.

As a blank for the anvil, it is most advisable to take a suitable piece of a decommissioned crane rail KR-120 or (which is better) KR-140. Unlike railway rails, this option provides the following advantages:

For the production of crane rails, a stronger metal is used in accordance with GOST 4121. This is high-carbon steel grade “steel 63”, which is characterized by a high manganese content and has a standard strength of at least 730 MPa, with a head hardness of 212 HB;
The neck of the crane rails is wider, which will increase the stability of the anvil during forging work;
The profile of the crane rails provides a smoother transition from the neck to the head, which prevents the occurrence of stress concentrators in the tool.

Fixed anvil

The only drawback of crane rails is that there are no mounting holes, and you will have to do them yourself.

A basic set of tools needed for metal forging

The method of imparting plastic properties to metal by heating has been known to mankind since time immemorial. Unlike the so-called “cold forging”, in which the metal is not heated, during “hot” (and, as is considered, “real”) forging, the metal is heated in a forge.

A forge is an open-type furnace in which metal is heated to high temperatures for subsequent forging.

Due to its plasticity, heated metal can be given a wide variety of shapes, which is what masters of artistic forging use.

In addition to experience, which is accumulated over the years, forging requires the appropriate tool. These can be special pliers, mandrels, bending templates, etc., but the hammer and anvil remain the most important “assistants” of a blacksmith for many centuries.

Any person who is thinking about taking up blacksmithing is faced with the need to purchase the appropriate tools. A high-quality and heavy anvil weighing under 100 kg is not a cheap pleasure.

Vintik (FORUMHOUSE Member):
I bought my anvil by weight at a secondary metal shop.
From work experience, I can say: what I couldn’t flatten on a rail, I managed to do on a real anvil. Olger73 (FORUMHOUSE Member):
Although Vtorchermet is a “gold mine”, a lot depends on luck.
Our price for a used anvil is approaching the cost of a new one. Although I managed to acquire a powerful vice and anvil weighing about 30 kg in this way. Her “face” is, however, dented, but it can be fixed. So, what to do if you want to forge, but the family budget does not allow such expenses? Moreover, if it is unknown whether the business will be to your liking, or in a few months all the expensive equipment will begin to gather dust in the garage.

In this case, you should take advantage of the experience of FORUMHOUSE participants and acquire a mini-forge made from materials that are at hand. Moreover, even with this “dacha” option, you can make a lot of different things that are needed on the farm, and which you cannot buy in a store or on the construction market.

Purpose of the anvil

This type of working tool is used in many areas of production. There are anvils for blacksmithing, metalworking, jewelry, even for medical purposes. Dental technicians use them, but naturally in a much smaller size. In the forge, all manual operations are performed on it: forging and hardening of parts after the forge, giving the workpiece the desired shape.

Craftsmen need a metalworking anvil for straightening work and for bending metal surfaces. Jewelry workshops use small steel anvils on which rings, earrings, bracelets are bent and straightened, holes are punched when decorating products, etc. In dentistry, craftsmen also use it when making crowns. In general, in every household and private home it is necessary to have an anvil, at least a small one, so that you can simply straighten a nail or bend a corner.

A basic set of tools needed for metal forging

Due to its plasticity, heated metal can be given a wide variety of shapes, which is what masters of artistic forging use.

Any person who is thinking about taking up blacksmithing is faced with the need to purchase the appropriate tools. A high-quality and heavy anvil weighing under 100 kg is not a cheap pleasure.

I bought my anvil by weight at a secondary metal shop. From work experience, I can say: what I couldn’t flatten on a rail, I managed to do on a real anvil.

Vtorchermet may be a “gold mine,” but a lot depends on luck. Our price for a used anvil is approaching the cost of a new one. Although I managed to acquire a powerful vice and anvil weighing about 30 kg in this way. Her “face” is, however, dented, but it can be fixed.

So, what to do if you want to forge, but the family budget does not allow such expenses? Moreover, if it is unknown whether the business will be to your liking, or in a few months all the expensive equipment will begin to gather dust in the garage.

There are few good blacksmiths and, as a rule, they are loaded with orders, and the farm often needs specific products, for example, a forged nail or some kind of “tricky” rivet. In order not to rack your brains with finding a specialist and ordering, and also to save money, it’s easier to do everything yourself. After all, you can’t just buy nails like the ones in the photo below.