This brings tears to my eyes. My late beloved father who worked 38 years for Southern Pacific made two anvils from scrap railroad track around 1953. I own one and my brother owns the other one. My plan now is to pass mine to my Great grandson. Thanks for the video.
My Grandpa worked for Southern Pacific for many, many years. Started I think in Oakland, went to Yuma, then Tucson.All the time I knew him, he worked out of El Paso with a turnaround and layover in Lordsburg. Loved hearing his stories, he had a heart attack on the train in Deming NM during a bad blizzard in 1967.
Nobody on UA-cam is half as good as this man. When I watch my mechanics I can’t watch other videos because they damage my feelings for this type of work. Extremely addictive mister my mechanic. You are born for this work my friend.
I completely agree with you. Out of all the hands on restoration UA-camrs out there, My Mechanics is a cut above the rest. No one does the same quality level of work the way he does. His work is fantastic!
I am as good as he is. Been doing metal work all of my life. Blacksmithing, welding and machine shop work. I have restored many a anvil in my day. I do see what you are saying. Doing something like this out of a 2 car garage would be almost impossible.
You are a sculptor and artist for sure. Its beautiful. I believe "shop" should be included in high school curriculum to give everyone a taste of the possibilities working with hand tools. .
I agree. It seems that most of the videos on here the creator of the video get to thinking they are sound engineers. They have there sound effects louder than the content of the video. It's gotten so bad, if I click on a video and it's got it's boom booming crap for music. I just thumbs down and I'm gone.
You would be better off looking for a anvil. You put all that work into it and still will not have anything that is workable unless you are just wanting a paperweight. Find an old anvil and restore it instead.
@@butchmonster8031 yes if you are lucky it might sell for $20.00 at a flea market. Instead find an old anvil and restore it. I bought a 200# Peter Wright anvil last year for $150.00 and did some work on the face of it and sold it for $1100.00. There are a lot of old anvils to be had if you know how to look for them. I can take $600.00 and turn it into $4000.00 easy.
didn't look like it was actually ever used for it's intended purpose, my grandpa used to have railroad tracks that where taken from a track that was actually used and then shut down and abandoned, when we finally got rid of it, decades later, the top surface was still free from rust (only the sides and the bottom had rust on them) and the top was so god damn hard that the angle grinder didn't even scratch it, we had to cut it from the bottom until we reached the hard part and then we dropped it on another railroad track to snap it off.
@@windhelmguard5295 I've never really thought about that. I can't imagine how many thousands of tons of steel would boulder over a track every day in a busy area. Thanks for your story!
Rail is made from a manganese steel alloy. New rail has a radius at the top; as the trains wear it flat, the running surface becomes tougher, without being brittle. Therefore, find a worn piece of rail for the project, and avoid taking too much of the tough skin off the top to retain the durability.
I still have the old piece of RR track my grandfather used as an anvil.....rust and all......works just fine for me! Still have his old 6" vise too!....Btw, I'm 80 now and don't use them as much as I once did.
Love it, the excitement in this comment could’ve come from any age demographic (could’ve came from a 17yr old who lost his father at a young age), when I seent 80yrs old a huge smile came across my face.
I have all my dads old tools, he died when I was 9, I’m 30 now and his tools are my favourite possessions especially the old bench vice which I know he used a lot.
To everyone saying this isn’t a simple DIY, I managed to make a similar anvil (while much less pretty) using almost the same process just wayyyyyy cheaper (lot more files, sandpaper and hacksaw blades) but none of it is necessarily complex work it’s just labor intensive. If you’re bored, stuck in the house like most of the world right now it’s a FANTASTIC project that’ll keep you occupied for hours and you’ll get even more hours of use out if it once it’s done. You could even take a foot long section of rail and literally just sand and file the edges and you basically have an anvil. Most of what this legend of mechanics is doing is really high level cosmetic stuff to add to the beauty and functionality of the anvil when in all reality you don’t really NEED the horn on the end or the hardy hole or even the beautifully sanded and blued finishes. Just something heavy and sturdy that can take a beating (polishing the top surface of the anvil will lead to slightly less marring on whatever it is you’re working with but again it’s all cosmetic) and you gotta great tool that’ll last years! And shouts out to the man himself for making such a quality video (as always)
Several blacksmiths have commented that the best way to use a rail as an anvil is to turn it on end and polish that surface, mount the rail in a stump with that face up (essentially the end of the rail) and use that as your striking surface. That way you preserve the total mass of the rail to absorb your blows. Otherwise, to make it pretty, you are removing almost half the mass.
Luke Kelchner A neighbor had a father so cheap that when he built a summer cabin, he did so out of material scavenged from houses that were being torn down in town (even down to plumbing and wiring). So my neighbor was often given the task of hammering bent nails straight that were either picked up off the ground at the demolition sites or pulled from boards being salvaged for reuse! The ‘anvil’ for this purpose was a chunk of rail about the same size my mechanics started with. (And before you ask, the neighbor is gradually replacing the wiring and plumbing in the cabin with new material as his ongoing remodeling allows).
I love the tips for other machines, just in case someone else finds an old rail in their shop and decides to make a small anvil but doesn't have a milling machine or a sandblaster 😂
The base has more flat area surface,I flipped mine over ,welded to work bench, really much more useful...for my needs .... doesn't look as perrty though
This guy gets my sub for TWO reasons: 1. He actually turned a railroad track into a DECENT anvil 2. He does NOT scrub his files. Its so rare to see someone use metal files correctly these days. Normally people just scrub them back-and-forth, wrecking them for no reason. Excellent video... subbed.
2:49 thank you, Mr. Mechanics. When I saw the milling machine I was worried about how I was gonna turn the piece of railroad I have lying around into an anvil, but now I know I can do it!
You can do it with just an angle grinder and files. Hard part would be getting the surface perfectly flat, don't think you can compete with the end mill there.
Hand mada Anvil . Very strong and beautiful . 45 years back I saw these kind of workin FARIDABAD . I left India 40 years ago . Today when I saw this recollected my old memories . God Bless you Man .
It's just unfortunately not rust proof :/ However, oxidized aluminum has the same surface texture (albeit with a much, much softer look) and that won't rust
I feel like most people wouldn't realize how much time actually went into cutting that railroad track. Great job to dude, I remember how long it took to cut through solid mild steel like that when my brother and I made one...
I cut a piece today on the horizontal bandsaw took about 5 mins ,plasma cut the big bits out the way, on the mill tommorow for flatting the surface.Keep the off cuts for forgework
FOR THOSE wondering how in the heck they could do the flattening operation with an angle grinder, here's how. 1. Place anvil on a flat surface. 2. Secure it down, and add two pieces of wood that are the same height, and parallel on two planes. (alternatively, you can buy some cheapo plastic window sill, cut it in half) place the two pieces on both sides of the track, they have to have the finish height of the anvil so make sure to measure that properly. 3. using the handle screws found on most angle grinders, make a jig that makes sure the rotating stone (buy the cheapest grinding cup stone you can find) is flat on the surface of the track. 4. move grinder back and forth until the cup grinder no longer engages with the face. 5. profit. you can repeat the same process for the sides. using a cup grinder wheel your angle grinder will also allow you to make the rounded portions of the anvil.
Still isn't flat. Tack weld tie to bench Take single cut file and hold a end in each hand drag file towards yourself over surface, repeat. No sanding needed will just wreck finish.
25 seconds in and I'm already thinking poor blokes cutting this with a grinder. Sympathy quickly went out the window at 2:30 when he whips out his f***ing milling machine.
if My Mechanics was a super hero, Sharp Edges would be hit nemesis. "You think you can hide in the mounting holes on the bottom of my anvil Sharp Edges?! Think again!!"
For this project you'll need: 1 segment of railroad track you found in your shop 1 infinite supply of abrasive discs 1 metric Saint's worth of patience (for Americans that don't have access to a European Saint, 1 ton of elbow grease can be substituted, but it must be grade 2 or better) And a vertical mill. ;)
Awesome Job!! Some of you don’t understand the satisfaction of a job well done. I had a paint and body shop and taking a pile of dented metal and making it look like new again does a body good Keep on grinding 👍
Теперь можно поставить на полочку под стекло как экспонат )) ну и оооочень редко можно загнуть гвоздик , затем срочно снова убрать на полочку что бы не испортилось изделие ручной работы ,этт ведь такая красота 😊👍
@@mymechanicsinsights But wouldn't it have taken even less time to just apply the bluing liquid just a little over the brim of the top part? Why apply the bluing liquid all over a huge surface you know you will sand anyway? That seems to be wasted time and bluing liquid. (Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely sure there was a more than legit reason for that - I just wonder what it was.)
sometimes my attention was divided between the end product and the battalion of precision tools that you have ;) so clean, organized and precise...only in my dreams i can have those :)
I really wish my Dad could have seen this. We had a stick of railroad rail and used it for anything “anvil-like” but he would have loved to see this project.
I have two cast steel anvils in the shop, a 450lb and a 140lb....and a 2 foot length of rail track on the workbench, which still gets used surprisingly often.
the way he was able to cut through the top with an angle grinder tells me that the piece used here was never actually used on a functional railroad track. you see trains going over the track continue to cold harden the top over and over again, a piece of railroad that has been used for a while gets so god damn hard at the top that most angle grinder discs will disintegrate on it without leaving more than a couple scratches.
"Got no milling machine?" Come on guys, who doesn't have a 6 axis 480V 3 phase milling m/c in their home garage? We don't need angle grinders anymore :P
Recently found one of these my dad had made when he was young man. He didn’t have the best tools when making it but it is still quite useful in the shop.
Beautiful! Now, let's see the size of some of the work you have used this nice anvil for? I have a very large piece of railway in my garage, and now I know what I'm going to do with it. Thank you for the inspiration.
You can actually do work with a piece of RR track the way it is. That anvil is only good for jewelry or bending nails or hooks. Mass is what is needed for a workable anvil. Take you track ,flatten the majority of its surface then round over a portion , round over the edges in different radii. Weld a piece of square tubing to one end for hardy tools and drill a pritchel hole in it some where. Now you have a workable knife makers anvil. Be careful not to use to large of a hammer. 1 1/2 pound hammer can do alot of work, hooks, candle sticks, hinges, knives, hatchets. Small items make money. You can use a rock for an anvil, the forge is the important thing, get the steel hot enough to work it but not hot enough to burn it. Learning to take a piece of steel and make it yield to your will with heat, brawn and brain is an awesome feeling. I started with less than $50, if you are interested message me and Ill show you how. Good luck.
I did this, and tracks are impossible to cut. I was cutting mine with a massive gas powered saw with a steel blade and it took forever. So much so the neighbor came to see what I was doing... Every video Iv'e watched makes it look like butter.
It is interesting to be able to appreciate a high dose of human talent, when converting a piece of iron that could go unnoticed by any common eye, but that in the hands of an artist, the same one who can see first in his imagination and then extract from that matter, Whether it is ferrous, stone or any other, so that we can enjoy a good finish and fine final product of great importance for the workshop. With deep admiration and emotion, I love to see and value these possibilities of ingenuity, to see how with few tools anything is possible. So I congratulate them on this very interesting work, and they inspire us to keep trying. From the Llanos, to the south of Venezuela, our greatest consideration and respect. Thank you 1000 Thank you. Affectionately yours. Atte. Roberto Bermúdez Note. Please excuse me, my bad English ...
@@cass121248 Thanks friend Steve. Your words honor me. Simply with humility I try to highlight those things that impact me creatively and that also inspire me to carry out my own personal projects. Thank you for knowing how to interpret despite my lack of English. From Venezuela a fraternal hug.
Dude you have patience of steel grinding through something that thick, me over her grinding 16 gage and I think that takes long 😂 beautiful piece of work
I made one of these years ago, got a full 6'long piece so I cut 18" off to make an anvil, took me over an hour and 2 chop saw blades. Not only is it thick, it's also high carbon.
По моему скромному мнению основание надо было оставить подлиньше, возможно даже почти во всю длину готовой наковальни. Готовый продукт радует глаз, у мастера золотые руки.
I agree with you I have a 22inch anvil made out of railroadtrack and the base is 20" it works awesome I've had it since I was 21 years old now 56 bought it from a man that was 75 he built it in the late 50's its so handy and pings great
My thoughts exactly, the hours grinding is a labor of love, not something for old men compared to just buying an anvil for far less labor. But you get exactly what you want if you make it yourself. I've made a lot of different anvils in my time, they are a priceless tool and a necessity for any shop.
@@jinkertsun It is if you use the basic tools, instead of the full on workshop tools. To be completely fair, you don't even need an angle grinder for this. If you've got the patience of a god, you could do this with a hacksaw, metal files and sand paper. Want to get it black cheap? Linseed oil and an oven (take a trip to Mr. Patina's channel and watch the German Stove restoration)
You might not confuse it with a real anvil which is usually moulded, hardened and a lot more stronger than normal steel. Really nice looking anvil and good craftsmanship!
Railroad track is hardened steel. There are warnings about not using rail sections for the beam of a hydraulic log splitter because if it fails it will 'shatter' sending shards and shrapnel everywhere.
I was just thinking the same we have a local discount store were I can get cheap a Chinese anvil or vice for around 75$ probably cheaper to go that way for me I mean it wouldn't be as cool as this though
@@nouveau_nouveau If you break in the cutting disc properly and never put any side pressure on it, you can make it last quite a bit longer. When I was doing notch outs in square tube, I never let anyone else use my grinder or disc. It always shatters as soon as they give it back to me.
It does get annoying, I restore train cars and parts... one day I had to cut a vestibule door to size and cutting through sheet metal and wood got really tiring
@@mymechanicsinsights can you confirm my assumption that this piece was never in use as a railroad track? because i have experienced the displeasure of trying to cut used railroad track with an angle grinder and in my experience the cold forged top surface gets so hard that most angle grinder discs just don't even put a dent in it.
You guys that are whining about him using a Mill and a Drill Press need to get a life. You can do everything he did here just using a hacksaw, file and handheld drill. Take too long you say? Takes too much effort you say? Then either man-up, go out and buy some tools or buy the Anvil already done...
This brought back school memories for me, even though I didn't follow my metal working in to trade, its still very addictive to watch, I think I might have a few projects for the future now
This brings tears to my eyes. My late beloved father who worked 38 years for Southern Pacific made two anvils from scrap railroad track around 1953. I own one and my brother owns the other one. My plan now is to pass mine to my Great grandson. Thanks for the video.
Wow...my father worked 34 yrs. For the southern Pacific...California..Palmdale. tehachapi. Bakersfield....cool
@@sojourn1544 My Dad worked the El Paso to Houston area. If I am not mistaken it was the San Antonio District. Fond memories. Have a wonderful day.
My Grandpa worked for Southern Pacific for many, many years. Started I think in Oakland, went to Yuma, then Tucson.All the time I knew him, he worked out of El Paso with a turnaround and layover in Lordsburg. Loved hearing his stories, he had a heart attack on the train in Deming NM during a bad blizzard in 1967.
@@horsehide3039 May he rest in peace. My father suffered an accident and passed away in 1988. May my beloved father rest in peace.
I feel that.
Nobody on UA-cam is half as good as this man. When I watch my mechanics I can’t watch other videos because they damage my feelings for this type of work. Extremely addictive mister my mechanic. You are born for this work my friend.
I completely agree with you. Out of all the hands on restoration UA-camrs out there, My Mechanics is a cut above the rest. No one does the same quality level of work the way he does. His work is fantastic!
@Rita 25 y.o - check my vidéó lol. That is funny. I make a new one. Oh I don’t have a planet to work on. It’s ok. I make a new one 🤣
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I am as good as he is. Been doing metal work all of my life. Blacksmithing, welding and machine shop work. I have restored many a anvil in my day. I do see what you are saying. Doing something like this out of a 2 car garage would be almost impossible.
2:40 as long as I live, I will *never* get tired of seeing rusty, scabby steel brought back to a clean, machined surface.
Yeah. ..this was quite therapeutic to watch 👍
The steel is nice, but freshly machined brass is the most beautiful color. To my eye, it looks better than polished gold ever could.
the sand blasting is the most satisfying part lol
@@TheDenny34uk pls stfu. Ty.
@Alan 141 omfg
Fantastic. Seeing it ready, I would never know it was made from a piece of train track. Your work is sensational. Inspiring!!!
You are a sculptor and artist for sure. Its beautiful. I believe "shop" should be included in high school curriculum to give everyone a taste of the possibilities working with hand tools.
.
You know metal working is this dude's life when he simply 'finds' stuff in his shop
Exactly! It was that way with my dad with wood.
I just like the way this video is presented, no music just the sound of tools and nachineries
Perfect Job too...👌
I agree. It seems that most of the videos on here the creator of the video get to thinking they are sound engineers. They have there sound effects louder than the content of the video. It's gotten so bad, if I click on a video and it's got it's boom booming crap for music. I just thumbs down and I'm gone.
Ohhhhhhhhhh, YES!!!!
You motivated me to do something with the 12" chunk of track I've had forever. I have all the tools. Thanks!
You would be better off looking for a anvil. You put all that work into it and still will not have anything that is workable unless you are just wanting a paperweight. Find an old anvil and restore it instead.
Я такую наковальню ещё в 1976 году сделал ,правда на токарном и фрезерном станках.
@@JohnDavis-yz9nq An anvil of this size has many, many uses for all kinds of crafting tasks. Exercise your imagination only a little.
@@JohnDavis-yz9nqright, unless youre doing it for a yt vid, theres no real reason to do this.
@@butchmonster8031 yes if you are lucky it might sell for $20.00 at a flea market. Instead find an old anvil and restore it. I bought a 200# Peter Wright anvil last year for $150.00 and did some work on the face of it and sold it for $1100.00. There are a lot of old anvils to be had if you know how to look for them. I can take $600.00 and turn it into $4000.00 easy.
my mechanics is so badass he casually finds railroad pieces in his shop.
didn't look like it was actually ever used for it's intended purpose, my grandpa used to have railroad tracks that where taken from a track that was actually used and then shut down and abandoned, when we finally got rid of it, decades later, the top surface was still free from rust (only the sides and the bottom had rust on them) and the top was so god damn hard that the angle grinder didn't even scratch it, we had to cut it from the bottom until we reached the hard part and then we dropped it on another railroad track to snap it off.
@@windhelmguard5295 So, the tops get hardened from use? That's actually pretty cool.
@@windhelmguard5295 I've never really thought about that. I can't imagine how many thousands of tons of steel would boulder over a track every day in a busy area. Thanks for your story!
I bet his local railroad is just missing a piece.
This is nothing! He actually found a train in his shop, restored it and sold it back to the Swiss railway company! :-)
This is the perfect example of the saying "Another man's trash is another man's treasure"
@Davey Cracket Lmfao 🤣💀
Rail is made from a manganese steel alloy. New rail has a radius at the top; as the trains wear it flat, the running surface becomes tougher, without being brittle. Therefore, find a worn piece of rail for the project, and avoid taking too much of the tough skin off the top to retain the durability.
I still have the old piece of RR track my grandfather used as an anvil.....rust and all......works just fine for me! Still have his old 6" vise too!....Btw, I'm 80 now and don't use them as much as I once did.
You related to Alex Steele or something??
.,
.
,
Love it, the excitement in this comment could’ve come from any age demographic (could’ve came from a 17yr old who lost his father at a young age), when I seent 80yrs old a huge smile came across my face.
Good to see you are still healthy enough to use them sometimes..
Enjoy whatever you do..
👍🇮🇪☘️
I have all my dads old tools, he died when I was 9, I’m 30 now and his tools are my favourite possessions especially the old bench vice which I know he used a lot.
Now that's the result of a whole lot of patience, skill and efforts; not to mention atleast 20 diamond wheels.
Respect to machinists, always.
Yea i was wondering how many wheels he went thru.
To everyone saying this isn’t a simple DIY, I managed to make a similar anvil (while much less pretty) using almost the same process just wayyyyyy cheaper (lot more files, sandpaper and hacksaw blades) but none of it is necessarily complex work it’s just labor intensive. If you’re bored, stuck in the house like most of the world right now it’s a FANTASTIC project that’ll keep you occupied for hours and you’ll get even more hours of use out if it once it’s done. You could even take a foot long section of rail and literally just sand and file the edges and you basically have an anvil. Most of what this legend of mechanics is doing is really high level cosmetic stuff to add to the beauty and functionality of the anvil when in all reality you don’t really NEED the horn on the end or the hardy hole or even the beautifully sanded and blued finishes. Just something heavy and sturdy that can take a beating (polishing the top surface of the anvil will lead to slightly less marring on whatever it is you’re working with but again it’s all cosmetic) and you gotta great tool that’ll last years! And shouts out to the man himself for making such a quality video (as always)
Several blacksmiths have commented that the best way to use a rail as an anvil is to turn it on end and polish that surface, mount the rail in a stump with that face up (essentially the end of the rail) and use that as your striking surface. That way you preserve the total mass of the rail to absorb your blows. Otherwise, to make it pretty, you are removing almost half the mass.
Luke Kelchner A neighbor had a father so cheap that when he built a summer cabin, he did so out of material scavenged from houses that were being torn down in town (even down to plumbing and wiring). So my neighbor was often given the task of hammering bent nails straight that were either picked up off the ground at the demolition sites or pulled from boards being salvaged for reuse! The ‘anvil’ for this purpose was a chunk of rail about the same size my mechanics started with. (And before you ask, the neighbor is gradually replacing the wiring and plumbing in the cabin with new material as his ongoing remodeling allows).
“The railroad company has millions of miles of rail, I am sure they will not miss a couple feet”
Rail inspectors: *"hey chief, why is there a missing railroad track?"*
Lol
Thousands not millions and it's only a felony if caught, but it looks good they'll never know what it was now.
They'll miss it if a train tries to go over it...
Well that depends if the rail was taken from a active track.
This was a real joy to watch. What a transformation. Love what you do and never work a day in your life.
Impressive,
A man's skill, passion and dedication is an art form of the purist kind. The attention to detail is what makes him a master.
There's something so satisfying about exposing absolutely pristine steel underneath all that rust and weathering
edit: specifically at the 3:00 mark
This anvil isn’t it a tool, This is ART
I love the tips for other machines, just in case someone else finds an old rail in their shop and decides to make a small anvil but doesn't have a milling machine or a sandblaster 😂
Wiley E Coyote is taking lots of notes!
Необязательно красить
The base has more flat area surface,I flipped mine over ,welded to work bench, really much more useful...for my needs .... doesn't look as perrty though
UD amigo gringo tiene erramientas y makinas para Aser los yunkes acá son pocos conosidos pero UD; lo tienen todo felicidades por ellos .
"easy DIY" *uses milling machine*
These make great stocking stuffers.
LOL!
Yes.
N-no
😂
G6
This guy gets my sub for TWO reasons:
1. He actually turned a railroad track into a DECENT anvil
2. He does NOT scrub his files.
Its so rare to see someone use metal files correctly these days. Normally people just scrub them back-and-forth, wrecking them for no reason.
Excellent video... subbed.
Painful to watch people cut the wrong way with a file
I was a welder at the railway for 13 years and now Iam a locomotive engineer.. very much impressed by the anvil you created.
Great job!👍
I wish i could find and anvil for 20$😅😆
2:49 thank you, Mr. Mechanics. When I saw the milling machine I was worried about how I was gonna turn the piece of railroad I have lying around into an anvil, but now I know I can do it!
Simply one of the coolest DIY projects I've ever seen. Well done!
I never thought an anvil could be adorable.
Ikr
I imagine jewelers have tiny little anvils.
They have. Those tiny anvils _are_ quite cute.
Simple DIY.. all you need is a DIY lathe, DIY drill press, DIY Sand blaster, and a old railroad track, to make this simple homemade Anvil.
...and DIY skills, all of which I have none.
Tried this with just a hacksaw a while back. Gave up
Alternative - Type "Anvil" into Google search. Click on link. Enter payment info... and a couple of days later voila - your own anvil.
Just need an angle grinder and a drill really.
You can do it with just an angle grinder and files. Hard part would be getting the surface perfectly flat, don't think you can compete with the end mill there.
That's so beautiful when the layers come off. Super gorgeous steel there, and "superb" workmanship here again !
I've just bought a piece of railway track on eBay because of this video. Inspirational!
How much was shipping? I was gonna look for one on fleabay but I didnt even bother because I figured shipping would be insand
@@MegaDysart £15 next day delivery. Considering the weight of the thing I thought that was ok
The whole track,or just the rail? Did the ties come with it? They make good landscaping timbers.
Watching you knock out those throw-away pieces makes you really think about just how many millions of tons of steel are out there as railroad track!
Muy fantastic y magnificio saludos!
Not that many. The steel was reused at a scrapyard and then melted back again to rebuild other things, do not worry. 😊
Hand mada Anvil . Very strong and beautiful . 45 years back I saw these kind of workin FARIDABAD . I left India 40 years ago . Today when I saw this recollected my old memories . God Bless you Man .
Beautiful. Craftsmanship is ALWAYS valuable.
Thanks :-)
I honestly like the finish the sand blaster leaves on the metal. It's like a very satin finish and makes the metal look gorgeous.
It's just unfortunately not rust proof :/ However, oxidized aluminum has the same surface texture (albeit with a much, much softer look) and that won't rust
I feel like most people wouldn't realize how much time actually went into cutting that railroad track. Great job to dude, I remember how long it took to cut through solid mild steel like that when my brother and I made one...
I would like to know how long it actually took to make it! He makes it look relatively quick and easy. (I'll bet it's neither).
El Ultimo haha 😆 yeah... more than anything it’s the determination, although I don’t really remember how long it took.
I cut a piece today on the horizontal bandsaw took about 5 mins ,plasma cut the big bits out the way, on the mill tommorow for flatting the surface.Keep the off cuts for forgework
FOR THOSE wondering how in the heck they could do the flattening operation with an angle grinder, here's how.
1. Place anvil on a flat surface.
2. Secure it down, and add two pieces of wood that are the same height, and parallel on two planes. (alternatively, you can buy some cheapo plastic window sill, cut it in half) place the two pieces on both sides of the track, they have to have the finish height of the anvil so make sure to measure that properly.
3. using the handle screws found on most angle grinders, make a jig that makes sure the rotating stone (buy the cheapest grinding cup stone you can find) is flat on the surface of the track.
4. move grinder back and forth until the cup grinder no longer engages with the face.
5. profit.
you can repeat the same process for the sides. using a cup grinder wheel your angle grinder will also allow you to make the rounded portions of the anvil.
Wow, that's a proper diy surface grinder tutorial!
Or buy a surface grinder. 😂😂😂 sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.
Sorry, I'm having a hard time imagining this. Is there name for the technique (or, better yet, a video)?
Still isn't flat.
Tack weld tie to bench
Take single cut file and hold a end in each hand drag file towards yourself over surface, repeat. No sanding needed will just wreck finish.
Nonsense.
Can't believe you cut it to shape with an angle grinder, and then a hacksaw! Your patience and determination are unrivaled
25 seconds in and I'm already thinking poor blokes cutting this with a grinder.
Sympathy quickly went out the window at 2:30 when he whips out his f***ing milling machine.
looool
😂
Check out AvEs video on trying to mill track and you might change your mind. 😂
Some time you gotta just whip it out.
Was thinking the same thing when it went into the sand blaster
if My Mechanics was a super hero, Sharp Edges would be hit nemesis.
"You think you can hide in the mounting holes on the bottom of my anvil Sharp Edges?! Think again!!"
MECHANIC MOVE - FILE AWAY
HYAAAAAAAAAAAH
Countersink would be his sidekick!
He makes it seem so intuitive but it actually requires tremendous skill and his work is AMAZING.
Tools are some of the most perfectly engineered things , this is very much a aspirational thing for us lesser beings , top work fella
For this project you'll need:
1 segment of railroad track you found in your shop
1 infinite supply of abrasive discs
1 metric Saint's worth of patience (for Americans that don't have access to a European Saint, 1 ton of elbow grease can be substituted, but it must be grade 2 or better)
And
a vertical mill.
;)
Awesome Job!! Some of you don’t understand
the satisfaction of a job well done. I had a paint
and body shop and taking a pile of dented
metal and making it look like new again does a body good
Keep on grinding 👍
Теперь можно поставить на полочку под стекло как экспонат )) ну и оооочень редко можно загнуть гвоздик , затем срочно снова убрать на полочку что бы не испортилось изделие ручной работы ,этт ведь такая красота 😊👍
Овчинка выделки не стоит 😏
И гвоздик исключительно пластмассовый или из мягкого металла
Фрезеровал,писькастуил ,напильником,ножовкой.Для чего это чудо использовать.А ЧЕГО лаком не покрыл?
A piece of rail definitely makes a good anvil, but I marvel at the fact that you have a milling machine & no access to a cutting torch.
That is just plain beautiful. If I made that, I wouldn't even want to use it. I'd just want to stare at it.
You put a big smile on my face, thank you for such a beautiful piece of tool. I need an anvil!
Finally something I can do with all the old railroad tracks I have laying around the garage.
Dhydse
This is my seventh time watching you create this anvil. I just can’t get enough of it. Thanks Friend
Noob question
Why turning all the steel black just to sand it later? Couldn't you mask the top part in any way? Or it's just simpler to sand it?
I have to sand it anyway, masking would take longer.
@@mymechanicsinsights thanks
Also I think having it black helps to keep it flat while sanding showing you when you reach the clean finish and not going any further
The top will just rust again. Should have left the bluing there
@@mymechanicsinsights But wouldn't it have taken even less time to just apply the bluing liquid just a little over the brim of the top part? Why apply the bluing liquid all over a huge surface you know you will sand anyway? That seems to be wasted time and bluing liquid. (Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely sure there was a more than legit reason for that - I just wonder what it was.)
sometimes my attention was divided between the end product and the battalion of precision tools that you have ;) so clean, organized and precise...only in my dreams i can have those :)
I really wish my Dad could have seen this. We had a stick of railroad rail and used it for anything “anvil-like” but he would have loved to see this project.
I have the same thing
Sorry y'all couldn't, my friend.
Dad had a piece about a foot long
@@emory442 ewww
Lol
I have two cast steel anvils in the shop, a 450lb and a 140lb....and a 2 foot length of rail track on the workbench, which still gets used surprisingly often.
That cold blueing liquid looks like magic when you apply it! Awesome project dude!
Sure you got your anvil, but what about the poor train you just derailed!
lol
Gone but not forgotten. ✊😢
He'll make a new one ;)
the way he was able to cut through the top with an angle grinder tells me that the piece used here was never actually used on a functional railroad track.
you see trains going over the track continue to cold harden the top over and over again, a piece of railroad that has been used for a while gets so god damn hard at the top that most angle grinder discs will disintegrate on it without leaving more than a couple scratches.
he'll repair it latter
or make a new one.
Absolutely beautiful! Why I am watching this Christmas day suddenly seems a little sad, but ..it made me happy so, who cares.
Auto compulsive like.. Thank you for the upload my mechanic ! We have all been in withdrawal and lying on wait for your next upload 👍
Definitely Artisan!
Never Thought I'd Call an Anvil
EXQUISITE!
Impressive Use Of Tools also!
"Got no milling machine?"
Come on guys, who doesn't have a 6 axis 480V 3 phase milling m/c in their home garage? We don't need angle grinders anymore :P
:P if you find one, get me one, too. I would also take a CNC controlled one....
You don't need six axes or 480V. My knee mill works fine at 240 with three axes.
I know all that yet no flap disc's just a old hard disc. Poor guy stuck in the last century.
All kidding aside nice work!
I have never seen such high quality work.
It's a masterpiece
Never? You’ve never seen anything like this or better? Really?
That was awesome to watch. You know you left one thing out. “I make a new one”. You know your fans love that. 😂😂😂
A thing of beauty! My dad found an 18" piece of railroad track,and used that for an anvil. I still use it.
Recently found one of these my dad had made when he was young man. He didn’t have the best tools when making it but it is still quite useful in the shop.
Beautiful! Now, let's see the size of some of the work you have used this nice anvil for? I have a very large piece of railway in my garage, and now I know what I'm going to do with it. Thank you for the inspiration.
😂😂😂😂😂
Good luck.
You can actually do work with a piece of RR track the way it is. That anvil is only good for jewelry or bending nails or hooks. Mass is what is needed for a workable anvil. Take you track ,flatten the majority of its surface then round over a portion , round over the edges in different radii. Weld a piece of square tubing to one end for hardy tools and drill a pritchel hole in it some where. Now you have a workable knife makers anvil. Be careful not to use to large of a hammer. 1 1/2 pound hammer can do alot of work, hooks, candle sticks, hinges, knives, hatchets. Small items make money. You can use a rock for an anvil, the forge is the important thing, get the steel hot enough to work it but not hot enough to burn it. Learning to take a piece of steel and make it yield to your will with heat, brawn and brain is an awesome feeling. I started with less than $50, if you are interested message me and Ill show you how. Good luck.
I did this, and tracks are impossible to cut. I was cutting mine with a massive gas powered saw with a steel blade and it took forever. So much so the neighbor came to see what I was doing... Every video Iv'e watched makes it look like butter.
It was hard cheese with metal flakes in it , for effect !
Was probably a piece of antique railroad. Think the newer stuff is made with hardened steel
@@troyelder56 nope, its better quality but not HC. Some say medium steel. It makes good knives.
This is exactly what I was thinking.A rail track SHOUL NOT be this easy to cut.definitely not with a grinder.
Страшно представить сколько отрезных и зачистных дисков на это ушло)
Судя по ролику, по одному и всего 10 минут)
I’m curious on how meany blades did he go through
In the details he said about $20 worth.
@@vorshack8968 cutting oil is for chumps
@@CalvinTaylor
Pllli
Kl
@@CalvinTaylor p
Who cares! About the bades good Job!!🙄🙄👍
It is interesting to be able to appreciate a high dose of human talent, when converting a piece of iron that could go unnoticed by any common eye, but that in the hands of an artist, the same one who can see first in his imagination and then extract from that matter, Whether it is ferrous, stone or any other, so that we can enjoy a good finish and fine final product of great importance for the workshop. With deep admiration and emotion, I love to see and value these possibilities of ingenuity, to see how with few tools anything is possible. So I congratulate them on this very interesting work, and they inspire us to keep trying. From the Llanos, to the south of Venezuela, our greatest consideration and respect. Thank you 1000 Thank you. Affectionately yours. Atte. Roberto Bermúdez
Note. Please excuse me, my bad English ...
With your "bad English" you said more, better, than 97% of commenters on UA-cam. Many of us applaud you! Thank you.
@@cass121248 Thanks friend Steve. Your words honor me. Simply with humility I try to highlight those things that impact me creatively and that also inspire me to carry out my own personal projects. Thank you for knowing how to interpret despite my lack of English. From Venezuela a fraternal hug.
Your English is fine.
Dude you have patience of steel grinding through something that thick, me over her grinding 16 gage and I think that takes long 😂 beautiful piece of work
I made one of these years ago, got a full 6'long piece so I cut 18" off to make an anvil, took me over an hour and 2 chop saw blades. Not only is it thick, it's also high carbon.
По моему скромному мнению основание надо было оставить подлиньше, возможно даже почти во всю длину готовой наковальни. Готовый продукт радует глаз, у мастера золотые руки.
I agree with you I have a 22inch anvil made out of railroadtrack and the base is 20" it works awesome I've had it since I was 21 years old now 56 bought it from a man that was 75 he built it in the late 50's its so handy and pings great
"This railroad track has no locomotive". "I make new one". 😮
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Felicitaciones. Increíble transformación. Quiero uno.
😁
This should be top comment.
@@jamescollier3 magic
The railroad iron is perfect to resist friction.... Not for resist chocs.... It IS only for decoration, not for working whith hammer.
That's more than an Anvil, it's art.
This specific phrasing sounds like "its not just a boulder. Its a rock"
Ok but it's also an anvil.
This was one of the first things I did when I started machinery and mechanics school, like 100 years ago. I still use the anvil ✌️
Beautiful work. I cant imagine how much grinding that took. Great job
My thoughts exactly, the hours grinding is a labor of love, not something for old men compared to just buying an anvil for far less labor.
But you get exactly what you want if you make it yourself. I've made a lot of different anvils in my time, they are a priceless tool and a necessity for any shop.
Brilliant metalwork but you’re doing yourself a disservice by saying it’s easy, high level of skill, even with the right equipment!! 👍
Not to mention all the patience required to sit or stand there and just cut thick pieces of steel all day
"Got no milling machine? Use an angle grinder"
what do I do if I've got a hammer and a blunt screwdriver
Get more tools or not attempt projects this big yet :)
Make a new one
Well If you only have those two tools maybe an anvil shouldnt be your priority ;)
Grab a beer.
Dull pocket knife and a plastic spoon.
Fantastic. FINALLY, someone makes something out of metal and doesn't paint it sparkly carnival ride blue or candied apple red.
Of all the tools you used in this video, I am most impressed with that nice bench vice.
Spends 10 hours a day on jobsite: "I have had enough of angle grinder noise in my head!"
Goes home, watches angle grinder ASMR videos...
Perfect!
I cold almost get the angle grinder smell watching this.
@Trevor McWilliams Watching with the sound off...I'm still getting a headache!
@@MrJacksjb 💯😭
@@MrJacksjb Me too!!
"I could not find an anvil to restore
...
I make a new one."
Came here to post this. Hahahahah!
Did you notice he made a new shop?
Give me my profile pic back
@@ViperVenoM13 No
@@ViperVenoM13 😂
I’m just wondering how many grinder wheels it took!
it took 20 .
Same here!
@@pappy451 He said $20. But that seems low unless were talking Harbor Freight 10 packs
I love the description. Simple and easy DIY. Mmmm maybe not.
@@jinkertsun It is if you use the basic tools, instead of the full on workshop tools. To be completely fair, you don't even need an angle grinder for this. If you've got the patience of a god, you could do this with a hacksaw, metal files and sand paper. Want to get it black cheap? Linseed oil and an oven (take a trip to Mr. Patina's channel and watch the German Stove restoration)
What a work of art. The bluing was a nice touch. Nicely done.
I like how he gave instructions in captions as we all are making it
I did 😛
Petition for him to call bluing
"""BLACK MAGIC""""""
That's racist
@@Bobbyjwmwb HOW?
@@kostasgnt black
I'm protesting silently. Stop the oppression.
@@Bobbyjwmwb oooooh right a color is racist now. sorry i forgot
You might not confuse it with a real anvil which is usually moulded, hardened and a lot more stronger than normal steel.
Really nice looking anvil and good craftsmanship!
AGP
The highest quality steel is used for railroad tracks!
@It's Private it might not be heavy but it is very strong and durable, trains drive over it thousands of times a year so it has to be extremely tough.
Railroad track is hardened steel. There are warnings about not using rail sections for the beam of a hydraulic log splitter because if it fails it will 'shatter' sending shards and shrapnel everywhere.
This 10minutes video is worth watching, thankyou so much .
I need to know, how many cutting disks and how many grinding disks did you go thru? Also did the grinder survive?
I was just thinking the same we have a local discount store were I can get cheap a Chinese anvil or vice for around 75$ probably cheaper to go that way for me I mean it wouldn't be as cool as this though
only 5
@@mymechanicsinsights are grinding discs just that strong or is there a technique to it?
@@nouveau_nouveau If you break in the cutting disc properly and never put any side pressure on it, you can make it last quite a bit longer. When I was doing notch outs in square tube, I never let anyone else use my grinder or disc. It always shatters as soon as they give it back to me.
I have no idea how I ended up here, watching this. However, I have to say that I am deeply impressed by your skills.
Same here.
My hands start to tingle even thinking about holding a grinder for that long...
It does get annoying, I restore train cars and parts... one day I had to cut a vestibule door to size and cutting through sheet metal and wood got really tiring
Good wrist training can really mitigate it's impact of your arms but it's true that it will get annoying eventually anyways
My arms would get numb after 3mins 😂
On the second day I could really feel it in my left wrist.
@@mymechanicsinsights
can you confirm my assumption that this piece was never in use as a railroad track?
because i have experienced the displeasure of trying to cut used railroad track with an angle grinder and in my experience the cold forged top surface gets so hard that most angle grinder discs just don't even put a dent in it.
, E opera de arta ceea ce face meseriașul cu o imaginație foarte bogata. Bravo. Frumoasa imaginație și frumoasa invenție.
You guys that are whining about him using a Mill and a Drill Press need to get a life. You can do everything he did here just using a hacksaw, file and handheld drill. Take too long you say? Takes too much effort you say? Then either man-up, go out and buy some tools or buy the Anvil already done...
Well said
One of the coolest things I’ve seen on UA-cam
Thanks a lot
Nice! That piece of rail probably would’ve just been melted down with scrap. Now it will last forever!
I think this is one of the prettiest single-piece custom made projects. ♥
I don’t need a anvil but I feel like just making one cuz there’s nothing else to do during quarantine haha
Sheep
@Duke Elinton Chicago
@@IRONMAN79101 ⁹
YEAH! Git some.
I have no real interest in being a blacksmith, but I do have an anvil fetish.
Maybe it's Warner Bros cartoons.
Amazing work. Thank you.
How many grinding and cutting discs did you use, be honest
i bet the production cost exeeded the cost of buying a new anvil
We were all think it lol
Was thinking the same thing. Normally you can score them and knock em loose w a hammer. Then shape with a torch.
@ new (good)anvils depending on the weight are VERY expensive. Well over 400 dollars.
Haha ! Yes, Seriously, I was thinking the same thing!
This brought back school memories for me, even though I didn't follow my metal working in to trade, its still very addictive to watch, I think I might have a few projects for the future now
Впечатляет, ну очень трудоемко. Золотые руки!
"Elbow Grease" does it again!
Mais que uma ferramenta de trabalho , uma verdadeira joia !
Sem medir esforços ,
você é um gênio !
(Belém -PA - Brasil)