I love trains and train tracks. My friend Bill and I stopped by one on my favorite train bridges on our way to Tahoe. .

Train tracks make great cheap anvils. Having millions of Tons worth of train roll over them daily hardens the steel.

I lucked out when given a short 12" section of harden track. A salvaged chunk of beam made a great base to mount my track. I was lucky that the length was such that with the anvil on top I can stand next to the Anvil and place my fist on top of its surface. This has been a comfortable height to work at.

This project might have gone undocumented if not for the comments I received on the mounting of the anvil.

If an anvil is bolted down it will quickly come loose with the constant pounding it receives. To get around this I made two “U” shaped bars to hold the anvil tight against the block. Short pieces of all-thread were welded onto the ends of the bar; this allows the anvil to be tightened as needed over time.

Because this was a laminated beam I was worried that the pounding would break the beam apart. A custom made strap keeps the beam from delaming, it also allows adjusting over time.

A convenient tray is added to both sides so that my hammer is never far from reach.

The Anvil has become an indispensable tool in my shop, I was surprised at how often I use it.

This project took about 10 hours. It was completed on January 4th, 2004.