The most essential tool for your garage or workshop!

Great idea! I went out and found a piece of rail just laying on the ground. It was part of a rail that seemed to go on for miles but I still managed to cut out a 14" piece. It'll be perfect!

My dad made me one of these many years ago. It's still in my shop and at my age ( 72 ) it still makes me think of that talented man.

As a blacksmith, and an accomplished Knife Maker, I would say this isn’t a good idea without being a snob. The main job of a good anvil is to reciprocate the force of your hammer blows back up through your work piece. This cannot happen with railroad track because of the width of the rail beneath the actual track surface. The energy transfer of an anvil occurs due to the mass of the surface directly beneath the the face of the anvil. If you wanted to actually get a reciprocal hit from your anvil, your best bet would be to turn the railroad track on its end, long ways up and down and then work on that 1.5x 3“ surface of the actual rail on its side. As it is, railroad track is perfectly fine for doing things like adding on snap toggles and the like, but for any kind of real forging you will simply wear your elbow out using something like this. Buy a 75 pound anvil and throw it up on a cube made from 9 4x4 lengths of about 28-34 inches. The anvil face should be about the same height that your knuckles are, resting on the surface if you were standing next to it. Trust me, saving $300 to do something like this rather than just getting a proper work. surface is not worth blowing your elbow out two years down the road.

Best door stopper I ever seen, really!

This was cool, I went out to the back yard this afternoon and chopped a few feet of track, came back in and made this, just about when I was done I heard this loud horn and a big rumbling, and it felt like we had an earthquake!! Then all I heard was screams and sirens etc, must have been a huge car crash or something. Anyhow the paper weight is great I love it

I built one of these a little over seven months ago for my shop just south of Unity, OH, and it's been a game changer. Rail wasn't readily available locally so I had to get creative, but it all worked out in the end. Thanks!

In engineering, (and mathematics) the simplest possible answer to a problem is always considered the most "elegant" or "beautiful". This is the most elegant rail-tie anvil I have ever seen.

Loved it. Went and cut me a 24 inch piece off the track about a mile from here that runs through our woods.

That is just masterful thinking, - When you removed it, and re-inserted it upside down to the flatter bottom section, it was sheer brilliance, so good, Thank you.

I have had a rail anvil for 65 years. I tapered one end on top to a very long tapered point. One end on the bottom is cut square to approximately a 25 degree angle. Don’t use it often, but extremely handy when needed, often for sheet metal type work. The wood block absorbs energy, but reduces ring. I sent it in a vice when I want to use the bottom. Recently used both side to make a downspout adaptor that needed a square corner on one end and a rounded corner on the other end. Have a regular anvil for forging type work.

Anvil was just the excuse, to demonstrate inspiration, multiple tool use and great craftsmanship. Really enjoyed it 😊

My Father-in-law gave me a piece of track (1971) and told me that it will come in handy at some point in my life. I have been using it for almost 50yrs.

Cool ideal. I have a 18" piece of track I have been saving for 20 years. I'm going to copy this idea now that I have my shop built. Thanks for the video.

BRILLIANT idea! LOVE IT! Regular anvils are far too expensive for common people to afford and this would be PERFECT for a garage shop and takes up FAR less space!

Honestly I wasn’t sure how this idea was gonna turn out, incredible job! Very well done!

I think it's beautiful. I would absolutely cherish this if I had one in my shop. It's art.

Awesome job! I have an anvil ( anvil shaped object, ASO,) that I made from a piece of rail track, it took me a few weekends to shape it but jeez it has been a handy bit of kit in the workshop. We’ll done to you for an ingenious design and use of the rail track. I’m inspired to make one. Cheers cobber

Railroad track has been used for small anvils for a many of years, but you found a way to make them look nice, easy to move around, and the flipping over idea is just brilliant! Plus I assume being wrapped in wood helps take some of the loud ring and ping out of it, but not so much that it deadens it completely. Quality work!!!

Thats an awesome anvil. Made completely from scrapped parts found around work shop. Absolutely genius.

I had NO idea where this was going, but that was the half the fun of it. Great idea, who would have ever thought of going beyond just using the raw rail piece as an anvil? Only this guy!