James,
Anvils have a hardened face to allow for the proper rebound when striking work on the anvil.
Mine rebounds nicely!
and keeping it from being dented by the occasional missed blow.
But it does get marked up… do I need to cover the surface with
felt?
Rail is a work hardening steel that forms a hardened face from the work the rail car wheels impart to the rail by rolling over it. To grind, or machine the rail to look like an anvil removes that hard case and leaves a soft surface.
Well, I didn’t really grind down as much as stoned it. Perhaps 1/32
of an inch just to remove the rust and pits. I left the original
curvature intact.
Perhaps there’s still a remaining layer of compressed steel I’ve
exposed that’s responsible for the rebound I’m getting.
I have machined down several rail anvils. The steel is very hard not as hard as a real anvil but tough.
But almost? Better than a bench block, not as good as the real
thing, but close enough for government work?
The amount of effort involved in making a piece of rail into an anvil is not worth it unless your time is free.
Which in my case, it is. And I’ll bet the same for a whole lot of
Dine’ (where I learned about the idea from) who are forced to start
from scratch and use rail anvils rather than classical Western ones.
I’m coming to the realization that I won’t be able to make jewelry
as a profession.
If I’m meant to be an amateur (which some may interpret to mean
dilletante), then that frees me from having to be restricted to a
professional’s mindset.
But hey, I guess that means I’ve transitioned from being a ham radio
operator to becoming a ham artificier.
Andrew Jonathan Fine