Warning: That cheap anvil stand I built almost cost me my foot

Honestly, last Thursday was one of those days that started out fine and then went sideways real fast. Ive been using a big chunk of railroad tie as my anvil stand for like 6 months, thought it was solid enough. Well, I was working a 5 inch drift punch on a 1 inch thick bracket, giving it some real heavy hits, and the whole anvil tipped sideways off the tie. It came crashing down right next to my boot, missed my toes by maybe 2 inches. The noise was insane and the concrete floor cracked where it landed. Turns out the wood had rotted on the bottom just enough to wobble under heavy hammering. I spent the rest of the day building a proper steel stand with a welded base plate, cost me about 40 bucks in scrap. Has anyone else had a close call with a janky setup like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_daniel4d ago

Yeah, the rotted wood thing is actually pretty common with railroad ties left outside. They're treated on the outside but the inner core can still decay if moisture gets in from the top or ends. A lot of people don't realize that even creosote-soaked ties eventually break down under that kind of focused impact load.

ray6133d agoMost Upvoted

Does that mean the outer treatment eventually cracks under stress too?