The next step is to make a flat surface on the top of the anvil. This is where the section of truck leaf spring comes in. Depending on how long your track section is, you will need perhaps a foot to eighteen inches of spring. You may as well torch it, since you are doing it anyway. One end (the end to be mounted at the base of the horn) needs to be square; the other can be ragged for the time being, just be a little generous with your measurements.



You will notice your spring section is curved. You will need to remove the temper from the steel to make it flat and stay that way. The simplest way to do it is to cook it on a gas grille until it gets red hot. (Charcoal is the next best way.) If you let it cool naturally, you are normalizing the steel; that isn't good enough. You need to anneal it - take it from the heat and bury it in a big pile of ashes, or - less desirable - sand. It will stay hot a long time. A long, long time. I burned myself once on a piece of cast iron that had been buried in ashes for four hours. Just forget it overnight.



The annealing process removes the stress from the molecules of steel, allowing it to be easily bent and not spring back.



Once your spring section is cool enough to handle, weld the square, forward end to the base of the horn - the point where the triangular horn becomes the same width as the rest of the track. Weld it solidly. Because of the curve, the rest of the spring will be higher than the top of the track.



Using a series of clamps, or some kind of press, flatten the spring section to the top of the track. Spot weld it in several places, then remove your clamps and weld the two pieces together. This will take quite a few rods - you are trying to fill the void between the two. If you use an arc welder, it will take a lot of heat, too. Acetylene is better, if you can do it.



Once you have completed the welding (it will be hot!), cut the end of the spring section off about 4" from the rear (away from the horn) end of the track.



At this point, the assembly will actually resemble an anvil. You're getting there!



