railroad stuff

[Zohar]

I live on the railroad in a really busy area. We have three limestone crushing plants and a dozen coal mines around me. Every five years they replace the railroads. This means I have a nearly endless supply of high and low carbon spikes (we live in a mountainous area), rail plates, pieces of track, and the big dome headed bolts and the accompanying nuts. I know someone uses the bolts as planishing stakes, and the HC spikes can be knives. Are theire other things I can do with them? Or is there anyone who would want anything? I am willing to send items if you pay for shipping.

I have a forge setup and have smithing experience, but always appreciate others' input. I have mostly made axes, and a few cut out knives, but not a lot. Any helps? Any orders? Anyone want something shipped out?

Thanks y'all!

[PatternWeld]

There's a 70 lb limit on the usps flat rate isn't there?

The track sections make great small repair anvils, the spikes make wonderful knives or tomahawks, the bolts are great for hatchets and also as dishing hammers... The clips are also good steel for a variety of projects.

Since you are close to crusher mills there is also a call for mill balls... especially in 2.5" to 5" range.

Here are a few I have done.

[Halberds]

That is amazing how one can stretch, reshape and twist solid steel.

The RR spikes and bolts make great universal armouring tools.
I've used them for years.

The base plates should make a super heavy duty tool holder.
I have one, and have been studying a universal tool positioning design.

Now balls.... We all need bigger balls.

[AaronCarter]

I'd be interested in some High carbon stakes, as well as any mill balls.

[Michel]

As the mailman once told me; the 70lb designation is a limit, not a challenge.

[The Iron Dwarf]

As the mailman once told me; the 70lb designation is a limit, not a challenge.

in that case you should aim for 69.99999999lb

[Mac]

Zohar,

Crushing balls are "da bomb" if you can get big ones. I've got a few in the shop, and I consider them as indispensable for raising helmets and breasts.

Short lengths of track are also of the greatest utility. They make great anvils and T-stakes.

Shipping these items is a problem, of course. On the other hand, if you can shlep them to events (eg.Pennsic) you might well find it profitable.

Mac

(edited for grammar)

[Zohar]

I can most definitely bring stuff to Pennsic. I don't know about mill balls, but I can walk down the road to CrushTonix or whoever that is, I think it is the Graeson Company and ask them, or just go dumpster diving.

AaronCarter, you want stakes? How many? You want me to fill a box? It will need a piece of ply on the bottom to keep it from opening at an inconvenient time, but I can see how many I can get in under the weight limit. PM me an address and I will try to get that shipped out.

Patternweld, do you cut the heads off the stakes or do you just pound them into the handle? I was thinking that I could do some hot scribing or etching once my nitric acid comes in, but I didn't know how that would affect the balance of the knife.

Mac, I live in Centre County, I can ship to you easily if you want anything.

Halberd, I was thinking of using it as a tool base or a stake holder, I think I have a pile of ~500-600 in my yard. I was just going to take them to the scrapper because it is too thick to use for anything other than plates.

@ Everyone, I will see what I can do about getting big balls, or any sort of balls. Also, since this is my exercise and I don't pay, this is shipping cost only. Granted I don't want to do orders of 300 spikes, but if someone else wants a box or two, I am happy to help. Thanks for your imput and help. Maybe soon I will get pictures up of projects

[wcallen]

Mill balls.

I agree with Mac. If you can find a variety of those, you will find plenty of takers.

I happen to own 5" Lynch stakes, so I am less in need than others.

Wade

[Finnvarthr Finnbogason]

Zohar, PM sent.

[whonew]

I'm in for some big balls and bolts...and I think we could throw a little something extra your way
Les
3turretsarmoury.info

[lanars]

pm sent


Thanks again

[Marco-borromei]

Balls and bolts would be much appreciated.

[PatternWeld]

Spikes bolts & balls please! I'd love a box or two.

Zohar - I leave the head on the spike but I have a self built lil press that squeezes them flat for me. After that I shape them with the grinder into whatever pommel design I want. Keeps em balenced at the proper place and allows me to stretch the handle section some before twisting for a grip. Why wait for or pay for nitric? paint em up with some resist and drop them into some Muratic pool acid. Even sticky beeswax makes a great resist.

[Zohar]

Thanks for the info PatternWeld.

To all, I am going to the mills this weekend to ask about mill balls and to do some more scrounging and collecting. It takes a while because I have my hands and a bag to fill up my car, and not a skid loader and a pickup. For those that want a box or two or three etc., and also want a possible mill ball, this means that I will be shipping next week at the earliest. This is also my finals week, so I am spending a lot of time trying to make my ejection port and feed mechanism synch properly (I am in a weapon design program).
Thanks for the interest and the help. You guys have no idea how cool it seems to have some of the Archive heavy hitter type posters sending me messages. Its a cool feeling.

[PatternWeld]

Zohar - if you like I can make you a couple RR spike knives... or a knife & a hammer handle hawk as a thank you in addition to covering shipping.

[Kilkenny]

I would be appreciative of a few of the stakes - hc or mild, either work for my current purposes. And thank you.

[bigfredb]

Would it be possible to get a 12-18 inch section of rail (track)?

I would gladly pay for shipping!

[Browin Auld]

I have been warned by more than one person that the "high carbon" claim on some railroad spikes is a VERY relative term... high carbon maybe in comparison to a steel with next to none. Judging by the difficulty I've had with heat treating some that I grabbed on a trip down to West Virginia that had the good ol' "HC" stamp on them, I'd say that you'll be lucky to find one that has as much carbon as a chunk of 1050 steel.

[polarbearforge]

I have been warned by more than one person that the "high carbon" claim on some railroad spikes is a VERY relative term... high carbon maybe in comparison to a steel with next to none. Judging by the difficulty I've had with heat treating some that I grabbed on a trip down to West Virginia that had the good ol' "HC" stamp on them, I'd say that you'll be lucky to find one that has as much carbon as a chunk of 1050 steel.

Exactly! I'd have to dig through my notes for the exact number, but I thnk they maxed out less than what 1050 would have. If you think about the use of the spikes, they would never want them to be hard.

Personally, I've never made a spike knife and never will. It doesn't have the ability to perform as well as other steels. They do make good letter openers, conversation pieces, mouse hawks, and other tools. You can eek a little more hardness from a superquench, but that's about it.

I use pieces of the track for beater anvils. Rather than leaving them rounded, I milled the top flat.

Jamie

[PatternWeld]

I agree with Jamie to a point.

If you can't determine the quality of the steel it's best not to make a knife from it.

Where I do disagree is that all RR knives are bad and the steel inferior. After all, many very well performing, Japanese blades were and are made from steel that has no better performance than 1050.

Would I rather a knife made from D2 or O1 or even 5160? Yes...

but that's like saying a Chevy isn't road worthy because some people drive Bugatti's.

That RR spike knife sells for $35-40 versus triple that for a similar sized one in higher performance steel. The reason isn't that they are inherently inferior. The base material is far cheaper and they take 1/3 of the time to make.

No frills tool with the handmade look and old-timey feel that everyone can afford. Wonder if that's why Dr. Jim Hrisoulas a.k.a Master Atar, makes RR spike knives?

[Cap'n Atli]

I will observe that the steel cutting edges of most of the tools in the Mastermyr find are 40 pt. steel. One virtue of 40 pt. is that it can be quench hardened in water, and does not, usually, need to be tempered. Once again, in abundance and homogeneity, probably a lot better, or at least no worse, than a lot of the bloomery and blister steel our ancestors worked with.

Junkyard steel rules apply, and each piece may need testing to assure consistent quality.

[Zohar]

Thanks guys for the know how on the carbon content. I have just done the press it on the belt sander and watch for sparks. I know what cast iron, mild steel and 1095 look like spark wise, and so i try to gauge it from there. I will keep that in mind when forging them.

[randyshipp]

Wish I knew where to find a piece of track and or a mill ball here in North Texas.

Randy...

[The Iron Dwarf]

Zohar you are doing good, as a denizen of scrapyards here in england I am one of the few who finds odd things and recycles them as tools, also sometimes buying new stuff like 1/3 ton of ball bearings up to 4" diameter.
look at the shapes of tools in other threads and search out those shapes in things that may be hard.
wear parts for excavators are good, test things with a bit of hacksaw blade sharpened at one end to a scriber ( does it scratch deeply or shallow or not at all and use the teeth to see if it cuts )

[Zohar]

Hey guys. This weekend I went to the limestone plant. They are not authorized to give out the worn mill balls. Company policy is to recycle them, and they can't even "miss" one or two due to a list that, and I quote, "The damn uptight new manager always holds onto to make my life miserable." So no go on the mill balls. I will try another place soonish, but I am not sure what I will get. But railgoods are a go. I am going to be weighing out the first few boxes this week and sending them out.

@Randyshipp, I can send pieces of track that are up to 14 inches long in the flat rate box. I can't get bigger than that, or else it is too heavy with the cradle I made to keep it steady and from breaking anything.

[bigfredb]

Zohar, PM sent!

[Zohar]

I have been doing some measuring and weighing. The RR spikes come in bundles of 8 each weighing 5 pounds. RR bolts, with nuts are bundles of 3 weighing 5 pounds. Track is 7 inches tall, and the base is 5.5 inches wide. This means I can lay it on it's side to get 12 inch sections that weigh 55-60 pounds, (My scale isn't digital, so I am rounding up) and still have room for 15-20 pounds of extra stuff. I can also get slightly longer pieces in on the diagonal, but I don't think it makes too much of a difference. I have been responding to PMs and trying to figure out how many to ship and send. I am just doing tallies right now, since I am working overtime on the 3D printer trying to not fail my finals.
I know I said there is no charge other than repaying shipping costs and I am trying to stick with that. However, if I can not find the right size pieces of track and have to cut them down, I may ask for an extra buck or two to compensati for blades, cutoff wheels, or OA depending on which seems to make the most sense. I have already learned my lesson trying to cut through rail with a hacksaw, so that is a no-go. Glad to be of service, and I am once again sorry for the wait, but my Laurel has told me that school comes first, health second, and service to others third.

-Zohar

[losthelm]

Your laurel is right stay off the archive
Until your finished with school.

[randyshipp]

I'll certainly kick in a little something for your time!

[Mac]

Hey guys. This weekend I went to the limestone plant. They are not authorized to give out the worn mill balls. Company policy is to recycle them, and they can't even "miss" one or two due to a list that, and I quote, "The damn uptight new manager always holds onto to make my life miserable." So no go on the mill balls. I will try another place soonish

Zohar,

They will not *give* you mill balls, but will they *sell* you mill balls for the same price (or perhaps somewhat more) that they get from the recyclers?

I know I said there is no charge other than repaying shipping costs and I am trying to stick with that. However, if I can not find the right size pieces of track and have to cut them down, I may ask for an extra buck or two to compensati for blades, cutoff wheels, or OA depending on which seems to make the most sense. I have already learned my lesson trying to cut through rail with a hacksaw, so that is a no-go. Glad to be of service, and I am once again sorry for the wait, but my Laurel has told me that school comes first, health second, and service to others third.

-Zohar

For God's sakes, man! ....cut yourself in here. You are doing a lot of leg work. You should profit from that. Service is is still service, even if there is a price attached. Put a price on your time. No reasonable person will grudge that to you.

Mac

[PatternWeld]

^

This

[Thaddeus]

^

This

+Tasha

I'd like a box of spikes and some milling balls if you can find a source.

Railroad spike become this:

And other stuff.

And let me know what I can do in terms of gas money and incidentals.
In other words, let me know what your services cost.

[Kilkenny]

, but my Laurel has told me that school comes first, health second, and service to others third.

-Zohar

You have chosen a good and wise mentor. Heed their words. And, as is being mentioned by various people, you do deserve something for your labors here and should not hesitate to ask for it.

I know that no one likes the phrase "Free, just pay shipping and handling"

Yet, in this case, I think none of us would begrudge a handling fee in addition to the shipping. It really is only fair that you receive something for the time you spend on this project that you could be using on other things.

Like your finals - this definitely should not be displacing any of your study time .. again, you have a wise Laurel

[Sean Powell]

Find out where they recycle the balls and get them after they have been unloaded?

Sean