RR tie plate - suggestions?

[JosephPrivott]

Not to drudge up a dead topic, but does anyone have a picture of a table made from these plates? I'd like to try it if I can find enough of them, as I just priced a measly sheet of 1/4" steel plate for a welding/fab table, and ....goodness.

[Frosty]

It'd be a lot of work, tie plates aren't that big and you'd have fun keeping it flat while you welded all those pieces together.

I'd suggest finding a couple pieces of really heavy "I" beam to help hold them flat while you weld. Then I'd stagger the joins so there aren't any table length welds. maybe I'd put this first on the list.

Before starting I'd estimate the cost of the welding rod and grinding disks, even if my time doesn't matter. Believe me I know what it's like to have more time than money and doing it myself rather than having a pro do it instead.

Are you going to leave all the holes or fill them and grind smooth?

Frosty

[JosephPrivott]

well, I was thinking of a baby acorn platen affair, so leaving the holes. for the table frame I've got, it might take about 20, maybe less, so that might mean about 2 small spools for my wirefeed

[mesquiteforge]

The tie plates do make good work surfaces, I, like previous others, welded one to a 6" piece of 2_3/8" drill pipe. The 2_3/8" fits inside a 3" pipe that is about 4' tall and is welded to a disc(for a base). The tie plate is then a swivel base for my 8" bench grinder. It swivels, but can be stopped by placing a lynch pin through the two pipes. It gives you plenty of room to maneauver large work pieces around the grinding wheels. The cord can be run through the spike hole and through the base to keep it out of the way. I was lucky enough to find a really large plate for this. I could see that smaller ones would work too. I am always looking for a place to store extra hammers too-so I added on a piece of bar stock to allow for hanging hammers on the plate.
Outside of the shop, I keep a tie plate in the bed of my truck for a jacking base. Sometimes I catch myself in areas with soft ground and these plates give your car jack, bottle jack or hi-lift jack more surface area to allow your jacking operation to go as intended.

[crij]

Guys,

I would hesitate using a tie plate to hold a rail anvil, for the main reason that the distance between the spike holes or between the shoulders if you find a double shoulder one are such that it is designed to allow the rail to slide on the plate to relieve expansion due to temperature changes. This is to prevent heat kinks in the summer and sheared track bolts in the winter.

Also I would hesitate using them for another reason, the surface where the rail sits is tapered to tilt the rail inward when installed (2-5 degrees), so your anvil will no longer sit level, unless of course the stump is not level.

In regards to Railroad track as an anvil, I have major qualms about using it because of safety concerns. At the museum we mainly use old rail that has seem many a wheel rolling over them. The ends tend to have many cracks and chips in the running surface. This is mainly due to the fact that it has been work hardened by the 10-15 ton loads (per wheel) that have run over it. Some of the pieces of rail that we have re-used have had chips up 3 inches across by 1 inch wide missing from the edge of the running surface. By the pocket left in the running surface the piece could have been at most 1/32 thick, imagine the damage that could be done if that released under the impact of a hammer at waist level. If you really want to use track for an anvil, please make sure it is a piece from the middle of the rail and not the end, also the whole piece after you are done shaping it needs to be annealed to remove the stresses and work hardening in the metal. Another thing to keep in mind is that due to the changes in metallurgy and quality control over the years, try to only use pieces that were manufactured after the 1950s. Rail older then that have a history of piping due to inclusions and stresses not relieved at the rolling mills. Piping will cause the head of the rail to split off down the length of the head, if your lucky it will either show up in the end of the rail or blow out through the web before the head releases. Piping is when the stresses create an internal crack that over time opens wider, till it finds an edge, in some cases it will actually form a hollow cavity as material moves around the crack.

Just some major concerns from someone that sees the problems with used rail every weekend.

Rich Cizik
MoW Foreman
Blacksmith Shop Co-Head
Ct Eastern RR Museum
Willimantic, Ct 06226
Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum

[m_brothers]

It was my first anvil. Took some large washers, and big bolts, and bolted it into a huge stump. Use however you wish, there are many good suggestions above.

[jayco]

I've been thinking of what material to make a heavy rectangular style firepot from for my new forge. I've got a stack of tie plates. It would require 4. Some serious A/O torch work and some arc welding would be involved.

Haven't even laid them out to see how it would work yet, but it looks possible. If I get it done, I'll take some pictures.....

[ironrosefarms]

interesting idea Jayco,

Another thread going on is about building a set of great bellows. As I was thinking back I remember that the set that I helped build was a bit slow on the rebound so on the inside the guy I was helping attached 3 RR plates side by side. Since these where supposed to be somewhat "historically correct" he was able to hide the added weight on the inside away from the eyes of the public.