mmthomas

Thanks, all. I was able to find out a bit more. It is indeed A36 steel. The "50" refers to an A36 Grade 50 or "A36 modified" which is an A36 steel that has a higher carbon content. So, some is regular A36 and the rest is the A36-modified, other than the old punch which is still unknown. It's from the American Punch Company, though, so I might be able to contact them and find out what its composition is.

Steel splinters can be painful. Don't go pick up scrap steel in your nice clothes. (corollary: always have gloves and other gear in pickup for seizing targets of opportunity)

Thanks, Frosty. He said that the 50 was harder than the 36, but that was it. I don't think he was specifically saying A50 or A36, but maybe he was. I may be able to ask him more about it later. I don't think he's just getting me to haul it, because he has literally tons of this kind of "waste" at the facility and said I could have a little of it (hundred of pounds being a little). I'm guessing they have enough that they can sell the scrap but don't mind missing a few hundred pounds here or there.

Now with added pics. Here's a picture of some of the miscellaneous mild steel pieces with quarter for reference. These are some squares of tool steel and a punch with a broken off tip. I was thinking of dishing these squares for making leaves, but perhaps that is a waste of tool steel? And, finally, these are the odd bits. I was thinking of flattening these plugs for practicing leaves, but perhaps someone more experienced can tell me if that is a waste or if there is a better use for them. I can gets hundreds of these bits if I want Anyway, hopefully someone will be able to tell me if I've hit a jackpot of scrap steel or if this is good for practicing some stuff for a few years or if its not really what I should be looking for. I can probably get a couple hundred pounds of this type of stuff every few months if I want it. Thanks for your time. -Matt

Hello again. Beginning smith me here again to assail you with questions. I'm still setting up my forge tools at home, but getting very close to doing real work, now. I have found a source of scrap steel for practicing and possibly for later actual making of neat stuffs. Anyway, I picked through a variety of bits and pieces which I was told are mild steel. Some of it is "like a 50" and others "like a 36." I probably should have asked for elaboration at the time, but I was too busy drooling over steels scraps. As a beginner, I don't know much about steel types and am wondering if someone can tell me what 50 and 36 mean? Most of this scrap was from construction steel if that helps. I also got a broken punch and some other odd bits that I will post photos of later to ask ideas what I might do with them. I may be able to get more broken punches in the future as well as old saw blades. Are those useful things that I want to have? Basically, I can pick through all the scrap if I want and/or have them set aside certain scrap bits if I want, but I don't know what's the gold and what is the dross. Perhaps I should mention that I could also pick up roughly 12" x 1/2" circles of mild steel and odd things like "old train wheel" if any of that sounds useful. Is any steel I can grab useful? Or should I only be trying to get stuff that is kind of normal-stock shaped? Thanks, Matt

Or just call it an Unvil.

Don't forget that there is whole forum section over here for books.

JM, attaching pictures isn't working in the forum at the moment. You will need to either upload them to the Gallery and then link the picture in your post, or upload them to another site (like Flickr for example) and link them from there.

Thank you all for your comments; I've learned much about anvils already. Knowing that I can use this anvil means that I can spend my blacksmithing monies on other tools. -Matt

Site updates Attached pictures/thumbnails aren't working while IFI is doing site updates. It will be fixed eventually. Pictures linked from the Gallery or from other sites still work, though. -Matt

Thanks for the input. The face looked pretty beat up, and I was worried that it would need a lot of fixing to use. -Matt

Greetings, I am new to blacksmithing, having just taken a four day introductory class. I'm gathering tools so that I can start practicing what I learned. I found in small anvil in the workshop of extended family, but it looks like it probably needs re-surfacing/edging. As it is so small, I am wondering if it is worth getting resurfaced; I know that I'll need a much larger anvil. It was probably used for shoeing at one time, but no one knows for sure. Text on the side of the anvil says Peter Wright Patent England Solid Wrought 0 3 1. Thanks for your time. -Matt