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