i have been collecting railroad metal for awhile now (yes got permission from company to pick up anything they leave behind on the side) and have collected quite a few of the weird squiggle clip things? from what i've read these are generally made from 1040-1060 series steel. I have almost finished a dagger/shortsword thing and seems to have a very good flex so far. but does anyone know from experience if it really makes a good blade? sorry if i sound stupid

hey i got no help but i do have one of the squiggle clips as well hope yours turns out good send me some pics cause im lookin for ideas for my clip

Those squiggle clips are called Rail Anchors I believe. If you do a search on this site I think you will find a blueprint with the type of steel in various railroad materials. If you search the forums there is a link about MC stamped RR spikes that has a link to some other railroad information.

They're good steel somewhere between 1045-1060 IIRC.

Be sure to heat them well and let them soak before straightening them out or they may develop stress cracks where they're bent tight.

They'd make DANDY hawks and the like.

Frosty

i have used one of those for a hammer back tommahawk worked good!! defenetly enough carbon to harden and temper ....have fun!

okat got some pictures uploaded these are how it looked yesterday sry for bad quality stupid camera phone will take better pics later. got a little but more work done on it today

My daytime job is working as Chief Engineer for a company that supplies track material to railroads. Depending upon the shape the squiggly, thing is likely a rail anchor (1045 to 1060) or if it is generally shaped like a lower case e, a Pandrol E2055 Clip (1070 or 1090).

By the way - use caution in being on railway property. In some areas the FRA has started cracking down on "tresspassers" which is defined as being within 25 feet of the track centerline. They have issued warnings and personal fines of up to $10,000.

It took a little searching but I finally found a pic of the Pandrol clips. I'll be keeping my eyes open next time I'm around the tracks. Be watching for the Bulls too of course, can't afford a fine or I'd just buy some steel.

Thanks,

Frosty

these arnt Pandrol clips these are shaped like a big curve then a really small curve at the end

yep as per pic that is what i have
Frosty could you pm me and explain the whole heat them well and let them soak thing kinda confused

Those are Unit Rail Anchors.

They are used to keep the rail from sliding in the plates due to expansion and contraction. They are basically a spring that clips on the rail base and bears against the tie. When new they are supposed to resist 2500# force trying to slide them. Some do some don't. The resistance usually falls off every time they are reinstalled.

Watching someone try to put one on the first time is sometimes quite funny unless you are standing in the wrong place. While there are installation machines, many are applied with a hammer. Most people don't want to strike them hard enough and the anchor flys off the rail and you get to chase it into the weeds. If you are finding used ones beside the track they are usually sprung and too loose and will be picked up and moved to a lower density track.

Railroads routinely pickup loose metal parts from beside the track with a magnet and dump them into cars. Part of our business is sorting the parts into reclaimed components and scrap.

It took a little searching but I finally found a pic of the Pandrol clips. I'll be keeping my eyes open next time I'm around the tracks.

Alaska Railroad uses some but not many of the Pandrol Clips. I can send you a couple if you would like to play with them. The bar diameter in 20mm.

They have a real nice ring when you drop them on the floor.

yep as per pic that is what i have
Frosty could you pm me and explain the whole heat them well and let them soak thing kinda confused

I'd rather explain it here so everybody can benefit.

Soaking refers to leaving a piece in the fire to make sure the inside is as hot as the outside. With thick steel it's entirely possible to have the outside at a nice yellow but the inside may only be approaching orange heat. If you try making a drastic change like straightening a near hairpin bend with that kind of temperature differential inside to out BAD things happen, usually stress cracks but wrinkling, kinking and excessive stretching can occur.

Rail clips are particularly prone to this, probably because they lived a hard professional life before being discarded by the RR maintenance crew.

So, just put it in the fire on low till it's been a nice cheery orange for a couple minutes, then turn the fire up till it's near yellow to yellow, let it soak half a minute or minute and have your way with it.

Subsequent heats won't require as much soak time because the reverse is true, the center cools slower than the outside, same as it heats.

Hope this helps.

Frosty

Alaska Railroad uses some but not many of the Pandrol Clips. I can send you a couple if you would like to play with them. The bar diameter in 20mm.

They have a real nice ring when you drop them on the floor.

Thanks I don't do a lot with tool steel but I am interested none the less. Let me think about it, I'd hate to say yes and then not do anything with them till I forgot what they are. I tend to do that. It must be the packrat gene.

Have you done any forging with them? If so what and how do they work?

Frosty

I have analyzed a lot of bad ones but haven't forged any. Like you said, they're on the list.

Are they low alloy HC or do they have a bunch of other stuff in them? If they're low alloy they'd make good bits for axes, chisels, etc. if you're into folding and welding.

What kind of analysis? Physical or chemical? I spent a couple years in the State materials lab before moving on to the drilling operation. We got to break a lot of cool stuff from concrete to rebar to rock anchors to bridge members, etc. Then again we spent a lot of time sifting and weighing dirt too.

Frosty

if you have some to send i would love some too.....pretty please :D

Edited April 12, 200917 yr by Aarongann

i have many of this clips as well, there awsome for making blades but like frosty said in one of his first replys to this thread, you should normalise befor straitning, there are also ones that look like a J those are also good for blades .

well unfortunate news.....as i was forging last night i noticed a crack on the edge of the blade the extended almost to the middle decided to give it a good smack and it broke completely in half. guess thats what i get for using junk metal. not entirely sure what cause the crack could have been me straightening it when it wasn't hot enough or simply had a crack to begin with.
but what can ya do. I may have lost a blade but i gained a lot of experiance from doing this

It wasn't me, my advise was to make sure they're heated all the way through with a good soak at heat.

I might normalize after forging but not before, bringing a piece to forging heat will undo any previous heat treating, work hardening, etc. You just have to be sure it's hot all the way through, especially on the first heat of the session.

Frosty

What kind of analysis? Physical or chemical? Frosty

THe clips are a High Carbon Steel, we have done chemicals, mechanicals and hardness at times. When the manufactures misses the temper on the clips they can have all sorts of problems.

They are supposed to hold the rail base down with 2750#. If they are over tempered or burned due to the forging temperature being too high the spring rate is off and the load is low. The most interesting is when the hardness is too high. Some time after they have been installed ranging from an hour to a few days you may hear a "bong" and then a ring. The clip will have broken and flown about 25 feet in the air.

This months project is cracking concrete railroad ties. Looks like the dent in the prestress wire is the wrong shape.

Sounds like old times. I used to LOVE pulling rebar apart. Whine of hydraulics, loud snapping bang and a sharp jolt through the floor. It used to just freak out the office types up front. Good times.

Frosty

Them thar pan drol clippy thingnjigs shure do make ure mouth smart when one flys on when yars installen them with an amma and it doesnt go in on the 1st hit. Now i's nows why mar grandpoppys got no front teeth.

I found this about railroad clips steel 60Si2Mn composition: http://www.jysf-otw.com/ch/pdf/60Si2Mn.pdf

I made a few knives out of these during demo's last summer. IIRC, very tough metal to start by hand but it shaped rather nicely after that. I'll see if I still have one of the knives around and I'll shoot a pick. I probably still have some of these in my misc. bin, I'll have to check.