Old South Creations Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 They're not completely useless for blades...they're great for letter openers, oyster shuckers, etc. If you're looking for something that will hold a sharp edge, however, RR spikes just won't do it. If you just want to make something that looks good I've seen some beautiful knives made from spikes but if you want something that will hold an edge they're just not the right material. As far as blowers go, I found an inexpensive electric blower on eBay for my forge (around $45 I think). My first blower was a $1 hair dryer I bought at a thrift store. My first anvil a piece of RR rail (no horn) and I still use my first forge which I made out of an old car wheel. It doesn't have to cost a fortune to get started in blacksmithing. I've seen anvils made form RR rail, fork lift forks, large chunks of steel, etc . Forges made from plow discs, lawn mower frames, old sinks, etc. Blowers made from hair dryers, vacuum cleaners, etc. There are lots of ways to "get started". Get started! and once you do you you will have a thousand more questions but you will also start to not only answer your own questions but to understand the answers from others a lot better. Just like everything "worth it", it takes time to be good and more importantly, it takes practice to be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Unfortunately the arguement that lots of folks do something so it must be OK never held for me; else I might be wearing a ballcap turned backwards and pants 6 times too large! Also since lots of people don't do smithing I guess you'd be better off giving it up! I consider RR spike cutting tools to be 1 trick ponies especially when you consider that the clips actually are medium carbon steel (40 to 60 points) and car springs are often a good medium carbon steel and so easy and cheap to find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihonius Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 I'm not sure what the clips on a railroad look like. All Are they the square flat pieces of metal with ridges and like two holes in them? I can find some of them once in a while. Mostly I find spikes and some weird pieces of metal that are fairly heavy, and are in a slightly hooked or "J" shape. Google was no help in showing me individual rail parts and their names. Yesterday I did get to go out to the dump and scrounge the metal pile for some stuff. I think I found my forge and a quench tank. The forge part is an oil barrel someone turned into a cheap fireplace. Its on its side with legs to raise it from the ground, and a door to open and close. All I have to do is fix the door, cut the top off and coat the inside with a wet mix of sand, cat litter, and ashes. Before that I guess I also need to cut some holes to add the tuyere pipe. I think I will use a camping air pump for the blower. Hopefully it doesnt melt, being plastic. My quench tank is just an oil barrel I need to clean out. I have no idea where you find cheap mineral oil for it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Do yourself a favor and forget making blades till you know what you're doing. You really will be a lot happier if what you do is at least competently made. It seems railroads are all going to Panderol clips and it's getting harder and harder to find pics of the kind of rail clip I'm familiar with. Can be found here that is. I've attached a pic of what we have here. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihonius Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 All I really want to make are knives, and I know they wont likely be anything great at first. I've never seen a part like that around here. I might try to take pics of the stuff i find to show you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgtwister Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 heres a pic of really old clips that i find around here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitewatchman Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Frosty, The Pandrol E-Clips are actually better than the Rail Anchors. The carbon content is much higher ranging up to .85% except forsome imported clips that can be lower. nitewatchman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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