Rikadyn Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 So, my forge is near completion, weather is messing with my ability to make charcoal, so only thing left is to find steel to use. Which is where we run into a slight snag. As far as I know, all the junk yards around here don't let people in, sans the auto recycler who I've heard is really expensive, and charges to get in in the first place, but will check them out still. I can get new steel from the welding supplier, but figure that would be expensive on my limited budget at the moment. So question would be, where do you find steel to use? and or search terms to use to help :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
short swing Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Leaf springs, coil springs, blades from old mill equipment. Rail road spikes are a favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Steel is where you find it, alleys, garages, dumpsters, etc. Construction sites and demolition sites are good also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy seale Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 you will find all sorts of things along the road,but dumpsters,junk piles behind the barn,the stuff is all over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Go to the local Welding Supply place and ask them who is the big metal fab shops in the area. Go to them and explain your a hobby blacksmith looking for drops to play with forging stuff. A shop near me allows me to fill a 5 gal bucket + some for $10 from their drop pile. They also have 55 gal drums of scrap that I can usually pick thru. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 All of the above. Look up "iron works" in your local yellow pages (or just search "iron works" plus your ZIP code in Google Maps). (Iron works may be the same thing as fab shops; this is just the name I've seen them go by.) Some of them let me come in and root through the scrap bins, then sell to me for scrap prices. Others want nothing to do with me. All you can do is ask. That said, steel is where you find it. It's all over. You'll be amazed at what you can get cheap or free if you develop the habit of keeping your eyes open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Where do the scrap yards get their scrap? If you can get it from the *source* it's much cheaper as you can pay the buy price rather than the sell price. You want auto parts go to an old family run garage and ask---many times you can get them *free*! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt87 Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Browse your local illegal dumps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikadyn Posted June 20, 2009 Author Share Posted June 20, 2009 Go to the local Welding Supply place and ask them who is the big metal fab shops in the area. Go to them and explain your a hobby blacksmith looking for drops to play with forging stuff. A shop near me allows me to fill a 5 gal bucket + some for $10 from their drop pile. They also have 55 gal drums of scrap that I can usually pick thru. Drops? You know...the metal supplier advertises usable drops for sale from their site, i just didn't know what they meant... also, where does everyone find railroad spikes? ya'll aren't just going down to the tracks and ripping them out are ya? cause if so, I'm not taking a train ever... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tholdorimm Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 i once heard my friend telling me just take a blowtourch and cut some holes in dumpsters for some scrap but as thats illegal so i would just go to dumps sometimes they have cars their or some metal stuff and most times thier let u just take for free or a donut or two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgtwister Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 auto repair shops usally have some steel thats worth picking up if it a big shop the usally have a junk pile out back or a junk car they fill up with tierods old springs and so on keep an eye out for guys driving around on garbage day or night before picking up metal you may be able to get some thing out of them around here they get paid about 4-5 dollars a hundred pounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evfreek Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 That idea of using a blowtorch to cut out a piece of a dumpster sounds like a risky and illegal way to acquire a substandard piece of steel. Those dumpsters are cobbled together out of all kinds of junk, and when they break, someone fixes them by haphazardly arc welding in a piece of junk. I tried something like this (non-illegal, or at least adhering to the spirit of the law). I was doing my regular survey of the homeless encampments. This was part of looking at an alternative measure of the local economy. I found a piece, probably of a dumpster. It had junk arc welds and cut marks, but it looked like the band for a wrapped bit tomahawk. I had to hot cut the welds off, since they were full of inclusions and barely holding together. I then took some pallet strapping, sparked as 1050, and rolled it up, and welded it into a bit. This stuck just fine. But that lousy piece of junk steel just would not stick to itself. After trying a few times, I decided to try the Lafitte idea. I took a thin sheet of low carbon steel and slid it in the problem crack. It welded right up! What a piece of junk. Well, maybe not really, since the same thing can happen with new steel. But, if you have new steel, you will have 20 feet, and you will "qualify" the piece, so that if the first weld goes well, the 20th should as well (unless you have junk coal). The best place I have found to buy steel if I am not in a rush is from a fab shop. You have to go to the industrial district, since the ones around here often do not have positive attitudes. Bring a sample of your handiwork, since a lot of these guys have little blacksmiths trapped inside them. I can get good drops for 50 cents per pound, and scrap from the bins for 25 cents per pound. This compares with 65 cents per pound for scrap and $1 for new. They also refer you to other shops with other kinds of scrap and they tell you when the scrap man comes, so you can visit a day earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thoramighty Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 (edited) Drops? also, where does everyone find railroad spikes? ya'll aren't just going down to the tracks and ripping them out are ya? cause if so, I'm not taking a train ever... Just go along the tracks when they replace ties they usually use new spikes and just throw the old ones on th ground around them just look around for them. P.S. look for ones that have HC stamped on top those mean high carbon they only have like .3% carbon( if i am wrong just correct me) but when put in an ice cold water quench or super quench it hold a fair enough edge. the ones with a $ stamped on top if i remeber correctly are a copper ,steel alloy but im not positive. Staff addition: WARNING do NOT take or STEAL anything from the RR tracks, This is a Federal offense and there are many discussions on this Illegal activity in the forums Edited June 23, 2009 by mod07 staff warning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 The local "ornamental iron" fab shop used to have to pay to have their scrap bin hauled to the scrapyard. They were quite happy for me to stop by every once in a while, drop off a hand forged trinket at the office and go out and sort and clean up their scrap bin and load anything I could use in my truck. Always wore PPE, never interfered with them getting work out the door and literally took out a ton of stuff including sheetmetal and even some real wrought iron when they were replacing an old fence that had by customized by an auto... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave M Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Here are some of the places I get steel from by me: I awlays tell them that I am a blacksmith and I always ask. 1st our local dump or transfer station has a separate area for metal. 2nd small mom & pop auto or equipment repair shops. 3rd farms, they always seem to have piles of scrape metal all over. 4th I ask around some one always knows some body else who has some metal kicking around. 5th I run adds on Craigs list, make it clear that you are not a junk hauler Lastly I would find out who the local blacksmiths in your area are I bet some of them would let you grab a few pieces here or there. Heck I had a kid by me that wanted to get into blacksmithing and well I had parts to make both propane and coal forges in my scrap pile. He helped me organize my scrap pile and we built a nice coal forge and cut and welded the body for a propane forge,win win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikadyn Posted July 4, 2009 Author Share Posted July 4, 2009 So, went to the metal supply shop we have here, prices are alright, problem i found is they didn't have anything above 1060, nor any L6 drops... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hammer Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 If you are having problems finding suitable steel, or have to pay 50 cents plus per pound for recycled, you might be suprised that buying new steel isn't all that "out of range". Call steel suppliers and ask about 20' lengths of the stock you want to play with. You will probably have to pay a "cut" charge so you can haul it home. A 20' piece of 3/8 round, or 1/2" square may not be as expensive as you think. Some of the recycling places I frequent charge me as much as 75% of the cost of new from a new steel supplier. You need to find the businesses that sell to builders and/or large fabricators though (just call around and price compare). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikadyn Posted July 4, 2009 Author Share Posted July 4, 2009 If you are having problems finding suitable steel, or have to pay 50 cents plus per pound for recycled, you might be suprised that buying new steel isn't all that "out of range". Call steel suppliers and ask about 20' lengths of the stock you want to play with. You will probably have to pay a "cut" charge so you can haul it home. A 20' piece of 3/8 round, or 1/2" square may not be as expensive as you think. Some of the recycling places I frequent charge me as much as 75% of the cost of new from a new steel supplier. You need to find the businesses that sell to builders and/or large fabricators though (just call around and price compare). Yea, that's what I did. The place around here (Alro Steel) sells their drops as well as some 6ft prime material, and 20ft lengths. Problem is they don't have anything above medium carbon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendrick Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 On the rialroad spikes, with a couple of phone calls and some leg work it may be possible to get RR junk legally with permission. When I wanted ties I called the local yard offices and got a letter from the local super. He put on it what I was allowed to have. And it was free! Our local steel supplier is reasonable. For example, a 20' 1/4" round stock is only about $3.50 and 20' - 5/16" was about $7.50. (+/- for current prices) They will cut to whatever length I need for no extra charge. (You also get it a little cheaper paying cash most of the time too.) I don't know about where you are, but down here there are a lot of guys that scrap stuff as a sideline for extra cash. The one down the road from us lets me root through his stash for nothing as long as I bring him back the scrap I generate in return. Happy hunting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedwards Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 On the rialroad spikes, with a couple of phone calls and some leg work it may be possible to get RR junk legally with permission. If you are looking for RR scraps this is an excellent idea/piece of advice. The RR rights of way and track beds out here are private property and it is posted. Just being in the right of way without permission is criminal trespass. Picking up stuff while trespassing risks a theft charge to boot. They (the RR) take this very seriously out this way. I suspect it is the same pretty much everywhere. Good hunting. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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