junker Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 i just picked up a hundred somethen pound forklift prong (tong? skid? i don't know what it's called.) out of the local scrapyard for 30 bucks. does anyone know what the carbon content of these usually are, and should i go through buying hardfacing wire and doing that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Use it and see if it does what you wish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 It's probably 4140 if it's less than 40 years old and just fine as it is. Ditto Rich, use it and see. Always test drive a new tool before you start "fixing" it. Without knowing what you're doing you're a lot more likely to screw it up permanently than improve it. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ichudov Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Always test drive a new tool before you start "fixing" it. Without knowing what you're doing you're a lot more likely to screw it up permanently than improve it. Amen to that! Knowing this rule 10 years ago would have saved me enormous amount of wasted time and money... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junker Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 ok thanks for the advice... yesterday was my first trip to the scrap yard and i was completely awstruck.... so much steel... and all of it just 30 cents a pound. i was like a kid in a candy store... sadly they don't carry any railroad track or spikes... aparrently it is a felony to have either in your possesion... no matter how you get them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 If a fork lift tine is too soft for your liking you would be better off heat treating it than hardfacing it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pault17 Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 One of the significantly experienced smiths (50+ years, not the first in his generational line) in our local ABANA chapter said that he prefers refacing things with a 70120 rod instead of hardface. He said that the hardfacing is too brittle and chips on the edges. He said the 70120 is a more durable material and easier to machine/finish. He resurfaced our chapter anvil at that is used at the state fairgrounds, and that anvil had work from every ability level smith last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve McCarthy Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 My first anvil was a piece forklift fork I brought home from work. 4" thick 8" wide and 46" long. I used it for 6 months before I found a P.W. I could afford. Lots, and I mean LOTS of missed hammer blows struck the "face" and left only a few small dings. Just starting out and not knowing any different, I cut it in half and welded the pieces together. Giving me 8x8x22. I would have done thing differently had I known better. Anyhow, I still have this 200 plus pound hunk of steel laying around that I have future plans for, I just haven't figured out what yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 I just finished hardfacing a 4" x 13" top with S-7 rod using Tig. The process only took a few hours. Wasn't that difficult. What WAS difficult was trying to grind and sand it back to something remotely flat. That took almost 2-3 times as long. First I used a large angle grinder to get it close, then I used a belt sander with those blue silicon oxide belts at really low grit to grind away and away on it. All the while I kept checking it with a straight edge from side to side and from front to back. I got it fairly darn close after hours of fussing with it. Hard facing is worth it on something like the mild steel (A36) I was doing it on, otherwise I would never bother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 There must have been some strange stuff in that S-7 rod, maybe magnesium.. because the shavings would start getting clumped up and then they would ignite. Not explosively or anything but more like a very teenie tiny sparkler. I picked one up and it was burning hot through whatever was combustible. Almost burnt my finger. Not really a fire hazard for me or anything but just kinda strange. Never seen clumps of metal dust ignite before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisG Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 ... sadly they don't carry any railroad track or spikes... aparrently it is a felony to have either in your possesion... no matter how you get them OH DOO-DOO!!! I have about 50+ spikes in my garage. Would they charge me per spike or as a group? ;-) Ooooh wait, I am in Canada, we find them all along the tracks and just take them and use and abuse as we like. why is it a felony btw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K. Bryan Morgan Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 If you take them out of the track it will cause the train to derail..not that we would ever do anything that stupid. Finding them on the side of the train road bed is the only way I would pick them up..or from a train repair yard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Avadon: Almost any metal will burn if finely divided. Didn't you ever burn steel wool? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragons lair Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 From what I have learned posession is not the issue. just picking them up is a crime.The RR right of way is thier property. Go to the rail office and ask permisson tell them why you want them. Same for track pieces. By law it dosen"t matter if the line is abandoned its still RR property. Some states will arrest you for walking the track. Better to ask. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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