motherload of good clean steal?

[cj112674]

One of my hobbies that I have set aside is restoring a 69 Pontiac Lemans. But, it just sets in the garage collecting dust. All of the suspension, rims, and misc. steel parts are all shot or worn out. So, I'm thinking I have a good ammount of steel to make not only a forge but also a few knives, tools, and whatever I might want to try out. The steel is 41 years old so it should be pretty pure, correct? I can use everything from the 4 brake drums, 4 rims, 4 coil springs, and even the front sway bar. Good idea? I don't mind using the old parts, they would get scrapped anyways and replaced with aftermarket pieces.

[JKindy]

Sounds great to me! Why send the money buying it from the scrap yard when you have it available. Take the other three brake drums and make some forges to sell on Craigslist to buy some other stock for you pile and pay for your forge.

Here is how I built my simple forge;


I added the two half rings to help hold in the charcoal and get the fire higher in the pot.
I have since added a stock rest made from 1/4" square with two tee's to rest the stock on, sticking into one of the angle legs openenings at the top next to the drum.

The blower is from Grainger, $65, the gate allows you to adjust the air flow, incidently you only need it open about 3/8". it will run off my 100 watt car inverter too.

The grate is from Lowes, stainless floor drain grate. It has lasted so far for 7-8 heats with no damage. Should last a long time.

[Bad Creek Blacksmith]

Nice looking forge you got there.

[cj112674]

good idea jeff, thanks..i'll try to call you today but I have the kids this weekend.. My boy just turned 1 and my girl is 2 going on 18..lol..drama queen if you know what I mean..Do you forge your own knives and tools and etc.?

[JKindy]

I'm just atrating out too, so yes. Here is a set of tongs I made, I flattened the jaws as others have suggested, they work better that way.



Very simple twist method of 1/4" X 3/4" flat stock 36" long cut in half for the two pieces.

coal rake, and others too as we go along. I eventually even want to forge my own hammer.

[cj112674]

well I need an anvil, that's the only real hang up I have. The forge should be pretty simple (I hope), but I don't want to put the cart before the horse, or vise versa. So, I need to find some railroad rail or something for now. The anvil on craigslist is a bit much for now, if I knew 100 percent that I could do this and really enjoyed it (which I think I will) I could see spending the money on an anvil. But, for now, I think I might hunt some rail down or go to the scrap yard and see what my brain can come up with for an anvil. I'm a good torcher (well at least I like to think) so who knows.

[Chris Boling]

u could always ask the local rail yard if they have any old scrap pieces of rr rail lyin around,or u could walk the local rr track.the rail road almost never cleans up after themselves after fixin anything.i found the piece of rr rail im using as an anvil buried in a large pile of rr spikes.i also picked up the spikes and have enough to sink a ship almost

[Frosty]

Be careful picking things up off the RR right of way, it's RR property in all respects and you can land in legal trouble from tresspassing to theft. The best bet is to catch a work crew, schmooze a little and see if they'll give it to you. A forged gift or two is good PR.

Frosty the Lucky.

[EWCTool]

Like what frosty said be careful with the railroad. They have lots of money to hire all sorts of lawyers, and don’t give an ounce of sympathy to the accused.

As to talking to the work crews I believe that a six pack would be the best when looking to barter.

Coil springs are a great source of steel, because the steel is very forgiving, but still very versatile.